Corporate Responsibility

For Duke Energy lineworkers who helped restore power in Puerto Rico, the nearly two months they spent on the hurricane-ravaged island changed them in ways they never expected. Some returned home with a refreshed outlook on life.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining Stephanie Meeks, the president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, in a “fire side” chat at the Participate Social Capital 2018 Conference in Alexandria, Virginia. After our talk, which focused on the long-standing partnership between American Express and the National Trust, we listened to the Cause Keynote, which was delivered by Gary Haugen, the CEO and Founder of International Justice Mission, an organization focused on the eradication of modern day slavery.

Benevity today announced that it is acquiring Versaic, a leading grants, donation and sponsorship management solution provider to more than 100 of the world’s largest companies. The acquisition expands Benevity’s existing grants management offerings and furthers the company’s vision of providing a holistic technology platform that supports a broad array of corporate “Goodness” initiatives, including workplace giving, volunteering and community investment programs.

Today, Cisco is proud to announce a five-year, $50 million commitment to Destination: Home, a San Jose-based public-private partnership which has demonstrated that providing permanent housing to chronically homeless people gives them the stability they need to change the trajectory of their lives. What’s more, this commitment can help Santa Clara County reduce unnecessary system costs and make better use of public funds.

Engineering is in Barbara Rusinko’s blood. Her father, now 93 years old, was a Bechtel engineer and she’s been with the global engineering, construction, and project management company since starting as a summer intern in 1985.

Holly Emerson, senior analyst, Center for Energy Efficacy and Sustainability at Ingersoll Rand, joined other North Carolina industry leaders in a “We Are Still In” regional panel discussion at the ClimateCon 2018, Business of Climate Forum. The discussion explored the importance of being “still in,” and how deep collaboration between stakeholders and the We Are Still In network helps everyone achieve their own climate goals through expertise and resources.

The landscape of reporting standards, guidelines, ratings, rankings, indexes can become dizzying very quickly. The ecosystem of companies measuring and reporting on how they are a force for good in society is alive and well. The nuts and bolts of how companies accomplish reporting can be a major operational challenge, not to mention the resource investment. How will companies’ tough choices on where to focus their efforts change over the years? A counter-balance to ratings and rankings is improvements to how a company reports and measures itself, such as through a Strategic Scorecard.

In 2017 Barclays was the first bank to issue a green bond using UK assets.

The energy ecosystem and electricity system is on the verge of disruption. Energy is becoming decentralized and new technologies are enabling business to both produce and consume energy. Many companies are looking at these megatrends to find new ways to save money, meet sustainability goals and build resiliency.

To mark our 10th Panorama podcast, we take a closer look at the global food system: what are the challenges and what do we need to change to be able to feed 9 billion people by 2050?