Environment

The Case Foundation, is bullish on the impact investing movement and the power of private capital for public good. While still a relatively small market, impact investments are surging, with some seeing a trillion-dollar market potential by 2020. Against that context, we do a lot of thinking about what is standing in the way of tipping significantly more interested investors to activated investors.

On the two-year anniversary of the merger that created the second-largest supermarket company in the U.S., Albertsons Companies announced that since the merger with Safeway, it has grown its workforce by 10 percent, creating 26,000 jobs; built or acquired 174 locations; increased healthy food and financial donations; and elevated its commitment to sustainability.

Companies have long facilitated public-private partnerships to create innovative solutions to the critical issues facing the world today. From Cisco's Smart + Connected Communities effort to Coca-Cola's Project Last Mile delivering medical supplies to remote areas, companies understand the benefits of improving the communities they operate in. Now, one automotive company is taking its work to the streets of London to reduce air pollution as part of a multimillion-pound project.

CDP's 2017 supply chain report, "Harnessing the Power of Purchasing for a Sustainable Future," ranks TD Bank Group above average in supplier engagement. This is the first report TD was scored in since joining the program. The report evaluates organizations on their ability to galvanize their supply chains to disclose and improve upon their environmental performance.

Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship is pleased to release the 2017 State of Corporate Citizenship, a unique research report that examines how executives view corporate citizenship in both business and global contexts, and identifies the topics and issues they find most important.

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) announced today the results of a study of its annual economic impact in the state of Nevada. The study measures the direct and indirect economic impact of the Company’s subsidiaries and operations statewide in 2015, including tax revenues, payroll expenditures and supplier purchases, as well as multiplier effects when income is reinvested into the local economy.

General Mills has been recognized as a global climate leader and has been named to the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) Climate A-List, Supplier Engagement Leader Board and Supplier Climate A-List. The company is among the 9 percent of global corporations participating in CDP’s climate change program to be awarded a position on the Climate A-List, in recognition of its performance and actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change in the past reporting year.

On the latest episode of the GreenBiz 350 podcast, GreenBiz executive editor Joel Makower interviewed 21st Century Fox’s VP of Social Impact Vijay Sudan about the company’s efforts to green its film and television productions. Vijay spoke about the studio’s recent production achievements, such as 24: Live Another Day’s success at becoming the first TV series to use 100% FSC-certified lumber for set construction, as well as the company’s ongoing efforts to manage waste.

The new design of Carlsberg’s Green Fiber Bottle was revealed today, as 500 business leaders joined the Sustainable Brands community at the Sustainable Brands 2016 Copenhagen conference, aimed at inspiring business success through innovation and ‘Activating Purpose’ towards a sustainable future.

Demand vs. Desire: New WWF Guide Reframes Ivory Consumption Challenge
A first-of-its-kind guide released by World Wildlife Fund today suggests tackling the ivory trade requires a deeper understanding of consumers' underlying desires.