Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest news from 3BL’s clients.







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Social Impact & Volunteering

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

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

CITGO Continues Restoration Work in Lemont Quarries

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.

Environment

Video | Can Agroforestry Propel Climate Commitments?

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

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

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.

Health & Healthcare

WELL@Home: Quick Tips to Improve Indoor Air Quality

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

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

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.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Fun Ideas for Engaging Employees and Raising Money for Charity

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.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

You Can Change the Life of a Child in Foster Care

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.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

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

"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.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Earns Perfect Score on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index

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.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Message From the Chair of the Board of Trustees

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.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

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

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.

Energy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $8.2 Million in Financing for Construction of New York Affordable Housing Property

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided an $8.2 million credit enhancement for the construction of Roosevelt Residences, located in Utica, NY. The project is being developed by Norstar Development USA, L.P., and the Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Utica, NY.

Innovation & Technology

Podcast | UPS Longitudes Radio: Moving Urban Logistics Forward (Part 3)

In the final episode of a three-part series, Peter Harris and Thomas Madrecki of UPS discuss a surprising avenue to pursue in addressing urban logistics: the balance between efficiency and self-disruption. Listen to the podcast, then subscribe to Longitudes Radio so you’ll be among the first to know about new episodes.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Community Support

On a brisk Saturday morning in November, volunteers and area organizations in Austin, Minnesota, were busy getting everything ready for an event to help others in the community. Tables were being set up, groceries were being placed into bags and barber chairs were being brought in for haircuts.

Richard Lemons, co-chair of the Austin Poverty Taskforce, the organization that coordinated the event, said he was humbled and overwhelmed as he entered the high school gym where Austin’s first Community Connect event would be taking place. “I was moved by how many people cared and were giving their time to help out,” he said.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Tackling Modern Slavery With Transparency: GRI to Support the Reporting Community

GRI is inviting leading reporting companies to join a Corporate Leadership Group (CLG) on Modern Slavery to engage in cutting edge dialogue about the challenges and opportunities of transparency on this urgent sustainability issue in consultation with diverse stakeholders such as investors, media, human rights and legal experts and governments.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Integrated Tools
    Cascale shares updates on its efforts to align the industry on a common language to describe sustainability performance to reduce duplication and...
  2. Local Communities
    The principals of living and working in synergy with the communities in which we operate, as well as collaborating on projects that benefit those...
  3. GoDaddy | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
    Diverse teams build better products — period. At GoDaddy, we make apps and services that our worldwide community of entrepreneurs can relate to. Our...
  4. Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG)
    The business landscape is reorienting itself and you can almost hear priorities shifting toward change-readiness and the bigger picture. And in this...
  5. AEG's Commitment to Social Impact and Volunteerism
    AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...
  6. GoDaddy | Microbusiness
    They’re the people who build websites, run restaurants, and teach online classes. They power local economies and national growth but their impact...
  7. Biomimicry and Ray of Hope Accelerator
    The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has partnered with the Biomimicry Institute to create the Ray of Hope Accelerator, designed to bring commercially...
  8. Fifth Third's Commitment to Small Businesses
    Fifth Third believes that small businesses form the foundation of our communities – and when they succeed, we all succeed. Supporting them through...
  9. FedEx | Volunteer Campaigns
    Giving back is part of the FedEx culture. Team members support our charitable investments and local community needs by dedicating their time where...
  10. Social Progress
    Social engagement has always been an integral part of our sense of responsibility as a company. We care and we act to do our part to improve the...
  11. Collective Action
    Cascale shares updates on its efforts and initiatives geared toward activating its ecosystem to develop and scale solutions that drive collective...
  12. PSEG Environmental Stewardship
    PSEG’s environmental stewardship is evident in programs and strategies that reflect our commitment to clean air, clean water and waste management...
  13. AEG's Commitment to Social Impact and Volunteerism
    AEG embraces its responsibility to enrich the lives of people in the communities around the world where we do business, and to use business to create...
  14. Digital Safety
    We provide tools and guidance so people can manage digital content in a way that’s right for them and their families. Learn more >>
  15. Healthy Spaces Podcast: Season 5
    Welcome to Season 5 of Healthy Spaces by Trane Technologies, the podcast where experts and disruptors explore how climate technology and innovation...