Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

City Accelerator Expands to Five More U.S. Cities With a Focus on Strengthening Local Procurement Practices to Promote Economic Opportunity

Jun 22, 2017 11:00 AM ET

The Citi Foundation and Living Cities today announced the expansion of the City Accelerator program to five additional U.S. cities – Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, and Milwaukee. The five cities will work together over the next year to refine their approach to procurement spending, pursuing at least one new strategy to increase the diversity of municipal vendors and contractors and direct more spend to local minority-owned businesses.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

2017 Voya Scholars Winner Klajdi Qoku

Jun 22, 2017 10:50 AM ET

Congratulations to Klajdi Qoku, who is one of five students to receive a $10,000 scholarship from Voya Scholars – a collaborative program launched by Voya Financial, in collaboration with its nonprofit partner, Scholarship America.

Diversity & Inclusion

Northern Trust Celebrates Pride Month

Jun 22, 2017 10:40 AM ET

We are celebrating pride month at Northern Trust! Northern Trust is proud of our 100% score on The Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Domtar Supports Elimination of Illegal Logging Through Lacey Act

Jun 22, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Illegal logging has some obvious effects, such as the destruction of forests and ecosystems, but it also results in economic and social effects that aren’t always apparent.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Volunteering at Local Food Bank in Idaho

Jun 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Amgen recognizes the importance of giving back to our local communities. Rob, an INBU Biopharmaceutical Sales Rep in Idaho, volunteers his time at a local soup kitchen.

Energy

NRG Energy's Sustainable Operations Goals and Performance

Jun 22, 2017 9:30 AM ET

NRG always looks for ways to systematically improve environmental and community outcomes from our facilities’ operations while ensuring efficiency, reliability and stakeholder value. Focus areas within Sustainable Operations include safety, GHG emissions and carbon utilization, water, industrial waste and biodiversity.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Consumers Energy Honors Senior Citizen of the Year

Jun 22, 2017 9:15 AM ET

A 100-year-old Kalamazoo woman who Consumers Energy honored with the statewide Senior Citizen of the Year award appeared on “The Lori Moore Show” on WWMT-TV(Kalamazoo), as well as Whitney Skeans, the Company’s customer assistance manager. Consumers Energy is an Older Michiganians Day sponsor and a Senior Citizen of the Year award partner.

Environment

Nature Reserve Run by De Beers Group Aids Eagle Jenny's Recovery

Jun 22, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Managers in the De Beers Ecology division and staff at the Dronfield Nature Reserve offered the use of the reserve after hearing what happened to the bird.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Building Thriving Local Food Systems

Jun 22, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Meet Rita Henderson: Connecting Thousands of Employees to Serve Their Communities

Jun 22, 2017 9:05 AM ET

Rita Henderson is one of the Faces of Nestlé driving a positive impact on individuals & families, communities, and our planet.

Environment

JetBlue’s Action Plan to Cut Back Emissions

Jun 22, 2017 9:05 AM ET

We’re coming at greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction from all angles. Since committing to international carbon neutral growth from 2020, the question is no longer, when? It’s, how?

Energy

Unreasonable Impact | Harnessing the Sun to Help End Poverty: Q&A with Off Grid Electric

Jun 22, 2017 8:45 AM ET

Off Grid Electric is the world’s first distributed clean energy utility, providing affordable, solar energy to households that struggle with spotty or nonexistent grid access. They sell solar energy systems on a pay-as-you-go, lease-to-own model – costing some homes as little as $7 a month. That way, customers don’t have to worry about making a daunting financial investment upfront.

Diversity & Inclusion

Inspiring Milestone at Cerro Negro

Jun 22, 2017 8:00 AM ET

This month marks a landmark event for Cerro Negro, the Argentine mining industry and specifically one individual; Yanina Colman. With the completion of her underground operator training program she not only represents the first female operator at the Mariana Norte mine and the Cerro Negro complex but is also a trailblazer within Argentina as the only known female underground miner. We sat down with her to learn more about her journey and what drove her towards becoming a miner.

Research, Reports & Publications

Danish Energy Company Reduces Emissions Faster Than Science Demands

Jun 22, 2017 5:00 AM ET

DONG Energy announces that its target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 96% by 2023 is now officially approved by the Science Based Target initiative as aligned with climate science.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Camden Habitat for Humanity and Subaru Build a Brighter Future in Camden, NJ

Jun 21, 2017 6:05 PM ET

CAMDEN, NJ, June 21, 2017 /3BL Media/ - Camden County Habitat for Humanity and Subaru of America, Inc. volunteers recently raised the walls on a new house on Royden Street, in Camden, New Jersey. Tom Doll, president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. and 12 Subaru volunteers joined Camden County Habitat for Humanity, on June 16, to begin building a new home and a bright future for The Martinez Family, Jessica, her six-year-old son Ethan and baby girl arriving in September. Jessica is a single parent, who works a full-time job and goes to school. She is looking forward to having a place for her kids to call home. A place where Ethan can share his love of sports with his new sister.

Environment

Boeing's 2017 Environment Report: 2016 Goals at a Glance

Jun 21, 2017 5:45 PM ET

Boeing’s commitment to global environmental leadership is focused on key goals and targets which reflect the three tenets of our environmental strategy.

Environment

Michael Bloomberg Praises China, Pans Trump On Climate Change

Jun 21, 2017 5:40 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Ecolab Recognized as One of the 50 Most Community-Minded Companies in the United States

Jun 21, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Ecolab Inc. was recognized by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service, as one of the most community-minded companies in the U.S. The 2017 Civic 50 list, announced June 20, recognizes companies that use their time, skills and other resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they operate.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Points of Light Names Comcast NBCUniversal One of America's Most Community-Minded Companies

Jun 21, 2017 3:55 PM ET

For the fourth consecutive year, Comcast NBCUniversal has been named to “The Civic 50,” which recognizes the most community-minded companies in the nation, by Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MGM Resorts International Named to The Civic 50 List as One of the Most Community-Minded Companies in the Country by Points of Light

Jun 21, 2017 3:00 PM ET

MGM Resorts International was named to The Civic 50 list of America's most community-minded companies by Points of Light, the largest organization in the world dedicated to volunteer service. The company was recognized as a result of its participation in an annual survey used to identify companies for their exemplary commitment and activities to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

UPS Recognized As Top Community-Minded Company On 2017 Civic 50 List

Jun 21, 2017 2:00 PM ET

UPS today was named among the 2017 Civic 50 community-minded companies by the Points of Light organization. This marks the fourth year UPS has been recognized for its community engagement and philanthropic efforts.

Education

Bechtel Inspires School Children to ‘Dream Big’ About Careers in Engineering

Jun 21, 2017 1:45 PM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Highlights from Taproot Foundation's Corporate Convening at the U.S. Pro Bono Summit

Jun 21, 2017 1:35 PM ET

The Taproot Foundation's U.S. Pro Bono Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from across sectors and industries with a shared vision to make the talents and skills of the business community accessible to social change organizations.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Three Quality of Lifehacks for Handling Vacation Season at Work

Jun 21, 2017 1:25 PM ET

Vacations are essential for improving employee quality of life. A major U.S. longitudinal study of 12,000 middle-aged men found that taking an annual vacation is associated with reduced risk of death due to heart disease. Vacations also improve employee performance. Iowa State University economics professor Wallace Huffman found vacations can boost productivity as much as 60 percent for up to two months following the vacation. Yet, Glassdoor.com reports that many employees are not using their full paid-time off allotment.

As summer swings into high gear, it’s vacation season in offices across America. With temperatures high and the kids out of school, it behooves employers to encourage employees to use some of their paid time off.

Media & Communications

Corporate Philanthropy and Social Media: Engaging Your Audience, Elevating Your Cause

Jun 21, 2017 1:00 PM ET

When #GivingTuesday launched in 2012, it provided a counterpoint to two massive celebrations of consumerism: Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, and Cyber Monday. Now some of us will do just about anything to avoid shopping, but both days are intended to lure people out of their post-Thanksgiving food coma to jumpstart the holiday retail season.