Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

TCFD and CDSB Launch Knowledge Hub to Help Organizations Implement the TCFD Recommendations

May 9, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Today the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) announced the launch of the TCFD Knowledge Hub – a platform with relevant insights, tools and resources to help organizations implement the TCFD recommendations – at the TCFD U.S. Scenario Analysis Conference in New York.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Shared Value Summit 2018 Reflection

May 9, 2018 11:00 AM ET

When Common Impact’s clients ask me what events they should attend to understand the next generation of CSR, employee engagement and for-purpose business, I always point them to the Shared Value Initiative (SVI). SVI held its annual summit this past week in the (finally sunny!) downtown NYC, where hundreds of business, investment and social sector professionals met to hear and discuss the latest in driving a social, environmental and financial bottom line at once.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Social Value Canada Announces SROI (Social Return on Investment) Training for Calgary and Toronto

May 9, 2018 10:30 AM ET

May 30-31, 2018 in Calgary and June 13-14, 2018 in Toronto, join Social Value Canada for SROI Accreditation training. The course is a requirement for all individuals seeking accreditation by the SROI International Network.

Research, Reports & Publications

INFOGRAPHIC: Environmental Stewardship at Smithfield Foods

May 9, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Learn more about Smithfield’s ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its progress toward its 2020 environmental targets in its 2017 Sustainability Report at smithfieldfoods.com/environment.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

How Taiwanese Companies Are Responding to the Sustainable Development Goals

May 9, 2018 10:20 AM ET

Climate change is a global challenge, and financial, supply chain and other related risks derived from climate change are among the top of the list of potential major impact risks. Taiwanese companies, like many global companies around the world, are beginning to realize the severity of the situation. Taiwanese businesses are using the Sustainable Development Goals to help guide progress and business operations for the future.

Education

Arrow Electronics Funds Teacher Training in Colorado's Cherry Creek School District

May 9, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Arrow Electronics is expanding its support of innovation in the Cherry Creek School District by helping to fund a new teacher-training initiative. In June, the district will begin partnering with the Buck Institute for Education to train 550 teachers across all grades and several disciplines on how to teach project-based learning.

Social Impact & Volunteering

VIDEO | Garden Time Provides Incarcerated Individuals Hope for the Future

May 9, 2018 9:25 AM ET

We’ve seen firsthand how gardens transform communities, but even more so, people’s lives. Here’s the story of one of those gardens, Garden Time in Providence, Rhode Island.

Education

HP Education Solutions Increase Access to Quality Learning Around the World

May 9, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Around the world, hundreds of millions of people lack access to quality learning opportunities, including 264 million children living in communities where basic educational resources are unavailable. To address this inequity, HP is working with other companies, nonprofit organizations, and governments to create technology solutions that can connect individuals to educational opportunities wherever they live.

Diversity & Inclusion

capABLE, an Employee Resource Group at Consumers Energy

May 9, 2018 9:15 AM ET

capABLE, an employee resource group at Consumers Energy, aims to remove barriers, open minds, and create pathways to meaningful work for current and future employees of all abilities.

Green Infrastructure

WELL Story: Francesca Galeazzi, Team Leader for Sustainability & Simulation at Arup

May 9, 2018 9:15 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar Helps Customers Build a Better World

May 9, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) is illustrating how it’s helping customers build a better world in the company’s recently published 2017 Annual Report and Sustainability Report.

Events, Media & Communications

SCS' Stanley Mathuram to Speak at International Sustainable Cities Conference

May 9, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Green building professionals, building owners, architects, specifiers and manufacturers convene this coming weekend in San José, Costa Rica, May 17-18, for a conference featuring the latest updates in environmental and sustainability innovation in the building sector. One of the industry’s best-known third-party certification and standards experts, Stanley Mathuram of SCS Global Services, will be among the featured presenters at this year’s International Sustainable Cities Conference (CICS 2018), sponsored by the Green Building Council of Costa Rica (GBCCR).

Social Impact & Volunteering

Xylem Hosts Second Annual “Make Your Mark 30 Day Challenge”

May 9, 2018 9:00 AM ET

In celebration of World Water Day on March 22 and Earth Day on April 22, Xylem hosted the second annual Make Your Mark 30 Day Challenge, a month-long event that encourages employees to engage in efforts to solve global and local water and environmental issues. The 30 Day Challenge is a signature event of Xylem Watermark, the company’s corporate citizenship platform aimed at providing and protecting safe water resources in communities in need and educating people about water issues. This year, 1700 employees volunteered in more than 190 water-related activities across 93 Xylem sites, including leading students through water presentations and water monitoring, and building water towers in communities that lack access to clean drinking water.

Sustainable Development Goals

Cerro Verde, a Freeport-McMoRan Company, Supports Micro and Small Enterprise Development

May 9, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde (SMCV) contracted with Cáritas Arequipa to educate and train a group of Uchumayan women in Arequipa, Peru, in Cosmetology. The program required 300 hours of coursework and practical training. In December 2017, 26 Uchumayinas graduated from the program, and were supplied with cosmetology and salon supplies in order to be able to start their own businesses with the necessary tools.

Diversity & Inclusion

GLAAD Media Awards Honor ‘This Is Us,’ ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ and More From 21CF for Outstanding LGBTQ Storytelling

May 9, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Three television projects from 21st Century Fox businesses took home top honors at the 29th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York City on May 5, including Twentieth Century Fox Television’s This Is Us, FOX’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and National Geographic’s Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric. The awards recognize media and entertainment for fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, as well as the issues that affect their lives.

Events, Media & Communications

World Business Leaders to Share New Sustainable Vision in June

May 9, 2018 5:00 AM ET

Ethical Corporation is delighted to confirm that the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Environment UK Government and CEOs from; United Nations Global Compact, Allianz, L’Oréal, Oxfam, VF Corp, LEO Pharma, GRI, Hermes Investment, American Institute of AI, KEMET Corporation, IIRC will share their visions for a sustainable and transformational business at the 17th Responsible Business Summit Europe (London, 13-14 June).

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Channeling New Power

May 8, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms have written a new book entitled New Power: How Power Works in our Hyperconnected World and How to Make it Work for You, which builds off a Harvard Business Review article, Understanding New Power, written by these authors in 2014. Jeremy Heimans is a co-founder and CEO of Purpose, a social business that builds movements, and Henry Timms is executive director of the 92nd Street Y and one of the co-founders of Giving Tuesday in 2012.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

SC Johnson Awards $100,000 to Racine-Area Schools, Continuing Commitment to Literacy

May 8, 2018 4:35 PM ET

SC Johnson today announced the winners of a student essay competition and awarded $100,000 to Racine-area schools as part of the company’s longstanding commitment to literacy. The results were announced at a celebration event for the company’s Racine Wonders literacy program, which kicked off in January 2018 with distribution of the book “Wonder” to 9,000 area students. SC Johnson also surprised the 250 students in attendance with Kindle Fire tablets to further encourage a love of reading.

Research, Reports & Publications

Smithfield Foods’ Report Recaps Significant Progress, New Initiatives in Environmental Efforts

May 8, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. announced the release of the Environment section of its 17th sustainability report. This section, the second installment in the report, highlights the company’s ambitious goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and its progress toward its 2020 environmental targets.

“In 2017, we made meaningful progress toward our goal to reduce our environmental impact while meeting the growing global demand for pork,” said Stewart Leeth, vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. “We continue to address environmental concerns through innovation and ongoing improvement which creates value for our stakeholders and supports the communities where our employees live and work.”

Energy

More Renewable Energy Helps Fight Climate Change

May 8, 2018 4:00 PM ET

The Smart Electric Power Alliance has announced that SCE was No. 1 in battery storage and No. 2 in delivering solar energy to its customers. The alliance’s 11th annual survey, which includes more than 400 utilities, determined the top-10 rankings.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Universal Health Coverage: Filling the Gaps Through International Partnerships

May 8, 2018 3:50 PM ET

Achieving universal health coverage is target 3.8 of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3—to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.” More than this, providing universal health coverage, which includes access to high quality, affordable health services and essential medicines, is necessary to achieve all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Societies overwhelmed with the burden of disease cannot combat other sources of inequality and injustice. Investing in the local health workforce is a necessary step to reducing the social and economic impacts of injury and illness, and ultimately to achieving universal health coverage.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Northern Trust Tempe Partners Used Paid Volunteer Hours and Collaborated with St.Vincent De Paul of Arizona

May 8, 2018 3:45 PM ET

Our Tempe partners used their paid volunteer hours and collaborated with St.Vincent De Paul of Arizona to make pizzas for those in need in the community!

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Erb Institute and Ross School of Business Professor, Andy Hoffman Honored with 2017 Aspen Institute "Ideas Worth Teaching Award"

May 8, 2018 3:15 PM ET

Professor Andy Hoffman was honored today as a recipient of the 2017 Ideas Worth Teaching Awards for his class on Sustainable Business in Iceland offered through Global Initiatives at the Ross School of Business.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Yum! Brands Earns Spot on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 2018 100 Best Corporate Citizens List

May 8, 2018 3:05 PM ET

Yum! Brands has once again been named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list by Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CR Magazine) for its commitment to sustainable business practices.

“We’re proud to be recognized again this year by CR Magazine because it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to building sustainable brands that people trust and champion,” said Jon Hixson, VP of Government Relations and Global Citizenship for Yum! Brands. “As a global franchisor, we take our role as a global citizen and the impact of our brands on society very seriously. We’re on a journey to serve food people trust, grow sustainably and unlock the potential of our people by focusing on what our many internal and external stakeholders truly care about.”

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

3 Volunteering Engagement Lessons Corporations Can Learn from Nonprofits

May 8, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Learn how you can apply three volunteer engagement best practices, taken from organizations who rely on volunteers to accomplish their mission. The result? Higher employee participation rates and employee volunteer engagement.