Corporate Responsibility

At the recent Council on Foundations bi-annual conference, Leading Together, almost 1000 philanthropy leaders and business, government, and academia influencers gathered together to connect, share, and learn with one another. Celebrating 70 years, the Council on Foundations assembled a jam-packed agenda full of thought-provoking sessions, learning labs, tech bars, keynotes, as well as plenty of networking and entertainment opportunities for an event that not only educated, but truly lived up to its moniker of “Leading Together.”

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) has released its Sustainability Report 2018 under the theme, "Making a Difference.”

GRI, provider of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting framework, has launched a global search to find new members for its decision making and advisory functions.

The BSR Conference 2019 will offer the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the new climate that every business is facing and to learn about how to meet these challenges as we move into the decisive decade ahead. Early-bird registration is now open.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) honored multiple home appliance industry professionals for exceptional contributions to the industry during AHAM’s 2019 Annual Member Meeting from April 27-30 in Washington, D.C. One of those individuals was Laura Siegrist, senior manager, Government Relations for Whirlpool Corporation, who was recognized with the Emerging Leader Award for contributions to federal advocacy for the home appliance industry.

Year after year, Panalpina’s quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) team has demonstrated the hard work and dedication needed to deliver high-quality service to its customers, while building a culture of quality, safety, sustainability and caring. 2018 was one of the most successful years ever, with a 72 percent reduction in injuries to staff since 2013 and a wide range of activities dedicated to improving local communities.

The VF Foundation and the Timberland® and Wrangler® brands today announced $150,000 in grants to researchers at seven U.S. universities, including Arizona State University and Michigan State University, that are conducting the first comprehensive research into regenerative ranching practices.

Slowly but surely we are seeing pockets of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ten years remain until the 2030 deadline and as the urgency ramps up, so does the commitment of many businesses and swathes of civil society around the world. Still, experts worldwide polled by GlobeScan and SustainAbility continue to view progress on sustainable development as inadequate (particularly the contribution of national governments). The good news is that they are gradually becoming less negative according to the most recent SDG Progress Report.

For many former inmates, success upon re-entry means securing housing, maintaining a solid support system of family and friends, and finding a job. In 2018 alone, approximately 700,000 people finished their time in prison and re-entered their communities. But as many have found, getting a job is harder than ever. About one in three Americans holds a criminal record, regardless of whether they have been to prison – about as many people who hold college degrees. Just having a record is a barrier, says Jenny Kim, deputy general counsel and vice president for public policy at Koch Industries.

We recently reviewed the ESG coverage status for the 8,686 companies in the MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index). The ACWI is a popular benchmark for many investors, because it includes approximately 85% of the global opportunities for equity investment. We felt it would be useful to see how much ESG information is currently available on the companies on this type of broad index.