Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Pfizer’s 15-Year Legacy of Skills-Based Volunteering Helps Improve Healthcare Capacity Around the World

Apr 5, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

Smithfield Foods Announces Partnership with Anuvia™ Plant Nutrients to Develop and Market Bio-Based Sustainable Fertilizer Products

Apr 5, 2018 2:45 PM ET

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Anuvia™ Plant Nutrients are pleased to announce a new partnership to create sustainable fertilizer from renewable biological materials collected from manure treatment systems at Smithfield’s hog farms. This project is part of Smithfield Renewables, the company’s new platform dedicated to unifying and accelerating its carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

CECP Announces KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO Lynne Doughtie, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky, and USAA CEO Stuart Parker to Join Board of Directors

Apr 5, 2018 2:15 PM ET

As part of its continuing efforts to create a better world through business, CECP: The CEO Force for Good announced that it will add three top CEOs to the organization’s Board of Directors: KPMG U.S. Chairman and CEO Lynne Doughtie, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky, and USAA CEO Stuart Parker. As a CEO-led coalition of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies, CECP believes a company’s social strategy – how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers – determines a company’s success. Mr. Gorsky will also serve as Co-Chair of CECP’s Strategic Investor Initiative, alongside Bill McNabb, Chairman, Vanguard.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Accenture Is Taking a Leap to Make a Difference: Tiffany & Tyrone's Story

Apr 5, 2018 2:05 PM ET

Accenture is committed to helping people succeed and grow in the digital era. Business partners Tiffany Hoang and Tyrone Botelho got the skills and mentoring they needed to build their business through Accenture's Skills to Succeed partner Youth Business USA. Want to read more stories about how Accenture making a difference? Read its 2017 Corporate Citizenship Report.

Health & Healthcare

Tyson Foods, UFCW Expand Workplace Safety Efforts

Apr 5, 2018 1:30 PM ET

Tyson Foods, Inc. and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) are expanding their collaborative efforts to make workplace safety improvements at the company’s food processing plants and commemorating 30 years of working together for safer workplaces.

The three decades-long partnership is one union leaders call a model for the food industry. It began in 1988, with the launch of a landmark ergonomics program and has evolved to include improvements that have helped reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. While the primary focus has been Tyson Foods’ beef and pork operations, it is now being expanded to the company’s poultry business, which has been accelerating its workplace safety efforts in recent years.

Responsible Production & Consumption

The Future of Fashion: Are We Missing the Mark?

Apr 5, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Little has changed since the 1940s in the way we make our clothes. We still heavily rely on people to power sewing machines, large swaths of agricultural land to grow cotton, and millions of gallons of petroleum to produce synthetic fabrics. Historically, the fashion industry has not leaned on research and development to stay competitive, instead figuring out ways to reduce production costs and get new products to consumers as quickly as possible.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Colombian Renaissance

Apr 5, 2018 12:35 PM ET

Contemplate, for a moment, some of the most destructive challenges facing development today: the increasing prevalence of natural disasters; the underfunding of development goals; the violations of the freedoms of association, expression, and peaceful assembly; the maddening persistence of poverty; and above all, the accelerating effects of global climate change.

Education

Let’s Teach Our Kids About the Economics of Life – Before It’s Too Late!

Apr 5, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Should I buy a coffee on my way to work or make coffee in the office break room? Is taking on student loans for a private four year college really the best choice for me? Should I pay my full credit card bill or just the minimum amount? Every adult – regardless of age, income and marital status – makes countless financial decisions every day.

Education

City of Arlington Partners With Green Mountain Energy Sun Club to Create Sustainable Chapter for New Library Opening in June

Apr 5, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Bibliophiles and bookworms will soon be able to browse and check out sustainable features and materials at the George W. Hawkes Downtown Library in Arlington, thanks to a partnership between the City and Green Mountain Energy Sun Club. Due to open in June, the brand-new three-story facility will feature stacks of sustainably-minded projects funded by the Sun Club’s $400,000 donation, the organization’s 100th project and largest donation so far.

Education

Arrow Electronics Sponsors FIRST Robotics Regional Competition

Apr 5, 2018 11:20 AM ET

Arrow Electronics sponsored the FIRST Robotics Colorado Regional Competition March 23-24, continuing its commitment to cultivate the next generation of innovators. Held at the University of Denver, the competition drew 52 high school teams from Colorado and other western states, as well as one team from Turkey.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Purina's Giving Tops $28 Million in 2017 to Help Pets and People in Need

Apr 5, 2018 11:05 AM ET

With 2017 being among the most active hurricane seasons in history, countless people and pets were affected by natural disasters last year. Animals can be especially vulnerable during hurricanes, flooding and other natural disasters, leaving pet owners, pet shelters and others faced with difficult decisions and added hardships.

Supporting disaster relief efforts is a key area of focus for Purina, a leading manufacturer of high-quality pet products. Purina answered the call for help from many organizations in 2017 - the company's charitable donations last year totaled more than $28 million and included product donations and monetary funding for organizations that bring people and pets together, keep people and pets together and help communities and the environment thrive.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

AgExport Hoy: Invitan A Mipymes Para Acelerar Su Innovación

Apr 5, 2018 11:00 AM ET

La Red de Innovación e Impacto, un proyecto financiado por el Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos, lanzó El Poder de Crecer, un concurso que busca identificar y premiar a organizaciones que están empoderando micro emprendimientos en Centroamérica.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

AgExport Hoy: Inviting MSMEs to Accelerate Their Innovation

Apr 5, 2018 11:00 AM ET

La Red de Innovación e Impacto, un proyecto financiado por el Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos, lanzó El Poder de Crecer, un concurso que busca identificar y premiar a organizaciones que están empoderando micro emprendimientos en Centroamérica.

Diversity & Inclusion

What’s Needed: How One Talented Tech Innovator — Turned Bank VP — Sees Female Founders Getting Ahead

Apr 5, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Aflac Recognized for Social Responsibility

Apr 5, 2018 10:50 AM ET

Aflac, the leader in voluntary insurance sales at U.S. worksites, announced today that it has been named winner of PR News' 2018 CSR Awards and Nonprofit PR Awards for its Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

Innovation & Technology

48 African Countries Meet in Nairobi to Explore Climate Change Technologies

Apr 5, 2018 10:40 AM ET

Climate experts from Africa will meet next week in Kenya to discuss collaboration and technology transfer. Representatives from government, private sector, finance and research institutions will gather in Nairobi, Kenya, 9–10 April 2018.

Diversity & Inclusion

Subaru of America Returns As the Title Sponsor of the 2018 Cherry Blossom Festival in Philadelphia

Apr 5, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced its continued title sponsorship of the annual Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia. The celebration, which is produced by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP), commemorates the beautiful blossoms and invites people of all cultural backgrounds to experience spring’s beauty and foster a better understanding of Japan’s rich cultural heritage.

Sustainable Development Goals

World Trade Organization Says eBay Champions Small Businesses

Apr 5, 2018 9:25 AM ET

What if we tried to facilitate international selling for entrepreneurs in underserved areas on our platform? What impact could we have on these communities? What new and unique inventory could we source? And what would it take? eBay partnered with the International Trade Center (ITC) in an attempt to answer these questions.

Sustainable Development Goals

Delivering Sustainability Through Relentless Innovation: Cuestamoras Joins WBCSD

Apr 5, 2018 9:15 AM ET

Multi-business Costa Rican company Cuestamoras today joined almost 200 forward-thinking companies as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Research, Reports & Publications

National Bank of Kuwait Takes Extensive Steps Towards Becoming a Middle East Corporate Sustainability Leader

Apr 5, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) launched its second annual Sustainability Report today, the first ever to be in alignment with the guidelines from the Kuwait National Development Plan (KNDP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG), and the Boursa Kuwait voluntary sustainability disclosure guide.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Measuring Natural Capital

Apr 5, 2018 7:05 AM ET

Companies appreciate that natural capital greatly benefits business, but what is required is quantifying and demonstrating the business value of natural capital.

Media & Communications

VIDEO | A Unique Lens on Water Quality

Apr 4, 2018 5:50 PM ET

Over the last year The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation partnered with Andy Mann, a world-renowned National Geographic photographer and adventurer, to document the problem of nutrient pollution in America’s lakes and watersheds. In this video Andy reflects, “I’ve traveled the world sharing the heartbreaking stories of our planet’s water issues, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Innovation & Technology

Protecting Refugees Starts with the Individual

Apr 4, 2018 3:55 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sustainability Ratings Agency: "CSR Requires Commitment and Accountability"

Apr 4, 2018 2:30 PM ET

Collecting and analyzing information on companies’ ESG risks, opportunities, and performance are essential to ensure market efficiency, optimal allocation of capital and reduction of information asymmetry. We spoke to Vigeo Eiris, an independent ESG rating agency, about the trends driving investor interest in ESG, and the critical nature of transparency in building trust among investors. ​

Environment

Lisa Song: Mississippi Levee Wars

Apr 4, 2018 1:45 PM ET

Sometimes we lose sight of what Audrey Hepburn called “that old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second.” This week on Sea Change Radio, we hear from ProPublica reporter Lisa Song who has done some recent reporting on a little known problem that could have very big effects: the impact of illegal overbuilding of levee systems in the Midwestern flood-prone regions of the Mississippi River.