Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

Empower Series, Inc. in Partnership with Comerica Bank and the Houston Area Urban League Launches in Houston

Apr 9, 2019 4:05 PM ET

The EMPOWER Series, a free financial education and self-development coaching and counseling program, in partnership with Comerica Bank and the Houston Area Urban League, is expanding to the Greater Houston area beginning Saturday, April 13. The seminars will be held on the second Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Houston Area Urban League – Palm Center location.

Events, Media & Communications

Taproot Foundation Gathers Movers and Shakers of the Pro Bono Movement in New York City for 2019 Global Pro Bono Summit

Apr 9, 2019 3:25 PM ET

Nonprofits and non-governmental organizations around the world are taking on society’s greatest challenges each and every day. But how can these organizations get the support they need to meet the mounting needs in our communities?

The Taproot Foundation, with support from BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt and Impact Sponsor BNY Mellon, will gather leaders of the pro bono movement from 25 countries to explore emerging trends at the 7th annual Global Pro Bono Summit, May 7 – 9, in New York City. The 2019 Summit marks the first time since 2014 that the event returns stateside.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Pentair Earns 2019 Energy Star® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for Sixth Consecutive Year

Apr 9, 2019 3:20 PM ET

Pentair is proud to announce that it received the 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership and superior contributions to ENERGY STAR.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Dell | LinkedIn Reveals Its 2019 Top Companies, and We’re One of Them!

Apr 9, 2019 3:10 PM ET

For the second year in a row, we’re honored to be named as one of LinkedIn’s Top Companies, in both the U.S. and Japan. I could share a long list of what makes Dell Technologies a great place to work, but really, every highlight would come back to our people.

Diversity & Inclusion

These Women Are Growing Their Businesses — and Their Confidence

Apr 9, 2019 2:10 PM ET

Sandra is one of the participants in Ovante, an interactive digital platform with a vision to help microentrepreneurs build and enhance their business skills, grow their enterprises, and adopt healthy habits for using financial products and services. In 2016, Accion and FedEx launched an initiative to digitize Accion’s award-winning classroom business education program, making the program less expensive to deliver, more flexible, and more easily accessible for a broader audience.

Research, Reports & Publications

ClearBridge Highlights Benefits of Sustainable Investment Approach in Annual Impact Report

Apr 9, 2019 1:50 PM ET

ClearBridge Investments released its annual Impact Report, which details the environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations that have been a crucial part of its investment process for over 30 years.

Events, Media & Communications

CSRHub’s Cynthia Figge Speaking at CSR 5.0

Apr 9, 2019 1:50 PM ET

Skytop Strategies will launch its fifth annual CSR Summit hosted in partnership with Nasdaq at their Entrepreneurial Center on April 17th in San Francisco.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

GM Earns 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence

Apr 9, 2019 1:45 PM ET

General Motors has earned a 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award in Energy Management for continued leadership and superior contributions to ENERGY STAR. This is GM’s eighth recognition for Sustained Excellence. GM’s commitment to reducing energy intensity since 2010 has eliminated 1.5 million tons in carbon emissions, equivalent to the electric use of 260,000 homes for a year.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Frontier Co-op is #FundingHerFuture through Whole Planet Foundation

Apr 9, 2019 1:30 PM ET

The brand has been a proud supporter of Whole Planet Foundation since 2012, donating more than $460,000 to alleviate global poverty through microcredit and renewing their membership in the $100,000 Fund in 2019.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Delos Listed Among Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Awards

Apr 9, 2019 1:15 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Consumers Energy Receives National Recognition as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year, Saves Customers $2 Billion on Bills

Apr 9, 2019 1:10 PM ET

Consumers Energy is being honored for the seventh time in eight years with the ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for energy efficiency programs that have saved Michigan homes and businesses over $2 billion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hands out Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Awards to organizations that are leaders in reducing energy waste. The awards are the highest level of recognition from the EPA.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

The Five Ws of Supply Chains: Who, What, Where, When and Why Corporations Should Care

Apr 9, 2019 1:00 PM ET

Not a month goes by without a media campaign linking the supply chain of a well-known brand with unsavory labor practices or environmental mismanagement. Such exposés can devalue brands and reduce well-meaning corporate sustainability initiatives to hypocrisy. Beyond financial and reputational risks, a corporation that doesn’t know its supply chain can be caught flat-footed when the regions it sources from are rocked by political and environmental upheaval.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

California Bill to Ban Paper Receipts Promotes Paper Myths

Apr 9, 2019 12:20 PM ET

Are paper receipts going the way of plastic straws? Just say no.

Proposed legislation, California bill AB 161, dubbed “Skip the Slip,” would require retailers to generate electronic receipts unless customers request paper receipts. Find out why Domtar is saying when it comes to legislation banning paper receipts, skip the myths before you skip the slips.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Motivation: Playing for a Winning Team

Apr 9, 2019 12:10 PM ET

As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.” This is motivation at its core. Of course, actually putting this statement into play is easier said than done. It’s an art, not a science, and it can be demanding…even daunting for some. But as challenging as it may be, since you can actually do very little by yourself, sustaining your team’s motivation is the most important ingredient for success.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

SC Johnson Asia Debuts on 2019 Best Multinational Workplace List

Apr 9, 2019 11:50 AM ET

Today, SC Johnson announces that it has been recognized as a Best Multinational Workplace in Asia by Great Place to Work®. This is the first time the company’s Asia region has been recognized as a Best Workplace. SC Johnson Asia ranked No. 22 on the 2019 list of top places to work in the region.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Black & Veatch’s Leading-Edge Platform Gives Managers Instant Access to Workers’ Credentials at Job Sites, Proactively Enhancing Safety

Apr 9, 2019 11:20 AM ET

For Black & Veatch safety managers at job sites, keeping tabs on whether employees and contractors had the proper training, certification and licenses for the work required thumbing through inches-thick binders of the crew’s credentials. While helping ensure compliance with safety requirements, little about the logs were quick or efficient, considering that hundreds of people could be on a job site.

Environment

Practitioner Spotlight--Kylle Barrieau

Apr 9, 2019 11:05 AM ET

Antea Group spotlights Kylle Barrieau, a Health and Safety Project Manager based in in Denver, Colorado.

Health & Healthcare

Cisco GPS Challenge Highlights | Social Entrepreneur Neopenda Improves Newborn Health in Low-Resource Settings

Apr 9, 2019 11:05 AM ET

Neopenda makes lightweight, low-power wearable monitors that monitor newborn vitals, with the aim of improving newborn health in low-resource settings. The medical device company entered and won the 2016 Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge Prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition.

Cisco's competitions help today's innovators become tomorrow's Global Problem Solvers. Learn more about Cisco's annual Global Problem Solver Challenge

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MetLife Named 2019 Energy Star® Partner of the Year

Apr 9, 2019 11:00 AM ET

MetLife, Inc.received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award for its commitment to energy efficiency, including ENERGY STAR certifications for over 22.3 million square feet of real estate across MetLife’s corporate office network and the portfolio managed by MetLife’s institutional asset management platform, MetLife Investment Management (MIM).

Diversity & Inclusion

Harnessing the Talent of Veterans

Apr 9, 2019 10:20 AM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

Technology Can Help Us End the Scourge of Modern Slavery. Here's How

Apr 9, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Modern slavery: it’s a strange term.

The word 'modern' generally has positive connotations. It’s up-to-date. Recent. Fresh. Cutting-edge.

Juxtapose that with the word 'slavery'. A most outdated concept. Captivity. Bondage. Oppression and repression. In the 21st century, slavery is surely something that only crazed individuals or dictators could possibly countenance.

Responsible Production & Consumption

ScottsMiracle-Gro Recycles 5 Billion Pounds of Green Waste Annually

Apr 9, 2019 10:00 AM ET

ScottsMiracle-Gro is relentless in our effort to find a product solution that is a win for the environment, consumers and business. Green waste recycling is an example of one solution, offering the opportunity to divert waste from landfills by incorporating it into beneficial new soil products.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Why Good Standards  -  Both ESG and Financial  - Matter

Apr 9, 2019 9:45 AM ET

Why sustainability reporting matters, to investors & others - and the need to work together to further increase corporate transparency more broadly. Tim Mohin of GRI refutes ‘greenwashing’ claims by Hans Hoogervorst.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Behind Aflac’s Partnership with Country Music and Its Famous Duck

Apr 9, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Aflac is contributing $50,000 to Musicians On Call through ACM Lifting Lives to help develop and fund music-related therapy and education programs.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Scaling Your Volunteer Program for Greater Impact

Apr 9, 2019 8:15 AM ET

What started as a one-day event in seven cities quickly spread to 170 cities, engaging 7,000 employees and supporting 300 nonprofits. How? Amanda Lenaghan, Senior Program Manager of Schwab Community Services, gives us the inside scoop and reveals how one event can catalyze year-round Goodness!