Corporate Social Responsibility

Schneider Electric today released the 2019 Corporate Energy & Sustainability Progress Report, a look at the global trends, barriers and opportunities impacting enterprise energy and carbon-management programs. Although corporate teams responsible for these efforts still struggle with funding and data, the report reveals that a majority of large companies have set public-facing sustainability targets — goals that are driving the adoption of innovative strategies and technologies, and shifting perceptions of the value of conservation and climate action.

Hormel Foods Corporation has announced its Austin (Minn.) Plant team has been named the company’s 2018 Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best champion for its heat recovery project. The internal annual Environmental Sustainability Best of the Best award program, now in its 11th year, recognizes teams for their achievements in reducing environmental impacts. The Austin Plant team’s winning project focused on the design and installation of the most efficient heat recovery system available to meet the plant’s needs, which resulted in an annual energy savings of 101,000 MMBtu and an additional 17 million gallons of water.

Last fall, JetBlue embarked on one of its most surprising initiatives to date. In October, JetBlue kicked off JetBlue for Good month with its second annual “#CheckInForGood Contest.” The contest had a twist - entrants did not know where they were traveling. It wasn’t until the winners arrived at New York’s JFK Airport that when JetBlue revealed “Destination Good” as the Dominican Republic. All 100 winners and guests then boarded the brand new JetBlue for Good plane, and were on their way to do good.

Many environmental management programs offer people incentives to engage in conservation activities. But these activities, carried out on a local level, often are difficult to monitor. Are people inclined to cheat to get the incentives? Research led by Rohit Jindal of the MacEwan University Business School in Edmonton, Alberta and Erb Institute Faculty Director Joe Árvai set out to answer this question. Their research, entitled “To Cheat or Not? Results From Behavioral Experiments on Self-monitoring in Vietnam,” by Rohit Jindal, Joe Arvai, Delia Catacutan and Dam Viet Bac was published in Strategic Behavior and the Environment.

Through the support of several entertainment industry organizations, Crown Media Family Networks provided opportunities for diverse students to intern with the company. In 2017, Crown Media partnered with the National Association of Multi- Ethnicity in Communications, Women in Cable Telecommunications, the Emma Bowen Foundation and, for the first time, a full-year partnership with the T. Howard Foundation.

Brett Ladd, Sodexo’s CEO of Government for North America, Joins the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s Board of Trustees

For the sixth consecutive year, Novartis is publishing an annual Novartis in Society report (formerly our Corporate Responsibility Report).

Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation announced today that it will offer grants totaling $ 40,000 to The Capital Area Food Bank and to Manna Food Center (Manna), two not-for-profit organizations. The grants will support efforts by those organizations to make nutritious food accessible to those in need. Due to the partial government shutdown, more families needed food assistance and food banks, nonprofits and community leaders were attempting to fill the gap.

The United Nations Global Compact today announced two initiatives to engage young business professionals in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Global retailer Gap Inc. joins Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to improve the lives of one million women and adolescent girls through its life skills and technical training programme. Launched in 2007, Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement) programme was initially created to support women working in the global apparel industry and has expanded training to new locations such as schools, universities, and other manufacturing communities.