Corporate Responsibility

Read about how Antea Group employees volunteered to help clean up a river, plant vegetables, stock a food bank and more at our latest blog.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Christy Duncan Anderson, Executive Director of The Albertsons Companies Foundation, for a conversation about what can be the Holy Grail for many corporate philanthropy teams – moving from a program-centric charitable giving focus to one that’s truly strategy-driven. Christy shared her ideas, her inspirations and well as a few lessons learned from her 6-year tenure with the organization.

A new study from UPS (NYSE:UPS) and GreenBiz Group reveals nearly all companies (95 percent) surveyed are concerned about how urbanization will impact business growth and sustainability. However, according to The Road to Sustainable Urban Logistics survey, only 47 percent feel prepared to address the associated business challenges. Further, respondents cite air quality (58 percent) and traffic congestion (53 percent) as top concerns over other urban challenges. And 65 percent of respondents believe insufficient collaboration across sectors, including government, is a key barrier to well-managed logistic operations in urban areas.

Throughout the summer of 2017, many companies seem to be focused on the ROI of program management investment (ROMI). This would include investment in people, technology and communications (among other things) toward achieving community investment, volunteering and giving objectives.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) announced more than a $1 million commitment, through The UPS Foundation, in support of recovery efforts in the Caribbean, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. The pledge is a combination of cash grants, in-kind transportation movements and technical expertise to provide urgent relief, as well as support for long-term needs ranging from rebuilding to personal and financial recovery assistance. This is in addition to the more than $1 million given toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts on August 28.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced that over 200 Morgan Stanley and community volunteers will build a playground at Union Baptist-Harvey Johnson Head Start as part of the Morgan Stanley’s Healthy Cities initiative. Joining forces with Union Baptist-Harvey Johnson Head Start and KaBOOM!, volunteers will give more than 400 area children the play space needed for a childhood with balanced and active play, so they can thrive.

Tata Consultancy Services (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, has been recognized in Fortune’s annual list of the Top 50 companies that are changing the world, ranked 30th among many of the world’s most notable brands. The Fortune list is selected by an independent panel of experts, acknowledging companies whose businesses are helping to address numerous societal challenges and ultimately ‘do well by doing good.’

Over the past two years, Cenovus has intentionally supported organizations and causes that have experienced increased demand during the downturn - focusing on basic needs, mental health and vulnerable populations with more philanthropically-motivated donations. When the price of oil was around the $100 mark, the community investment team at Cenovus was carefully investing millions of dollars in three strategic areas that aligned with both the integrated oil company's focus areas (learning, safety and well-being, and sustainable communities) and their business values.

We can’t completely predict what our world will look like 25 years from now, but we constantly study trends so that we can anticipate the rapid changes taking place in our industry. In an article for the Green Money Journal, Mary Barra shares GM's vision for moving humanity forward.