Corporate Responsibility

GM’s Cruise Automation team is now testing the Chevrolet Bolt EV autonomous vehicle on roads in Scottsdale, Arizona. The state of Arizona supports such research and development, and provides a fitting environment to test in high temperature and desert conditions. Testing is also underway in San Francisco.

New digital services that combine all the data sources connected with buildings are opening the door to enhanced transparency and optimized energy use.

Cutting-edge communications technology will make wind farms more profitable and the transition to a renewable energy economy more economical. That’s why Siemens is taking part in an EU-funded research project called VirtuWind. The project is designed to cut procurement costs for a wind farm’s control network by 25 percent and operating costs by 10 percent annually.

Norfolk Southern considers it a corporate responsibility to mitigate the environmental impacts of rail operations. Because the consumption of locomotive diesel fuel makes up about 90 percent of the company’s carbon emissions, NS has adopted strategic initiatives to reduce fuel use, which lower business costs and environmental impacts.

The Summer 2016 issue of Best Practice includes CSR and sustainability case studies from thought leaders across several industries

Employee safety is Norfolk Southern’s No. 1 priority. In 2015, Norfolk Southern introduced “Risk Factor” training workshops that help operations employees recognize and safely manage risks they encounter daily.

Water and wastewater utilities in the U.S. have high aspirations for energy reduction goals, or even moving toward energy neutral operations, but barriers are plentiful. Fortunately, approaches are being developed that can help system operators make significant progress in overcoming these obstacles.

Keep America Beautiful’s National Awards program annually recognizes and honors the best of the best among its network of community-based affiliates and leading corporate, nonprofit and government agency partners, as well as individual volunteers across the country.

Domtar’s EarthChoice Ambassadors program is an employee engagement program that began in 2011 to promote sustainable principles throughout the company. Now going into its seventh year, this very successful program is on track to have chapters in place at all Domtar facilities by 2020. And, with more than 500 ambassadors, Domtar’s EarthChoice Ambassadors put in more than 2,000 hours of volunteer work last year.