Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

GAF Donates Roofing to Habitat for Humanity for Sixth Consecutive Year

Dec 1, 2016 2:50 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MGM Resorts International Achieves Spot on Prominent List of ‘Best Companies for Diversity’ for 10th Year

Dec 1, 2016 2:30 PM ET

For the tenth year, Black Enterprise (BE) magazine has named MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) one of the "Best Companies for Diversity" in the U.S. based on MGM Resorts’ diversity and inclusion practices. MGM Resorts (the “Company”) is the only company in the gaming industry, and the only company based in Nevada, to be named to the magazine’s list this year.

Education

Arrow Electronics Donates Educational Tablets to Tuleeni Orphanage

Dec 1, 2016 2:25 PM ET

Arrow Electronics recently donated 50 refurbished tablet computers to the children of the Tuleeni Orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. The tablet donation is an extension of the global technology company’s ongoing support of the remote orphanage.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $95.2 Million for Affordable Housing Development in Auburn, WA

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

KeyBank’s Community Development Lending & Investing (CDLI) group announced today it has provided $95.2 million in tax exempt bond financing to construct almost 600 units of 4% LIHTC affordable apartments in Auburn, Washington, called the Villas at Auburn and the Reserve at Auburn. Upon completion, the Villas at Auburn will offer 295 units of affordable housing for families; the Reserve at Auburn will offer 297 units of affordable housing for seniors. Both projects will serve residents making 60 percent or less of the area median income.

Health & Healthcare

Pfizer Foundation Grantee North Star Alliance Uses Innovative Approach to Provide Care “At the Right Locations and at the Right Time”

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Eva Mwai is the Regional Director for East Africa with North Star Alliance, which has built a network of 36 roadside clinics made from refurbished shipping containers throughout 11 countries in Africa. North Star Alliance’s clinics provide health services along major transportation routes using scalable and sustainable practices. This unique public-private partnership model provides low-cost primary and sexual healthcare to mobile, at-risk individuals.

Environment

How Advances in Digital Technology are Unlocking Water’s Circular Potential

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

We need to change our relationship with water to ensure that communities and businesses can thrive today and tomorrow, and the circular economy must be part of the solution. Water can no longer be considered an inexpensive, “use and dispose” commodity but should be valued as a reusable asset and growth enabler. Yet today, less than three percent of wastewater is recycled. In the United States, industry reuses far less than ten percent of the fresh water used for industrial processes. The identification of waste in terms of resources, capacity, lifecycle and embedded value that is the building block of the circular economy, must also be fully applied to water cycles.

Education

Starting-Up Sustainability: Back to the Future

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Back in the 80’s, when SCS Global Services was a start-up and everyone wanted to time travel in Doc’s DeLorean, recycled content was the cutting edge environmental technology claim pursued by innovative product and packaging manufacturers. Today’s start-ups bring us self-driving vehicles and face an increasingly complex landscape of sustainability requirements demanded by customers.

Environment

National Conservation Program gets $500K Boost from Duke Energy

Dec 1, 2016 1:05 PM ET

The National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Energy for Wildlife program received a recent boost thanks to a $500,000 Duke Energy Foundation grant to conserve or enhance more than 6,000 acres of critical habitat across Florida, the Carolinas and Indiana.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Norfolk Southern Named a Military Friendly® Employer for Supporting Veterans

Dec 1, 2016 12:45 PM ET

Veterans in search of jobs that pay well and offer career advancement will find Norfolk Southern among 210 companies recently recognized for being military friendly. Norfolk Southern was named to the list of 2017 Military Friendly® Employers by Victory Media, a veteran-owned publisher of G.I. Jobs, Military Spouse, STEM, and Vetrepreneur magazines. This is the 10th year that Norfolk Southern has appeared on the list, which features companies with a proven record of hiring and supporting veterans in the workplace

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Five Inspirational Companies to Watch in 2017

Dec 1, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Corporate philanthropy is focused on heart and luckily, more companies are finding ways to incorporate giving and heart into their own business practices. Employees want to give back and participate in the community, candidates watch potential employers closely when considering applications and consumers are as vigilant on cause work as ever.

Events, Media & Communications

The Message of Thomas Friedman’s New Book: It’s Going to Be O.K.

Dec 1, 2016 12:25 PM ET

From Donald Trump to Brexit to Marine Le Pen, one thing that unites the unhappy West is a profound sense of mystification. Across Europe and North America, people have an acute feeling that their world is accelerating away from them — but they can’t quite understand why.

Innovation & Technology

Technology Adoption in the Philanthropic Sector: A Conversation with Lisa Pool, Executive Director of Technology Affinity Group (TAG)

Dec 1, 2016 11:20 AM ET

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good Podcast, Jamie Serino speaks with Lisa Pool, Executive Director of Technology Affinity Group (TAG), a non-profit membership organization that promotes the power of technology to advance the goals of the philanthropic sector.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Wendy’s Believes in Giving Back

Dec 1, 2016 10:45 AM ET

Our founder Dave Thomas believed everyone has an obligation to put back into life more than what they take out. With that in mind, Wendy’s was founded with the belief that a company should do more than just sell a product or service. We believe in giving back to our local communities and continuing Dave’s legacy, which is why Give Something Back is one of our brand’s core values.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotiabank Announces $1 Million Gift Supporting Research Aimed at Improving Children's Health

Dec 1, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Scotiabank has announced a $1 million gift to one of the top biomedical research institutes in North America to support discovery of the determinants of health for infants and children. The announcement was made on Monday, November 21, at Sinai Health Foundation's marquee event Dinner with Scientists.

Energy

Connecting an Untapped Market

Dec 1, 2016 10:30 AM ET

With operations in Asia, Solar energy provider Buffalo Grid has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) by committing to reach 27 million people with solar energy and reduce global CO2 emissions by 11,771 tons while creating jobs for 74,000 local entrepreneurs – all by 2020.

Events, Media & Communications

Quo Vadis on Sustainability Issues in 2017 -- As a New Administration & New Congress Come to Town?

Dec 1, 2016 10:20 AM ET

Are you holding your breath after the November elections? Wondering where corporate sustainability or sustainable investing goes from here? What our public sector positioning may be on issues of importance to the corporate or capital markets communities?

Environment

2017 Collegiate RecycleMania Competition Opens Registration

Dec 1, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Registration for new and returning colleges and universities is now open for the 2017 RecycleMania, the premier collegiate recycling competition. The 2017 RecycleMania competition, managed by national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful, will kick off on Feb. 5 and run for eight weeks in conjunction with the final weeks of the collegiate basketball season and tournament games.

Innovation & Technology

The Ripple Effect: How HPE Technology Helps Customers to Create a Better World

Dec 1, 2016 9:50 AM ET

HPE has worked with the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and other partners to create Hikari, the world’s first solar powered supercomputer. TACC’s mission is to enable discoveries that advance science and society through the application of advanced computing technologies.

Education

CITGO Launches the CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline Educational Program, Announces Grants to Expand Learning and Career Opportunities

Dec 1, 2016 9:30 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

Antea Group Practitioner Spotlight--Caron Koll

Dec 1, 2016 9:25 AM ET

Every month Antea Group takes a closer look at one of our practitioners--their background, what they love about their work, and what makes them tick. This month, we spotlight environmental liability management consultant Caron Koll, out of the Syracuse office. Caron talks to us about what she loves about her work, her first job, and the historial character she'd most like to work with.

Diversity & Inclusion

Million Women Mentors Reaches the One Million Mentors Pledge Mark

Dec 1, 2016 8:55 AM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Embracing Change: A Five-Step Process

Dec 1, 2016 8:20 AM ET

How do you help an organization embrace change? While not simple, there is a manageable five-step process that will help you manage the change so that it doesn’t manage you.

Health & Healthcare

How to Help Kids Get Healthy and Active: Start with Schools

Dec 1, 2016 8:05 AM ET

With childhood obesity rates skyrocketing, a group of educators and officials in 2002 decided to enlist the community’s help. Underscoring then U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher’s declaration that American obesity had become an epidemic, they created the public-private partnership Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK).

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Albertsons and Safeway Donate Holiday Hope to the Marian House

Dec 1, 2016 7:55 AM ET

Innovation & Technology

Microsoft Offers Grants to Organizations Working to Improve Affordable Internet Access

Dec 1, 2016 6:00 AM ET

On Thursday, Microsoft Corp. renewed its Affordable Access Initiative grant fund for a second year. The fund assists companies working to bring internet access and new technologies, services and models to underserved markets. The application process is now open for a new set of partners.