Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Responsible Production & Consumption

SDGs in Action: Companies Step Up to Minimize Single-Use Plastic

Jun 24, 2019 2:45 PM ET

If you follow the sustainability media, you’ve likely heard a lot more about plastic straws over the past two years.

Diversity & Inclusion

Protecting and Advocating for LGBTQ Rights

Jun 24, 2019 2:05 PM ET

In honor of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan - considered the tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States - each June Americans come together to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month.

Energy

National Grid's Strategy to Decarbonize the Heat Sector in New England

Jun 24, 2019 1:35 PM ET

Director, US Strategy, for National Grid Mackay Miller presented on National Grid's strategy to decarbonize the heating sector in the Northeast at the #RaabRT event earlier this week.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

The Growing Organics Market Presents a Natural Investment Opportunity

Jun 24, 2019 1:15 PM ET

As Americans become more aware of the environmental and health benefits of organics, we are presented with an increasing number of opportunities to align our investments with our lifestyle choices – by investing in the companies and agricultural operations that are driving organic innovation and bringing natural products to the marketplace.

Sustainable Development Goals

IWBI Joins the United Nations Global Compact

Jun 24, 2019 1:00 PM ET

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) today announced that it has signed on to the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible business practices.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Challenge for Business and Society

Jun 24, 2019 12:45 PM ET

Stan Litow, the former head of corporate citizenship programs at IBM, has written a new book entitled The Challenge for Business and Society: From Risk to Reward.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Are the Keys to Supply Chain Transformation Closer Than They Appear?

Jun 24, 2019 12:10 PM ET

For sustainability initiatives in food retail, do the largest hurdles lie in the supply chain, or within the walls of corporate headquarters? As sustainability becomes a bigger priority for food producers and retailers, more and more companies are forming sustainability teams to push toward a new food economy through supply chain transformation. After a summer working on case studies with Environmental Defense Fund’s corporate partners, I discovered that the keys to success for sustainability initiatives were not necessarily costly technologies, but rather rethinking internal strategy and organizational design.

Events, Media & Communications

Change-Makers from Across the Country Attend America's Charities Inaugural Collective Impact Conference in Washington, D.C. to Tackle Real-World Challenges via Employee Giving and Engagement

Jun 24, 2019 12:05 PM ET

More than 100 change-makers from across the country came together in Washington, D.C. this month, for America’s Charities inaugural Collective Impact Conference, hosted by Hogan Lovells US LLP.

Environment

Bechtel-led Team Begins Destruction of Final U.S. Stockpile of Chemical Weapons

Jun 24, 2019 12:00 PM ET

With the destruction, in a sealed chamber, of one World War II-era projectile loaded with mustard agent, a Bechtel-led team in Kentucky has begun eliminating the final stockpile of U.S. chemical munitions, bringing the nation closer to its goal of permanently eradicating the weapons.

Innovation & Technology

New Discovery Education Experience—Delivering Personalized Curated Digital Curriculum Resources, Research-Based Instructional Strategies, and Collaboration Tools—Available for Preview July 1

Jun 24, 2019 11:50 AM ET

Beginning July 1, users of Discovery Education Streaming will have the opportunity to preview the new Discovery Education Experience, which becomes available to schools and educators nationwide at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

Health & Healthcare

Merck for Mothers Launches New All for Mothers Report: The Mom Effect

Jun 24, 2019 11:30 AM ET

When we invest in maternal health, we ensure that hundreds of thousands of women survive pregnancy and childbirth. When that happens, newborns are more likely to survive, children are more likely to stay in school, women are able to make invaluable contributions to their communities and the workforce, health systems are stronger, and nations’ economies grow.

Diversity & Inclusion

Viacom Shares New Data on the Power of LGBT Representation

Jun 24, 2019 11:30 AM ET

In recent years, characters on television and film have become more diverse, pushing the historically limited boundaries for race and sexual orientation. It’s a notable shift. It means that the world shown on-screen is starting to get closer to reflecting the realities of the world off-screen. And, according to new data from Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights, it plays an important role in shifting public perception of the LGBT community.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

DSM CEO Feike Sijbesma Named to Advisory Committee at Tsinghua University Institute for Sustainable Development Goals

Jun 24, 2019 11:25 AM ET

In recognizing our CEO Feike Sijbesma’s commitment to addressing sustainability and making it also a core part of DSM’s evolution journey in driving people, planet and profit; Tsinghua University in China appointed him to be part of the international advisory committee of the Institute for Sustainable Development Goals, Tsinghua University.

Diversity & Inclusion

Joni Davis' Focus at Duke Energy: Build a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce

Jun 24, 2019 11:10 AM ET

Duke Energy recently accelerated its targets for more diverse representation, and new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Joni Davis is leading the effort. Davis started her job six months ago, with a goal to not only increase diversity at the company but to strengthen a culture that supports it.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Schneider Electric Empowered Me to Be My Authentic Self Professionally and Personally

Jun 24, 2019 10:50 AM ET

Almost immediately after joining Schneider, I was confronted with a huge cultural shift compared to where I had just come from. The company culture was much more open and inviting to those who were different. For the first time in my life I felt like I was in a safe place where I could truly be my authentic self

Energy

Best Buy’s New Science-Based Target Helps Customers Reduce Energy Use in Their Homes

Jun 24, 2019 10:35 AM ET

Earlier this week, Best Buy announced a Science-Based Target (SBT) to help consumers reduce their carbon emissions by 20 percent and save $5 billion on utility costs. In its own operations, Best Buy will reduce carbon emissions by 75 percent.

Events, Media & Communications

NAEM’s Impact Conference to Focus on Tangible Sustainability Goals, Business Results

Jun 24, 2019 10:30 AM ET

The National Association for Environmental, Health and Safety and Sustainability Management (NAEM) this week unveiled the final agenda for its August 2019 Impact conference in Milwaukee, an event designed for companies who are committed to translating their sustainability aspirations into measurable business results.

Innovation & Technology

Creating Transformative Experiences: Innovative Branded Content

Jun 24, 2019 10:15 AM ET

As part of this year’s Cannes Lions, RYOT worked with the team at P&G to produce two VR projects that highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion within the creative industry.

Diversity & Inclusion

#HPEPRIDE Celebration 2019

Jun 24, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

General Mills Announces Food Recovery Champions Winners

Jun 24, 2019 10:00 AM ET

General Mills announces the 20 winners of its Food Recovery Champions program that awards grants to expand surplus food recovery in the U.S. and Canada for greater social and environmental impact.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Think Before You Throw: Help Put a Stop to Wishcycling

Jun 24, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Are you guilty of wishcycling? Also known as aspirational recycling, wishcycling happens when you put something into the recycling bin without checking whether it’s actually recyclable.

Diversity & Inclusion

A Lifeline for LGBTQ Youth in Crisis

Jun 24, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Our story began in 1998, when HBO aired the Academy Award-winning short film “Trevor.” Introduced by Ellen DeGeneres, the film was broadcast alongside the launch of TrevorLifeline, the world’s first 24/7 national lifeline supporting LGBTQ — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning — young people in need of crisis intervention. The first calls were answered that night.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

4 Things to Look for When Picking an ESG Manager

Jun 24, 2019 9:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Shape the Future of the Sustainability Standards Global Leader

Jun 24, 2019 9:00 AM ET

A global search is underway to find new members for five bodies that carry out crucial decision making and advisory functions for GRI, provider of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework.

Diversity & Inclusion

Interview With Laureen Abustan, Civil and Environmental Project Engineer

Jun 24, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Laureen Abustan is a water and wastewater project engineer. She joined Tetra Tech in March 2018 and applies her expertise in water, wastewater, environmental engineering, site development, and stormwater capture and reuse on projects in Los Angeles, California.