Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Innovation & Technology

Illumina Corporation Foundation and Discovery Education Inspire Youth to Pursue Careers in STEM and Genomics through New Groundbreaking Program ‘DNA Decoded’

Feb 20, 2019 10:55 AM ET

Illumina Corporate Foundation and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital curriculum resources, digital content, and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today launched DNA Decoded, a program designed to equip middle and high school teachers with the power to unlock the study of genomics to advance the future for their students. DNA Decoded provides easy, ready-to-go, Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) aligned lessons and activities for educators serving young learners in grades 6 – 12, enabling them to explore genomics in everyday life.

Energy

What the Rise of Distributed Energy Resources Means for Business

Feb 20, 2019 10:35 AM ET

Energy is evolving - in ways that are putting energy systems and even energy generation directly in the hands of energy consumers.

For organizations of all types and sizes, that’s a good thing. It’s leading to more customized and empowering energy systems - driven by knowledge, data, and on-site energy resources.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Call for Entries: Seeking the Most Innovative Fintechs Contributing to Social Impact Around the Globe

Feb 20, 2019 10:15 AM ET

What does it take to serve the nearly three billion people around the globe who lack safe and secure financial services? Visa, MetLife Foundation, global nonprofit Accion and World Bank Group member IFC aim to find the promising fintechs addressing this question through a new initiative, the Inclusive Fintech 50, which will honor 50 fintech startups committed to improving the financial health of disadvantaged people in advanced and emerging markets.

Energy

The Warehouse Group Goes Carbon Neutral

Feb 20, 2019 10:00 AM ET

CarboNZero certification has been granted The Warehouse Group, the company congratulated on its achievement by climate change minister James Shaw. Towards this end, the group has worked with global energy management company Schneider Electric to install EV charging stations at 24 of its store locations across the country.

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: The Not-So-Easy Button

Feb 20, 2019 9:30 AM ET

An average of 25% of single-stream recycling material is too contaminated to actually be recycled, compared to about 7% a decade ago. That’s a troubling trend, and this article does a good job of explaining why.

Environment

Boeing's Environmental Strategy Highlighted at Black Engineer of the Year Awards

Feb 20, 2019 9:10 AM ET

Bryan Scott, Boeing vice president of Environment, Health & Safety presented awards to Boeing's 2019 Modern-Day Technology Leaders, while also reinforcing Boeing's commitment to the environment.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

How the Circular Economy Lowers IT's Total Cost of Ownership

Feb 20, 2019 9:05 AM ET

A radical transformation in product innovation is happening today, as customers are increasingly factoring sustainability into their purchasing decisions - and it’s shifting the innovation agenda for HPE.

Diversity & Inclusion

Hallmark Is Advancing Supplier Diversity

Feb 20, 2019 9:05 AM ET

In 2017, Hallmark’s spend with diverse suppliers — those owned by minorities, women, veterans and members of the LGBTQ community — increased 12 percent from 2016 with 9 percent of its diverse spend coming from new suppliers, a 3 percent increase over the prior year.

“Our supplier diversity efforts demonstrate our commitment to promoting economic growth and sustainability within the diverse communities in which we do business,” said Mark A. Smith, Hallmark’s global procurement manager.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Pro Bono Perspectives Podcast: Episode 15 - Leigh Phillips, EARN

Feb 20, 2019 9:00 AM ET

In this episode of Pro Bono Perspectives, Leigh Phillips, CEO of EARN, shares more about her work using technology to empower low-income Americans to take charge of their financial lives. Leigh discusses the importance of bridging the savings divide and her career to date tackling issues of wealth inequality.

Environment

Moody’s Environmental Task Force

Feb 20, 2019 8:15 AM ET

Much of our business relies on the free flow of information. Inside Moody’s, the ability to gather feedback and communicate important policy and procedural changes is just as important. Established in 2017, our Environmental Task Force (ETF) helps create opportunities for employees to become directly involved in advancing sustainability.

Diversity & Inclusion

Judgement-free Support Group Helps New Moms Thrive at Work

Feb 20, 2019 8:00 AM ET

When our HR department experienced its own mini baby boom in early 2017, it was the birth of an opportunity. "We decided to pilot a Mom Circle to help working moms navigate their new normal – both at home and at the office," says AVP, Pam Yousey of Global Diversity & Inclusion.

Environment

Tetra Tech Is Delivering Innovative Water Solutions in San Antonio

Feb 20, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Tetra Tech has provided 20 years of continuous support to the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) to help diversify its water supply sources. Tetra Tech was selected as design engineer for treating brackish water using reverse osmosis technology for SAWS’ Brackish Groundwater Desalination Program in San Antonio, Texas.

Energy

How This Indiana Hospital Saved Big on Its Electric Bill

Feb 19, 2019 5:05 PM ET

You might need to spend money to make money, but sometimes you’ve got to spend money to save it, too. Putnam County Hospital in Greencastle, Ind., made extensive energy efficiency upgrades last year and earned $114,263 in incentives from Duke Energy. In addition, the hospital reaps the benefits of its investment each month when it pays less for energy.

Sustainable Development Goals

How Saipem Contributes to SDG 13: Action Against Climate Change

Feb 19, 2019 2:30 PM ET

Saipem published its first disclosure on tackling climate change, approved by its board of directors last month. The document proves Saipem’s commitment to providing effective disclosure to its stakeholders on issues that could influence the company’s operations and to demonstrating how it is equipped to run its business in the long term.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

UPS Advances Global Road Safety With Landmark Public-Private Call to Action at World Economic Forum in Davos

Feb 19, 2019 1:45 PM ET

Logging millions of miles a day delivering around the world has taught UPS a thing or two about road safety, which they are sharing through The Global Road Safety Initiative, a new partnership with the World Economic forum and Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile to improve global road safety.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Celebrating Valentine’s Day, Viacom Hollywood Fills Backpacks with Love and Supplies for the Homeless Youth of My Friend’s Place

Feb 19, 2019 1:25 PM ET

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Clif Bar Launches Ag Fund to Bolster Economic Resilience of Organic Farmers

Feb 19, 2019 1:00 PM ET

The demand for organic foods continues to increase at astounding rates. While U.S. sales of organic food and beverages totaled less than $4 billion in 1997, that number is anticipated to hit more than $100 billion by 2025.

Innovation & Technology

The Impact of Identity Theft on Foster Youth

Feb 19, 2019 12:40 PM ET

Children have always been an attractive target for identity thieves because their credit reports are clean and are often left unmonitored for many years, providing ample time to cause substantial damage to the child’s credit. Foster youth are even more vulnerable to becoming victims of identity theft because they face unique risks when it comes to identity protection and cyber security. For instance, as they go from one home to another, an expanding group of adults gain access to their private information (sensitive health information and personally identifiable information (PII)). This information is also stored in case management software and is typically accessed by several adults during their time in care, opening up opportunities for misuse.

Research, Reports & Publications

Why Sustainability Should Include Political Activity – Professor Tom Lyon in the California Management Review

Feb 19, 2019 12:30 PM ET

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives have gone mainstream, but they are missing something important: They ignore corporations’ political actions, including lobbying and campaign funding, which can drastically alter corporations’ environmental and social impact. In some cases, companies cynically engage in the strategy of “talking green while lobbying brown.” Corporations report on social and environmental sustainability metrics but typically not on political ones, which can allow them to get away with irresponsible lobbying activity.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

A Deeper Look at CECP's Year-End Investing in Society: Performance

Feb 19, 2019 12:00 PM ET

Investing in Society, CECP’s recently launched and updated compendium of data, research, and case studies illustrates innovations in corporate efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Divided into five sections – Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies – the collection of insights offers a far-reaching assessment of what leading companies are doing in each of the five focus areas.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Millennials & Money: Insights From an Often Overlooked Community

Feb 19, 2019 11:05 AM ET

As a millennial, my generation has little trust in large institutions — from governmental offices to our large banks and financial institutions. We want our money aligned with our values and desires for a more sustainable planet. We are poised to catalyze big shifts in how financial services operate.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

PayPal for Powerful Giving

Feb 19, 2019 11:00 AM ET

At PayPal, we harness the power of technology to help connect people to the causes they care about. Watch how we continually seek new ways to increase charitable giving and engage our PayPal users to make a difference in the community.

Education

Seeing the Humanity in Science

Feb 19, 2019 10:45 AM ET

During my time as an Amgen Scholar at the UC Berkeley, I have been working with Priya Moorjani’s lab, which focuses on evolutionary biology and population genetics. I have been developing and implementing a pipeline for reliably estimating the germline mutation rate in primates.

Events, Media & Communications

President Barack Obama Keynotes on Inclusion: The Time is Now

Feb 19, 2019 10:30 AM ET

The National Diversity Council will host the 2019 National Diversity and Leadership Conference on April 8-12, 2019 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel and the Renaissance Dallas Hotel. This year’s theme is “Inclusion: The Time is Now.”

Innovation & Technology

A Deep Dive into Machine Learning

Feb 19, 2019 10:15 AM ET

As part of the Enabling Technologies Initiative at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) and in partnership with Moody’s Information Technology (MIT), last year six of our employees attended a monthlong program at Google’s Machine Learning Advanced Solutions Lab in Mountain View, California.