Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Using Employees’ Skills, Toyota Financial Services and UnitedHealth Group Build Stronger Communities

Dec 8, 2016 11:15 AM ET

Giving back: it’s an action that can be carried out in countless ways. For some, giving back means volunteering in their community. For others, it means donating money or goods to those who need it most. For Civic 50 sector leaders Toyota Financial Services and UnitedHealth Group, employees give back by exercising their corporate know-how and investing their time and talent in communities to provide the biggest impact.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Futuregrowth: Allocating Capital to Renewable Energy Investments

Dec 8, 2016 11:05 AM ET

While the debate over the use of nuclear power continues, the renewable energy sector is quietly forging ahead and independent power producers are adding much-needed capacity to the grid. Since the Department of Energy (DoE) embarked on its alternative energy drive in 2012, capital investments in renewables have totalled almost R200 billion.

South Africa has some of the best natural resources available for solar and wind power. This, together with a reputationally strong and well-run independent power procurement programme, has created opportunities for institutional investors like Futuregrowth − who is now a leading funder of the programme.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Guest Blog: A Forever Family Unlocks the “Warm Fuzzies”

Dec 8, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Family. Love. Comfort. Connection. HOME. Each of these words fill our hearts with warm fuzzies, but what about those who don’t have any positive lasting experiences with any of those same words?

Health & Healthcare

Huggies Created the "No Baby Unhugged" Program to Ensure that all Babies Receive a Huggies Hug

Dec 8, 2016 10:35 AM ET

We created the No Baby Unhugged program to ensure that all babies receive a Huggies hug.
Watch why we believe in hugs and why all babies deserve a hug inspired by yours.

Education

Scotiabank Encourages Changemakers at Ryerson University

Dec 8, 2016 9:05 AM ET

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Coming Together To Monetize Sustainability

Dec 8, 2016 9:05 AM ET

Leaders often struggle to understand which choices are best when it comes to making investments in sustainability. One way to ease this struggle is to enable a stronger business case development and associated analyses of both tangible and intangible benefits connected to these investments. In response to this challenge, FEMSA Foundation and Antea Group founded the Monetization Working Group (MWG) in March 2014.

Education

Karren Brady: LifeSkills Powered by Barclays and Inspiring Young People

Dec 8, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Baroness Karren Brady is passionate about helping young people reach their potential. As Ambassador for the LifeSkills programme and chair of the LifeSkills Advisory Council, she has met thousands of young people taking their first steps into the world of work – and says she’s inspired by their determination.

Environment

Sappi’s Key Performance Indicators: Lowering Emissions to Lessen Carbon Footprint

Dec 8, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Next up in our series about key performance indicators: emissions.

Environment

HPE Sets Science-Based Target to Reduce Operational Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Dec 8, 2016 8:50 AM ET

Reducing our climate impact is not only the right thing to do for the planet, it’s quite simply good business. I witness this every day across HPE’s global operations, where initiatives like renewable energy purchasing, building optimization and data center consolidation, all help our business run smarter, at less cost, and attract the favor of customers, investors, and employees.

Diversity & Inclusion

DuPont People Spotlight: Celebrating Our Working Mothers

Dec 8, 2016 8:15 AM ET

Growing up on a thousand-acre family farm in rural Michigan, Wendy Srnic loved “getting her hands dirty” gardening and raising livestock — in the case of her family — cattle. Today, she is the research director of Integrated Product Characterization & Development at DuPont Pioneer and is the leader of a team of 350 employees spanning four countries that is responsible for a key step in the DuPont Pioneer pipeline for getting new hybrids and varieties of corn, soybeans and other crops to market. She also was selected as the DuPont U.S. Working Mother of the Year for 2016 and was honored with other women from the Working Mother 100 Best Companies list at a dinner in October.

Diversity & Inclusion

Starting a New Conversation for Women

Dec 8, 2016 8:05 AM ET

I’ve been fortunate in life to benefit from family, educators, work colleagues and a set of mentors and sponsors, all of whom did not hesitate to offer and support me with every opportunity to achieve what I set out to do. Far too many today are not so fortunate.

Innovation & Technology

How to Find Volunteer Opportunities Through Your Current CSR Platform

Dec 8, 2016 8:05 AM ET

Looking for volunteer opportunities that engage employees and impact communities? You may not need to look any further than your current corporate giving platform. In 2016, VolunteerMatch partnered with five platforms to bring our massive network of volunteer opportunities to an increasing number of employee volunteer programs.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

SCS’ Sustainably Grown is First US-Based Sustainable Agriculture Certification to Complete GSCP Equivalence Process

Dec 8, 2016 8:00 AM ET

SCS Global Services announced today that it has completed the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) Equivalence Process for its Sustainably Grown certification program.

Green Infrastructure

Q&A: Mohawk Group’s Michel Vermette Shares a Vision for Better

Dec 8, 2016 7:40 AM ET

Mohawk Group launched a brand-new campaign, “Believe in Better,” at this year’s GreenBuild. Michel Vermette, President of Mohawk Group, discusses the revamped philosophy, how the brand will strive for consistent improvement across five distinct pillars, and what to expect from Mohawk in the future.

Social Impact & Volunteering

New Handbook Helps Texas Homeless Youth Understand Legal Rights

Dec 8, 2016 7:00 AM ET

In a joint pro bono effort, Weatherford, Texas Appleseed and Baker & McKenzie partnered to create The Texas Homeless Youth Handbook, a guide to help homeless youth better understand their legal rights, responsibilities and resources. Texas will be the fourth state in the U.S. to have this particular resource, found at www.homelessyouth.org.

Diversity & Inclusion

MGM National Harbor Champions Diversity and Community Commitment as a Leading New Employer in the Capital Region

Dec 7, 2016 6:15 PM ET

MGM National Harbor announces that it has met and exceeded all of its commitments to Prince George’s County, Md. under the Community Benefits Agreement.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Decorating Safely for the Holidays

Dec 7, 2016 3:30 PM ET

Nobody wants to spend the holidays in the ER. Last year, more than 90,000 people are treated in the ER for ladder-related injuries and nearly 4,000 injuries associated with extension cords.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Hospice: The Best Kept Secret in American Healthcare

Dec 7, 2016 3:30 PM ET

Since our founding in 1977, Capital Caring’s mission has been to simply improve care for the more than 1,200 people living with advanced illness that we care for each day via our world-class hospice and palliative care programs. While we focus on alleviating pain, anxiety, breathlessness, and all causes of distress, we also equip families and loved with the tools they need to feel confident in their own ability to comfort their loved ones.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Pfizer Foundation Partners with Save The Children to Support Gender Equality in Malawi

Dec 7, 2016 3:25 PM ET

Freda Lewis-Hall, MD, Pfizer’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, has been a member of Save the Children’s Board of Trustees since 2012. She shares Save the Children’s dedication to creating immediate and lasting change in the lives of children and families around the world.

Diversity & Inclusion

How to Recruit, Hire and Retain Female Engineers

Dec 7, 2016 2:15 PM ET

Leaders at tech startups are alarmed by the absence of women from mission-critical roles — software engineering, especially — at their own companies. Their boards are saying, “We gave you the money to grow, grow, grow, but you’re not.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Children’s National: Helping Kids Grow Up Stronger

Dec 7, 2016 2:00 PM ET

As the nation’s children’s hospital, Children’s National Health System serves the D.C. region, the nation, and the world by caring for critically and chronically ill children. We aim to excel in clinical care, advocacy, research, and education. We provide a quality healthcare experience for our patients and their families and lead in the creation of innovative solutions to pediatric health challenges.

Research, Reports & Publications

Sanofi Rises 2 Positions in the 2016 Access to Medicine Index

Dec 7, 2016 1:40 PM ET

In 2016, Sanofi has risen 2 positions in the Access To Medicine (ATM) Index, from 8th to 6th rank. The ATM Index analyses the top 20 research-based pharmaceutical companies on how they make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics more accessible in low- and middle-income countries.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Local Businesses Grow with Sodexo and University of Maine System

Dec 7, 2016 1:30 PM ET

Sodexo, world leader of Quality of Life services, and the University of Maine are bridging the gap between local business owners and food distributors through an information expo on serving locally sourced seafood and produce on college campuses. On November 1 and 3, Sodexo and the University of Maine hosted Scaling Up, a networking and professional development event aimed at helping local farmers, businesses, and fishermen secure a larger market reach for their products.

Events, Media & Communications

Bloomberg Hosts “The Future of RMB” with the Hon. Mary Schapiro

Dec 7, 2016 1:30 PM ET

Bloomberg hosted an exclusive luncheon with the Hon. Mary Schapiro in Hong Kong on November 29. More than 60 of the city’s top business and finance leaders came together to discuss the RMB’s future following the recent U.S. elections.

Education

Understanding and Scaling the Impact of Design

Dec 7, 2016 1:00 PM ET