Impact & Sustainability News From Leading Brands

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







Editors Pick

Responsible Production & Consumption

Anti-Slavery Sees Signifiant Changes in March

As March comes to a close, news and legislation regarding anti-slavery has significantly impacted the way supply chains will work.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Benevity and TechSoup Join Forces to Deliver Unparalleled Global Donation Platform

Benevity, Inc., the global leader in online workplace giving, matching, volunteering and grant management solutions, today announced a formal partnership with TechSoup Global, the leading online platform connecting validated nonprofits to in-kind technology and philanthropic resources at scale.

Environment

Ray C. Anderson Foundation Names Michael Molitor as Senior Fellow

Ray C. Anderson Foundation Names Michael Molitor as Senior Fellow. Researcher and Writer is an Expert on Resource Productivity and the Circular Economy

Innovation & Technology

Points of Light Civic Accelerator Launches Spring 2016 Class – Invests in 14 Civic Ventures That Are Addressing Digital and Financial Inclusion

The Points of Light Civic Accelerator – the first national accelerator dedicated to investing in civic ventures – announced today the 14 ventures selected to participate in its Spring 2016 program. This will be the seventh cohort of the Civic Accelerator since its founding in 2012. The ventures come from across the U.S. and include for-profits and nonprofits that focus on digital and financial inclusion to help more people succeed in the digital economy.

Environment

More Than 400 GM Dealerships Join Green Program

When Lee Davis became the fourth-generation owner of Davis Chevrolet in Lexington, North Carolina, he used his expertise as an environmental scientist to upgrade the dealership. From heating the service department and body shop with used vehicle oil to buying lunch for employees with money from recycling soft drink cans, he is integrating sustainable practices into daily operations.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Apple Issues $1.5B Green Bond to Spearhead Environmental Efforts

Corporate green bonds are a debt taken on by a company to finance environment-friendly projects.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Three Tips to Drive Volunteerism in Your Company

For many companies, large and small, community service is ingrained in the culture. AT&T is no different. For more than 100 years, we have been donating our time and talents to support underserved populations and strengthen our communities. Thanks to platforms like VolunteerMatch, we have been able to strengthen our community engagement programs to help achieve even greater results.

Environment

Live Podcast on Harvesting the Urban Forest with Pratt Industries Recycling

The Bard MBA in Sustainability  hosts a live dial-in podcast discussion with Michelle Wiseman, Public Sector Representative at Pratt Recycling. With a primary focus on recycling and sustainability, Pratt partners with municipalities, haulers and recyclers to respond to inquiries, service issues and events. Michelle is tasked with providing education regarding the reduction of waste and easing contamination. Pratt Recycling is one of the largest producers of 100% recycled cardboard in North America and operates one of the leading Material Recovery Facilities (MRF’s) in the Southeast. Listeners can dial in to the podcast at NOON EST on Friday, April 1st.

Health & Healthcare

Can Employers Achieve Better Performance by Encouraging Employees to Wear Fitness Trackers?

In January, Oral Roberts University announced an experiment. The Tulsa, Okla., university asked all 900 of its incoming freshmen to wear Fitbit fitness trackers.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

JetBlue Foundation Provides Grants To Help Six Aviation Programs Take Flight

Environment

Unlocking Real Estate Value by Going Green

New green technology could boost asset values of US office buildings by as much as $35 billion.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The (Surprising) Power of Benchmarking

How good are you? Most companies tell their employees they are (of course) the best. But the truth is little time or money is spent confirming or dispelling the notion. Why take the risk of diminishing your company’s perceived achievements, because after all that’s how performance reviews and subsequent bonuses and promotions are determined, right?

Social Impact & Volunteering

Rising Above the Pack Through Targeted Pro Bono Program Design

As pro bono continues to gain traction, companies are no longer asking themselves if they will create a pro bono program, but instead increasingly exploring how they can create one that is uniquely well aligned with their own core competencies and goals.

This question of how is where the real opportunity lies. A tried-and-true, off-the-shelf program design is sometimes exactly what a company needs. However, like any good investment, taking the time to build something intimately relevant to your company’s unique context can really pay off. If you’re investing the time and effort to build something new, don’t miss the opportunity to get creative and reach for maximum impact on your business and social goals.

Research, Reports & Publications

Implementing SASB – Aspirational Goals

Events, Media & Communications

FLASH REPORT: G&A Institute & Trust Across America Partner to Examine Trustworthiness for S&P 500® Companies Not Reporting on Sustainability

Results Show Higher Trust for Firms Reporting on Their Sustainability Journeys New York, NY - March 24, 2016 -- Continuing the in-depth analysis of S&P 500 (r) companies' sustainability reporting activities, Governance & Accountability Institute teamed with the Trust Across America / Trust Around the World program to explore potential relationships of the trustworthiness of companies that do and do not report utilizing the TAA/TAW's proprietary FACTS® scoring.

Responsible Production & Consumption

GSK Expands Graduated Approach to Patents and Intellectual Property to Widen Access to Medicines in the World’s Poorest Countries

Ahead of today’s meeting of the UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines, GSK CEO Sir Andrew Witty set out a series of steps designed to help bring innovative GSK medicines to more people living in the world’s poorest countries.

Energy

Antea Group Case Study: Safety Program for Chemical Production Plant

The client facility was an active chemical production plant that consists of several buildings and an active landfill in a campus-like setting on 800 acres of land in New York state.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Staff of Sands Las Vegas Vote Where Donations Go

In the casino, winning and losing is the name of the game. For Sands Las Vegas and its employees, giving back to the community is a win-win situation.

Energy

Arby’s Exceeds ‘15% By 2015’ Energy Reduction Goal

Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. (ARG), parent company of the franchisor of the Arby’s® brand, announced that as of Dec. 31, 2015, it reached 15.2 percent total energy reduction per company-owned restaurant from a 2011 baseline, exceeding the “15 Percent By 2015” energy savings goal set by the Brand in 2012.

Health & Healthcare

Women of FOX Sports volunteer at Children's Hospital LA as part of the #MakeMarchMatter campaign

On March 22, members of the Women of FOX Sports group volunteered at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), a nonprofit hospital providing care to more than 107,000 children each year. The event came as part of CHLA's annual #MakeMarchMatter campaign, through which the hospital aims to raise $1 million in support of its programs and services. FOX Sports colleagues received a tour of the hospital and spent time with the patients by serving food and hosting arts & crafts activities.

Energy

Powered by Trash: Enabling Customer Sustainability

At Caterpillar, we are “champions for our customers’ enduring success”. When it comes to sustainability projects, often times our customers are focused on their customers’ success. That is precisely the case for Caterpillar customer, Montauk Energy, and their work at the Bowerman Landfill in Orange County, California.

Health & Healthcare

Health in the City: Why Urbanisation can be a Risk Factor

Today, Novo Nordisk published a new issue of the company’s sustainability magazine, TBL Quarterly. The latest instalment – The Urban Issue – presents recent research on urban health and some of the actions being taken to prevent chronic disease and improve treatment.

Events, Media & Communications

Global Celebration of Women’s History in March

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Legg Mason and Affiliate employees honored and celebrated the achievements of women by attending several events around the world.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Linda, the "Neighborhood Health Advocate"

An interview with Linda, GSK Community Partnership Representative, 26-year employee of GSK, the second in a three-generation family of GSK’ers, and a Philadelphia native.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

UPS Launches #BAGS4BIRDIES Global Golf Campaign

UPS will donate junior sets of golf clubs for every birdie or better that UPS golf ambassadors Lee Westwood or Louis Oosthuizen make during a competitive round in the four 2016 major championships to deserving kids in select markets around the world.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Small Business Growth
    We strengthen communities and help create local jobs by investing in underserved small business owners. We fund nonprofits that are focused on...
  2. Collective Action
    Cascale shares updates on its efforts and initiatives geared toward activating its ecosystem to develop and scale solutions that drive collective...
  3. 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...
  4. Sustainable Products and Innovation
    Ongoing research into innovative solutions enables CNH’s brands to manufacture products that respect the environment while satisfying customers’...
  5. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
  6. Kids to College Powered by Entergy
    Entergy believes in the dreams of the families we serve. Everyone deserves the opportunity to continue their education and, as a corporate leader and...
  7. Investing in our Communities
    We invest in sustainable community outcomes that improve lives.
  8. Sustainable Operations
    ops-related sustainability content (e.g., new electric equipment, decarb efforts, etc.)
  9. Accelerating access to healthcare technology
    We believe technology can help close the world’s health gaps. By putting people first, we find new ways to advance health while reducing costs. And...
  10. IWBI | WELL Building Standard
    Our built environment can shape our habits and choices, regulate our sleep-wake cycle, drive us toward healthy and unhealthy choices, and passively...
  11. KeyBank's Community Investment
    In states where Key has a presence, there are approximately 1.7 million low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. Many LMI individuals don’t have bank...
  12. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...
  13. 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...
  14. Social Impact at Mastercard
    At Mastercard, we’re powering economies and empowering people, building a sustainable economy where everyone prospers.