Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Energy

Carbon Offsets Help Salesforce Go Net Zero 33 Years Early

Dec 14, 2017 12:25 PM ET

In 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, Dee and Richard Lawrence, along with their daughter Skye, headed south, to help with the country’s recovery efforts and wound up starting a cookstove project that greatly reduces carbon pollution. Eighteen years later, the Lawrences founded Cool Effect to fund carbon-reducing projects around the world.

Diversity & Inclusion

Solutions for All: How One Canadian Bank is Developing Technology to Drive Accessibility

Dec 14, 2017 11:50 AM ET

As Vice President of Design, Digital Banking, at Scotiabank, Pamela Hilborn is tasked with developing unique technology solutions that can meet the needs of the Bank’s diverse customer base — including those with disabilities.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Whole Planet Foundation | Dispatch From the Field – Crediting Field Officers

Dec 14, 2017 11:30 AM ET

It’s the season of gratitude and a time to celebrate the impact of 2017. Whole Planet Foundation wants to acknowledge the achievements of our microfinance partners’ field officers, who are often the main point of contact between a microfinance organization and the entrepreneurs financing their businesses with microloans. In 2014 we piloted a new Field Officer Appreciation Award in the Africa & Middle East region of our work and this year, the foundation awarded its fourth year of awards to nominated field officers. In total, this region currently includes 28 partner institutions.

Sustainable Development Goals

Marina Bay Sands Tackles Sustainable Farming with WWF Partnership

Dec 14, 2017 10:35 AM ET

As part of an effort to raise sustainability standards within Asia’s hospitality industry, Marina Bay Sands has partnered with World Wide Fund for Nature in Singapore (WWF). Together, they will focus on seafood and ocean conservation with goals including positive initiatives in Responsible Seafood, Aquaculture Improvement Projects (AIPs), and Enhanced Green Meeting Packages.

Environment

CITGO Continues Restoration Work in Lemont Quarries

Dec 14, 2017 10:30 AM ET

The CITGO Lemont Refinery, in partnership with The Conservation Foundation and the Village of Lemont, continued their environmental restoration project in the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area (HQRA) this past October. Volunteers worked together to remove invasive plant species in visible areas by trimming trees and removing invasive brush.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Becomes First Keep America Beautiful River-Based Affiliate

Dec 14, 2017 10:30 AM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced Keep Tennessee River Beautiful (KTnRB) became its first certified river-based affiliate. Keep Tennessee River Beautiful will focus on the waterways adjacent to the 652-mile Tennessee River, which flows through three states – Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky.

Environment

Video | Can Agroforestry Propel Climate Commitments?

Dec 14, 2017 10:15 AM ET

The Paris Agreement, reached at COP21 in December 2015, aims to keep global temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the main tool for defining countries’ contributions to the Agreement, and most developing country NDCs identified agroforestry as a key part of their climate strategy.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Year in CSR: The Top 10 Trends of 2017

Dec 14, 2017 10:10 AM ET

As the year draws to a close, Cone Communications, evaluated a year’s worth of CSR trends to bring you the top 10 trends of 2017.

Education

51 Schools Named State Winners in Samsung’s $2 Million* National STEAM Contest

Dec 14, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has announced the 51 state winners in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest – a nationwide competition that challenges students to creatively use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills to address real-world issues and inspire change in their local communities. This year’s projects include everything from apps promoting kindness and empathy, to automatic wildfire extinguishing systems, and technology to address the opioid epidemic.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bristol-Myers Squibb Named One of America’s Most JUST Companies in 2017 By Forbes and JUST Capital

Dec 14, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Health & Healthcare

WELL@Home: Quick Tips to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Dec 14, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Think about how much time you plan to spend outdoors today. Research shows that we spend approximately 90% of our lifetime in enclosed spaces, and as much as 69% of that time is within the home. While cooking, cleaning or even comfortably resting on a sofa, we are exposed to millions of invisible air contaminants which can put us at risk for health problems. A recent global burden of disease study, published in The Lancet, demonstrated that household air pollution was rated as the third cause of ill health for the world’s population!

Sustainable Development Goals

Opening Doors for Small Business Owners

Dec 14, 2017 9:15 AM ET

eBay launches Kiva Marketplace to help aspiring entrepreneurs reach global scale.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

SRI Is Growing up Right Before Our Very Eyes

Dec 14, 2017 9:05 AM ET

What was once considered the limited domain of environmental and social activists has grown to become an established force in the capital markets that should be ignored at your own risk. The space is expanding and evolving at an accelerating rate, and this trend shows no signs of turning. Over the past few years, we have seen unprecedented asset flows into ESG, SRI, and Impact Investing strategies; at last count, more than $8.6 trillion in assets were invested in some kind of socially responsible or impact-focused investment strategy.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Forbes and JUST Capital Rank IBM No. 5 in America's Top Corporate Citizens

Dec 14, 2017 9:00 AM ET

"No one sector – whether government, business, academia or civil society – can tackle today’s challenges all by itself. All sectors must work together, and all must raise their game." On THINK Blog, IBM Foundation President Jen Crozier writes about IBM's longstanding commitments to collaboration, diversity, inclusion and service - commitments shaped by IBM's enduring values, and recognized today by IBM's Number 5 ranking among America's Top Corporate Citizens by Forbes and JUST Capital.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

You Can Change the Life of a Child in Foster Care

Dec 14, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Siblings Breauna, Renee and Kai were adopted this past May after spending 944 days (Breauna and Renee) and 678 days (Kai) in foster care.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is able to fund adoption recruiter positions at adoption agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Those recruiters are called Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters. They focus solely on older children, sibling groups and children with special needs. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are working hard each day to make sure that children who are most at risk of aging out of care, get adopted before that happens.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Fun Ideas for Engaging Employees and Raising Money for Charity

Dec 14, 2017 9:00 AM ET

America’s Charities can help your company design and implement a program centered on supporting nonprofits through workplace giving campaigns, employee fundraising, cause-focused signature programs, volunteerism, donation drives, matching gifts, Dollars-for-Doers, In-Kind Giving and other employee engagement and philanthropic initiatives.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Earns Perfect Score on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index

Dec 14, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Sodexo, the world leader in Quality of Life Services, announced today that it received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $4.4 Million in Financing for Multifamily Affordable Housing in New York

Dec 14, 2017 8:00 AM ET

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided a $4.4 million Fannie Mae loan to Mt. Vernon Associates, LP, to renovate Greencourt Apartments, a 76-unit, multifamily affordable apartment complex in Mount Vernon, NY, with 59 units reserved for tenants earning no more than 60% AMI.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Message From the Chair of the Board of Trustees

Dec 14, 2017 8:00 AM ET

As I look back on this past year, I am struck by the energy and power generated by the concern for trees. Our members, corporate partners, and planting partners are joining together with the Arbor Day Foundation every day and making great positive changes through our stewardship programs. Our vision of being a worldwide leader in the recognition and use of trees as a solution to global issues is being realized through these united efforts.

Energy

Schneider Electric VIDEO: Accelerating the Energy Transition: 4 Dimensions for Progress

Dec 14, 2017 7:55 AM ET

While the 2015 Paris Agreement was the theoretical call for action to limit worldwide temperature to well below 2 degrees, there is a need for implementing this call with concrete action.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Time to Align Corporate Retirement Funds with Company Values

Dec 14, 2017 7:50 AM ET

Now that millennial-aged employees represent the majority of the workforce, it’s increasingly important that corporate management teams finds ways to engage these employees in the company. Creating defined contribution plans which connect to millennial core values – like solving human, social and environmental problems through their work and investments – can spur employee engagement, spark innovation and provide companies with a competitive edge in their pursuit of the “best and brightest” employees.

Health & Healthcare

Novartis Foundation Aims to Improve Cardiovascular Health as the Better Hearts Better Cities Initiative Gains Momentum Announcing New Partners and Confirming São Paulo as the Third City

Dec 14, 2017 7:00 AM ET

Less than a year since its launch, the Novartis Foundation urban initiative, Better Hearts Better Cities, has made significant progress in mobilizing a broad network of partners and developing a framework for action to improve cardiovascular health across the selected cities.

Environment

21CF Named Industry Leader in Environmental Sustainability by Latest CDP Report

Dec 13, 2017 7:15 PM ET

In its latest analysis of US companies’ action on climate change, the nonprofit CDP recognized 21st Century Fox as a national leader in environmental sustainability. The annual report evaluates the strength and effectiveness of corporate sustainability efforts, and this year, it awarded 21CF an overall performance score of A-, a higher score than any of its media peers. The honor arrives as 21CF celebrates the 10-year anniversary of launching its corporate sustainability program, committing to addressing its environmental impacts and inspiring its global audience to take action.

Research, Reports & Publications

Just Released: Voluntary Renewable Energy in the Northeast United States

Dec 13, 2017 5:00 PM ET

Focusing on voluntary renewable energy in the Northeast United States, this brief explains the current and potential value of voluntary renewable energy to meet state goals in the region, and identifies key barriers to renewable energy development to meet voluntary and corporate demand and potential opportunities and solutions for overcoming them.

Innovation & Technology

Sustainability Shines in Belgium

Dec 13, 2017 4:10 PM ET

On November 24th, Avery Dennison celebrated another milestone in our sustainability program with the official inauguration and start of the wind turbine recently installed at our Turnhout, Belgium site. The launch comes after nearly nine years of planning, passion, perseverance and persistence that involved Avery Dennison management, employees and contractors. I