ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Consumers Energy Receives National Recognition for Promoting Crime Prevention Awareness

Jan 5, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Consumers Energy has received a National Electric Utility Award from the National Association of Town Watch for its participation in the 2016 National Night Out (NNO) crime and drug prevention program.

Social Impact & Volunteering

More Bang for Your Buck: How to Ensure Effective Company Giving

Jan 5, 2017 9:55 AM ET

Community investment, as demonstrated through philanthropy, community engagement, corporate partnerships and more, is essential to staying relevant in today’s competitive landscape. In fact, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of job seekers won’t take a position if the potential employer doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility practices, according to a recent study on millennial employee engagement.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Connecting Supply with Demand: An Experiment in Regional Healthcare Plastics Recycling

Jan 5, 2017 9:35 AM ET

The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council and Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) facilitated a cooperative, first-of-its-kind regional recycling program in the Chicago area and the results of this innovative pilot are in.

Environment

The Dirt on Starting a Composting Program at your Facility

Jan 5, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Starting a composting program at your facility can save money, decrease your environmental footprint, improve employee job satisfaction and fulfill customer demands for sustainable business practices.

Education

Arrow-sponsored Student Team Takes Fifth Place at Global Robotics Competition

Jan 5, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Arrow Electronics sponsored a team of three 14-year-old German students to compete in the 2016 World Robot Olympiad (WRO) in Delhi, India last month. The Arrow-sponsored team, named “The Mindfactory,” took fifth place within their category at the competition.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

US EPA Includes SCS Global Services' Standards, Ecolabels and Certifications in its Recommendations to Federal Purchasers

Jan 5, 2017 8:30 AM ET

U.S. EPA now recognizes SCS Global Services' suite of indoor air quality ecolabeling standards (SCS Indoor Advantage, Indoor Advantage Gold, FloorScore®) for low-emitting furniture, building materials and flooring products in its Recommendations of Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels to federal purchasers.

Diversity & Inclusion

Deloitte CEO Cathy Engelbert: Yes, Women Can Have It All

Jan 5, 2017 8:25 AM ET

Cathy Engelbert is the chief executive of a 75,000 person company yet still manages to attend most of her teenage daughter's lacrosse games.
Ask the Deloitte chief how she manages to balance work and family—that well-worn cliché—and she references a piece of advice she received early in her career when she was deciding whether to remain in the workforce or leave it and stay home with her kids: "You can do it all as defined by you."

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Wells Fargo Launches 2017 Veteran Scholarship and Emergency Grants

Jan 5, 2017 8:00 AM ET

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) and Scholarship America are now accepting applications for the 2017 Wells Fargo Veterans Scholarship and Wells Fargo Veterans Emergency Grant Programs. Wells Fargo has committed $2 million over a four year period to fund the programs and help veterans and their families to successfully integrate back into civilian life. Since both programs launched in 2016, Wells Fargo and Scholarship America have awarded 22 scholarships and 25 emergency grants to support education and vocational training for veterans and the spouses of disabled veterans.

Environment

Australian Companies' Negligence on Tackling Climate Change Will Cost Us

Jan 5, 2017 3:30 AM ET

As you contemplate the coming year, what it might bring, and your own personal goals and hopes, here's a little fact to help orient your thoughts: planet Earth has just experienced its warmest year since records began.

Green Infrastructure

Food Waste + Tech = Reducing Emissions + Renewable Energy

Jan 4, 2017 7:00 PM ET

Forty percent of the food produced in the U.S. ends up in landfills.* We know it means wasted food, but it also leads to excessive production of methane gas – a major contributor to the shrinking ozone layer.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

11 Expert CSR Predictions for 2017

Jan 4, 2017 5:40 PM ET

As millennials begin to dominate the workforce and consumer market, the way our world looks at the products and services we buy has changed for the better. Today’s consumers are more careful, cautious and educated about where and with whom they spend their hard-earned money.

Events, Media & Communications

Enjoy Chocolate to Benefit Keystone Human Services at Chocolatefest Weekend

Jan 4, 2017 5:05 PM ET

How much chocolate is too much? Keystone Human Services puts it to the test during its annual Chocolatefest Weekend, held on January 28-29, 2017 at Hershey Lodge in Hershey, PA as we raise funds to support our life changing services.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

National Federation of the Blind, Wells Fargo Launch the 2017 Bell Academy Program

Jan 4, 2017 5:00 PM ET

Today, on the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the reading and writing system for the blind that bears his name, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and Wells Fargo launched the 2017 Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy program. The program takes place throughout the country each summer and provides blind children initial or advanced Braille instruction so that they may learn how to use this powerful reading medium in fun, interactive ways. In addition to sponsoring the BELL Academy, Wells Fargo will provide strategic input into the program and offer team member volunteers at select academies.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Companies Should Report Possible Climate Costs, Say Global Executives

Jan 4, 2017 4:00 PM ET

LONDON—Companies should publish an assessment of the losses they could suffer through climate change as part of their routine financial statements, according to a panel of financial and business executives chaired by Michael Bloomberg.

Education

Sodexo Challenges Students Nationwide to Reduce Food Waste to Landfills with Spark 101 STEM Skills Video

Jan 4, 2017 3:30 PM ET

With the support of Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Life services, teachers nationwide now have a new resource specifically designed to help students explore applications of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in real-world food waste and environmental sustainability challenges.

Health & Healthcare

UnitedHealthcare and Qualcomm Integrate New Wearable Devices with Wellness Program; People Earn Millions of Dollars in Financial Rewards for Being Active

Jan 4, 2017 2:00 PM ET

UnitedHealthcare and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM), through its wholly owned subsidiary Qualcomm Life, Inc., today announced enhancements and the expansion of UnitedHealthcare Motion™, a wellness program that provides employees with activity trackers at no additional charge and enables them to earn up to $1,500 per year by meeting certain goals for the number of daily steps.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Baxter Employees Help Improve Health and Nutrition of Yi Children in Liangshan

Jan 4, 2017 12:30 PM ET

Baxter employees in China recently visited Naituo village in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region in China to help improve minority children’s health and nutrition.

Environment

4 Steps Toward Sustainability

Jan 4, 2017 12:00 PM ET

As consumers increasingly seek sustainable products and services, many businesses are making sustainable improvements to operations, reducing costs and inefficiencies while proving what’s good for the planet can be rewarding for business.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Cargill Invests in Food Innovation Centers to Meet Consumer Demands Now and in the Future

Jan 4, 2017 11:20 AM ET

Cargill demonstrated an intensified commitment to innovation in food, nutrition and food safety during the final two months of 2016. The company opened two major R&D facilities in November and December—one in North America and one in China—focused on continuous improvement and investing in the future of food to meet shifting consumer expectations.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Glendale Residents Appreciate Trash Collector

Jan 4, 2017 11:05 AM ET

Several neighborhoods in Glendale, Missouri, are praising the man who picks up their trash.

Diversity & Inclusion

Practitioner Spotlight--Ryan Cate

Jan 4, 2017 10:25 AM ET

This month Antea Group spotlights environmental liability management senior PM Ryan Cate out of the Charlotte office, who tells us about himself and what he loves about his work, including his favorite project and his secret talent.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Celebrating 25 years of Innovation in Vietnam

Jan 4, 2017 10:20 AM ET

This year, Kimberly-Clark celebrates 25 years of providing the essentials for a better life to Vietnamese consumers, an important milestone in the company’s journey that first began in 1991.

Education

Investing In Quality Education

Jan 4, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

Domtar's Community Effort to Improve Energy Efficiency in Sweden

Jan 4, 2017 9:35 AM ET

Domtar Corporation (NYSE: UFS) (TSX: UFS) designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of fiber-based products, including communication papers, specialty and packaging papers, and absorbent hygiene products.

Environment

Economic Analysis for a Healthcare Recycling Program

Jan 4, 2017 9:25 AM ET

HPRC has put together a comprehenmsive ecnonomic analysis for a healthcare recycling program, which will walk you through a full analysis in preparation for a new program, or in evaluation of an existing program. It considers baseline waste data, plastics quantities, and start-up, capital, and disposal costs for the program.

​Simply follow the instructions and fields will calculate based on your inputs.​ This data can then be used to make the business case for recycling at your hospital, or to help understand and improve upon your current practices. p understand and improve upon your current practices.