Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

The Girl on the Balcony

Feb 2, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Millions have seen the image. Moments after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, photographer Joseph Louw captured the moment when those with Dr. King on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel all pointed to an area across the street.

Green Infrastructure

Super Bowl LII Catalyzes Zero-Waste Legacy

Feb 2, 2018 3:30 PM ET

This weekend, the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will attract over 66,000 people for the Super Bowl – not to mention the 100 million viewers who will be watching across the country. While much of the day’s focus will be on the players and the ads, this year’s organizers are also spotlighting another, greener aspect of the game: engaging fans throughout the evening to create the first ever zero-waste Super Bowl.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Pro Football Hall of Famer and Cancer Survivor Jim Kelly Joins Merck to Challenge America to Raise Funds for the Cancer Community

Feb 2, 2018 3:25 PM ET

With an estimated 1.6 million Americans diagnosed in 2017 alone, cancer not only impacts those diagnosed but their friends and family as well. In recognition of World Cancer Day on Sunday, Feb. 4, Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, along with Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Kelly is asking all Americans to join the Your Cancer Game Plan Challenge, a social awareness effort to help raise funds to support cancer patient organizations.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Empowering Entrepreneurs: Interview With Gayle Grindley, Investing in Future Generations

Feb 2, 2018 3:05 PM ET

Gayle Grindley, Natural Channel Sales Director for Unilever, has travelled with Whole Planet Foundation and met microcredit clients in Austin, San Diego, Phoenix, in Guatemala in Central America (pictured), in Paraguay, South America and in Togo, West Africa.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Earns Highest Marks in RobecoSAM’s “Sustainability Yearbook” for Eleventh Straight Year

Feb 2, 2018 2:45 PM ET

Award recognizes companies that through their Corporate Responsibility efforts are acting to “help realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”

Environment

New Regulations in California Brought More Haulers into the Food Recovery World

Feb 2, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Innovation & Technology

FCA US LLC Set to Deliver Thousands of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Minivans to Waymo's Self-Driving Service

Feb 2, 2018 1:45 PM ET

FCA US LLC announced an agreement to supply thousands of Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans to Waymo to support the launch of the world’s first driverless ride-hailing service. Vehicle delivery begins in late 2018 with Pacifica Hybrid minivans to be deployed across multiple U.S. cities.

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact Announces New Business Action Platform for the Ocean

Feb 2, 2018 1:05 PM ET

Today, the United Nations Global Compact announced the formation of a Business Action Platform for the Ocean — a three-year global programme bringing together business, civil society, the UN and Governments to advance the ocean economy and sustainable development. The programme is part of a broader portfolio of Action Platforms introduced by the UN Global Compact to facilitate the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Global Goals.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Michigan 2-1-1: State-of-the-Art Planning Keeps Residents Warm

Feb 2, 2018 12:15 PM ET

Last month, when sub-zero temperatures swept through Midwestern and Northeastern states, one centralized agency in Michigan was already marshalling resources to help those in need. Michigan 2-1-1, a state-supported consortium of nonprofits, businesses, governments and private citizens were on staff to help Michigan residents cope with record-setting temperature lows.

Events, Media & Communications

Call-to-Action on Long-Term Plan Communications to Investors

Feb 2, 2018 12:00 PM ET

To meet the growing need of leading institutional investors for a longer-term view, the investors in CECP’s Strategic Investor Initiative’s (SII) Advisory Board released a letter—signed by Bill McNabb, Chairman, Vanguard and 9 other leading investors--with a call-to-action to reframe communications between CEOs, companies, and investors to focus on long-term value creation.

Events, Media & Communications

Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility Welcomes 2018 Faculty

Feb 2, 2018 11:30 AM ET

The Institute for CSR, now in its fifth year, was designed by and for the CSR field as a practical, interactive, and affordable professional development opportunity. Over the course of four, two-day sessions, participants learn from some of the field’s most innovative thinkers, authors, and practitioners and expand their professional networks learning alongside CSR peers from across the country.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Forbes Ranks Consumers Energy As the Best Employer for Diversity in Michigan

Feb 2, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Consumers Energy is ranked by Forbes magazine as the best employer for diversity in Michigan. The energy provider placed 13th overall in Forbes’s list of America’s best employers for diversity from all industries across the nation, and is the only company in the “utilities” category in the top 100 of the listing.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Summit Draws Major Investors With $30 Trillion in AUM to Map Out Next Steps on Tackling Climate Risk and Seizing Low-carbon Opportunities

Feb 2, 2018 11:20 AM ET

More than 450 investor, company and capital market leaders convened at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk today to map out the next steps for increased action on climate change. The strong showing of leaders, who ranged from institutional investors to state and city pension fund fiduciaries to corporate executives, demonstrated the growing mainstream attention to the greatest threat of our generation.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Arrow Electronics Again Named to FORTUNE’s Most Admired Companies List

Feb 2, 2018 11:20 AM ET

FORTUNE named global technology-solutions provider Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) to its “World’s Most Admired Companies” list for the 18th time. For the fifth consecutive year, Arrow placed first in the “Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment” category based on input from industry executives, directors and analysts.

Environment

Duke Energy Renewables Protects Eagles with IdentiFlight System

Feb 2, 2018 11:10 AM ET

Duke Energy Renewables has announced it has ordered 24 IdentiFlight® units to be installed at its Top of the World Windpower Project in Wyoming as part of its comprehensive avian protection program.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Marina Bay Sands Team Members Share: What Volunteerism Means to Me

Feb 2, 2018 10:05 AM ET

When Mount Pinatubo erupted on the Luzon Island of the Philippines in 1991, hundreds of people lost their lives while thousands were displaced. It was the second largest eruption recorded in recent history. Marina Bay Sands’ Operational Evaluation and Analysis Manager, Charlene Ong, who was 10 years old at the time, followed her parents as they set up a donation drive to collect necessities for the victims in Manila and also volunteered at the medical and dental missions to help victims in remote villages in the Philippines. Through this experience, Ong realized she could positively impact the lives of others in her community and make a difference to those in need. With her parents as a source of inspiration, she embarked on her own volunteerism journey and has not looked back since.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Morgan Stanley Announces Creation of Innovative Play Spaces for Children in 14 Cities With KaBOOM!

Feb 2, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the creation of 14 new play spaces for children through a Morgan Stanley Foundation grant to KaBOOM! and the hands-on efforts of hundreds of its employees throughout the U.S. this year. With our partners and volunteers we will be building two physical playgrounds in Boston and Atlanta and providing creative play grants in 12 cities to provide local nonprofits an Imagination Playground or Rigamjig, which allow for year-round actvitiy in areas with limited space or inclement weather.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Race Weekend: Bank Awards Top Finishers Of Student Run/Relay

Feb 2, 2018 10:00 AM ET

SCOTIABANK awarded the top finishers of the Student Run Relay segment of the Annual Sunshine Insurance Race Weekend. The top finishers, in the straight and mixed divisions, were presented with trophies and giftbags during a special ceremony hosted by Scotiabank.

Diversity & Inclusion

Deaf Kids Code & Show How Digital Is Great Equalizer

Feb 2, 2018 9:55 AM ET

Shireen Hafeez is the founder of Deaf Kids Code, a nonprofit working to bridge the economic and social gaps among deaf children and adults. She has been an advocate and lobbyist for deaf kids because her own son is deaf – and she believes that computer science, technology, and design thinking skills can break down the barriers that have prevented deaf people in the past from getting jobs and fully participating in society.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

GM Named to CDP Supplier Water A List

Feb 2, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Water management is core to making GM’s global operations more efficient. It includes working towards the goal of reducing water intensity by 15 percent by 2020, from a 2010 baseline. It also includes improving supply chain engagement in water use globally. In the recent study by CDP, the non-profit global environmental disclosure platform, GM was awarded a position on the Supplier Water A List, in recognition of its actions to address environmental issues.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Subaru Named One of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality by the Human Rights Campaign

Feb 2, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Every year, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) creates a list of the best places to work based on criteria surrounding LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality. For 2018, Subaru was given the title of being one of the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Response to WSJ’s “Stocks Weren’t Made for Social Climbing”

Feb 2, 2018 9:15 AM ET

Andy Kessler made some interesting points in his piece, “Stocks Weren’t Made for Social Climbing." Chiefly, we at CECP: The CEO Force for Good, agree with his emphasis on the importance of profits. The issue is how you get there and how to create sustainable value, not just short-term gains. When he suggests that to invest in socially motivated companies, one is passing up gains, he proceeds from a false dichotomy. Properly realized, the value proposition of a corporation—its outputs, its employee and community relations, its returns, and, yes, its philanthropy—are not linear; they are circular.

Environment

NFL, PepsiCo and U.S. Bank Stadium Partners Including Aramark, SMG and The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority Team up to Score First Zero Waste Legacy Project at Super Bowl LII

Feb 2, 2018 8:30 AM ET

The NFL, in partnership with PepsiCo, Aramark, U.S. Bank Stadium and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, announced Rush2Recycle, a game plan to recover more than 90% - more than 40 tons - of stadium waste at Super Bowl LII on Sunday, Feb. 4. After months of preparation to eradicate trash materials from the stadium, the 90%+ gameday goal will maximize recycling and composting. This zero waste effort aims to leave a positive green legacy at U.S. Bank Stadium and in the Super Bowl host city, and create a playbook for other leagues, teams, site operators and fans to intercept waste in their communities.

Environment

Schneider Electric Forms Green Partnership With Logistics Company

Feb 2, 2018 8:20 AM ET

Schneider Electric has signed a new contract with Bolloré Logistics, an international logistics, and freight forwarding company. The contract will see energy management and automation company Schneider Electric assist in the upgrade of the power management systems at Bolloré Logistics Singapore headquarters.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

SodexoMyWay Wins Celebrated Award for Digital Communication

Feb 2, 2018 8:10 AM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company, announced today that it has been recognized as an AVA Digital Award winner, sponsored and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), for Florida State University’s SodexoMyWay Dining Website. The website was one of 2,500 entries submitted throughout the world and was chosen as a 2018 Gold Winner for its outstanding achievement in digital communication.