Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

Building Capacity for STEM Nonprofits

Aug 30, 2018 11:15 AM ET

Around the world, employers are seeking highly-skilled workers to take on existing and emerging roles in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, also known as STEM. Workforce development and education, particularly as related to STEM, are two of the largest focus areas for corporate and foundation giving as well as two of the largest mission focuses for nonprofits, according to the CECP’s 2017 Giving in Numbers report. Yet, even given this great investment, gaps in STEM education still exist, leaving both employers and students without the critical thinking and analytical problem-solving skills sorely needed in our ever-changing global economy.

Sustainable Development Goals

THIS IS OUR JOURNEY: From Pushcart Operator To Businessman

Aug 30, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Every year, thousands of young Nigerians enter the labour market, academic qualification in hand, and hope in their hearts.

This was the story of Mr. Wasiu Adeyeye, an educated young man, but that hope slowly faded, as it seemed the dream job was never going to come.

Wasiu was introduced to Nescafé’s My Own Business scheme by his old school friend and fellow coffee vendor Lekan Ajayi.

“At first, when he told me about the job, I didn’t think I would be successful at it,” Wasiu says. “However, three months into the job I realised that with hard work and persistence I would succeed.”

Environment

Reef Futures Looking Up! Large Scale Coral Reef Restoration is Possible

Aug 30, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Needing to change our visual and professional perspective was the common theme behind several promising low-cost technical solutions reviewed at a recent Coral Reef Restoration Workshop. The workshop sponsored by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Mars, Inc. and Paul G. Allen Philanthropies, convened a unique multi-disciplinary coalition of scientists, NGOs, coral restoration practitioners, Government and business, in Bali, Indonesia. Its aim was to identify promising evidence-based standards to scale coral restoration efforts globally.

Environment

A Holistic Approach to Water Stewardship: 5 Strategic Considerations for Food & Beverage Companies

Aug 30, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Antea Group analyzes 5 considerations that food and beverage companies need to think about to rise to the challenge of diminishing water resources.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Hallmark President Dave Hall Helps Provide Leadership for United Way of Greater Kansas City

Aug 30, 2018 10:45 AM ET

For decades, Hallmark and its businesses have supported the United Way to improve the health, education and financial stability of the communities where its employees work and live. In 2017, Hallmark was the No. 1 giver to the United Way of Greater Kansas City, with a donation of nearly $2.3 million. Another $773,500 was pledged from other Hallmark locations for their respective United Way chapters.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Follow the Money: How Sands Cares Assists Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth

Aug 30, 2018 10:40 AM ET

Environment

PepsiCo Offers Free Resources to Help Schools Increase Recycling

Aug 30, 2018 10:20 AM ET

Global consumers now use a million plastic bottles every minute. Though most beverage bottles are made from a readily recyclable type of plastic, less than 10 percent are ultimately recycled—and up to 14 million metric tons of plastic, including discarded beverage bottles, enter the world’s oceans every year. As our growing addiction to single-use plastic becomes painfully apparent on land and sea, citizens, NGOs and other stakeholders are calling on consumer goods manufacturers to do more to reduce plastic waste.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Behind the Scenes VIDEO | Nutopia Carpet Plank Collection from Mohawk Group

Aug 30, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Our Nutopia carpet plank collection is designed to achieve petal certification by meeting stringent requirements for the Living Product Challenge. Created to transition across the floor or create defined areas in the built environment, Nutopia’s four styles can be used together as a cohesive system, or separately depending on the desired configuration, end use, and budget. Layouts can be subtle or vivid and dramatic – just like the dynamics of city life.

Green Infrastructure

Wells Fargo Commits $5 Million to Establish GRID Alternatives’ Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund

Aug 30, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) announced today a philanthropic commitment of $5 million over three years to support solar projects in tribal communities across the U.S.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Applications Now Open for The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Hometown Community Garden and Greenspace Grant Fund

Aug 30, 2018 9:15 AM ET

At ScottsMiracle-Gro, our roots run deep. This year, we’re celebrating the 150th anniversary of our company, and we contribute a big part of our success to the local community in Marysville, Ohio, who’s helped us grow over the years. That’s why we’re honored to partner with The Union County Foundation to provide more resources for garden and greenspace development in our own corporate backyard of Union County, Ohio.

Innovation & Technology

VIDEO | Barclays Citizenship Awards: Digi Dhan Team

Aug 30, 2018 9:10 AM ET

The Digi Dhan team set up Digi Dhan, meaning digital money, in partnership with the NASSCOM Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to using technology for good.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods Donates More Than 35,000 Pounds of Protein to Montana Food Bank Network

Aug 30, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Albertsons joined forces to donate more than 35,000 pounds of protein to Montana Food Bank Network. Smithfield’s contribution was part of the company’s 2018 Helping Hungry Homes® donation tour. Now in the program’s 10th year, Helping Hungry Homes® is Smithfield’s signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donation, equivalent to more than 141,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across Montana.

Health & Healthcare

PT Freeport Indonesia, a Freeport-McMoRan Company, Supports Healthcare for Indigenous Communities

Aug 30, 2018 9:00 AM ET

PT Freeport-Indonesia’s Partnership Fund for Community Development (LPMAK) provides healthcare to residents of Mimika Regency in Papua, Indonesia, at the Mitra Masyarakat Hospital in Timika.

The hospital opened in 2000 and is now a four-star accredited healthcare facility, providing access to healthcare for a previously underserved community.

Innovation & Technology

Technology Can Help Counter the Forces of Economic Concentration

Aug 30, 2018 8:55 AM ET

While the U.S. economy continues to grow, there is widespread concern that too many communities are being left behind. However, global ecommerce platforms like eBay connect small businesses to millions of buyers around the world, providing a boost to Main Street small businesses, whether they are thriving in a growth hub or faced with a deeply challenged local economy.

Education

Amgen Biotech Experience in Netherlands

Aug 30, 2018 8:10 AM ET

The Amgen Biotech Experience and DNA Labs On the Road have partnered to bring students in the Netherlands a real-world biotechnology lab experience in the classroom, helping them better understand what science is and how it influences their daily lives.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Sappi Invests in the Future of Graphics Papers at Cloquet Mill

Aug 29, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Significant upgrades were recently made to the headbox on the No. 12 Paper Machine at the Cloquet Mill, including improved dilution control.

The modifications will result in improved sheet flatness and roll quality. The previous headbox controlled basis weight through slice lip profi ling, where the shape of the discharge nozzle is defl ected slightly to spread the fiber evenly across the machine.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Sysco Improves Sustainability in Seafood Supply Chain

Aug 29, 2018 4:45 PM ET

Sysco is committed to working with suppliers to improve sustainability in our seafood supply chain through fishery improvement programs (FIPS). In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, we are working with fishermen to improve record-keeping and traceability, reduce bycatch and better manage fish stocks, helping increase the supply of sustainable seafood for current and future generations.

Green Infrastructure

Nation’s 1st Pollinator-Friendly Right-of-Way Solar Project Moves Forward in Georgia

Aug 29, 2018 4:30 PM ET

The Georgia Public Service Commission (Georgia PSC) has authorized funding for Georgia Power to construct, own and operate a one-megawatt solar array on Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) property at Exit 14 off Interstate 85, which is known as “The Ray.” Georgia will be the third state in the nation to utilize the grassy shoulder of an interstate highway, called the “right-of-way” (ROW), to generate solar energy. This unique project will pilot the use of native flowering plants as ground cover in test plots within the solar array, making Georgia the first in the nation to pilot pollinator-friendly, right-of-way solar.

Education

Mohawk Helps Revitalize Georgia Schools in Partnership With Community-focused School Crashers Program

Aug 29, 2018 4:30 PM ET

This year many Georgia schoolchildren will work and play in classrooms and media spaces with a fresh look and energy due in part to Mohawk Industries and the Georgia United Credit Union School Crashers℠ program.

Since the program’s inception five years ago, Mohawk has partnered with the Georgia-based credit union to “crash” select community schools and give them much-needed renovations. Each year hundreds of schools apply for facility makeovers, providing a list of their needs, and School Crashers chooses the lucky winners.

Education

Sodexo Revolutionizes High School Cafeteria Experience with Launch of Innovative Taste4 Dining Concept

Aug 29, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company that provides student nutrition to nearly 400 school districts throughout the U.S., has launched Taste4, a new meal concept that revamps the classics - salads and wraps, deli sandwiches, pasta, grilled favorites, pizza – and elevates school lunch for today’s sophisticated palettes.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Sustainable Investing at Northern Trust

Aug 29, 2018 3:10 PM ET

The foundation of Northern Trust's responsible investment principles is that we act in a manner to protect our clients’ financial well-being.

Sustainable Development Goals

To Reduce Post-Harvest Loss, Start With a Sustaining End in Mind 

Aug 29, 2018 3:05 PM ET

What does success look like? For farmers, a successful season should look like a bountiful harvest translated into a bountiful profit.

Education

Keep America Beautiful Kicks Off Eighth Annual Recycle-Bowl

Aug 29, 2018 2:35 PM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, announces the launch of the eighth annual Recycle-Bowl youth recycling competition. Registration for this incentive-based recycling competition is open to all public and private schools in the United States.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Verdani Partners Becomes a Fitwel Champion, Pursues Groundbreaking Fitwel Certifications in Collaboration With Clarion Partners, LLC for Largest Impact From One Company

Aug 29, 2018 1:15 PM ET

Six Properties in New York Metro Area, Managed by Clarion Partners and Submitted by Verdani Partners, To Be Recognized by Fitwel as the Largest-Scale Contribution By One Company to Resident Health and Well-being to Date. Verdani Partners is a third-party consultancy wholly owned by Clarion Partners, LLC, a Legg Mason company.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Impact at Work: Mission Economic Development Agency Project Spotlight

Aug 29, 2018 11:15 AM ET

In June 2017, Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) reached out to Common Impact to engage the support of a skilled volunteer team in achieving an important but challenging organizational goal – one that many nonprofit organizations are similarly striving to attain. MEDA's mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development. To ensure their work would be truly impactful and align with core themes in racial justice, MEDA’s leadership aimed to create a workplace that was reflective of the community it served.