Getting SMEs to participate in sustainability reporting is a challenge. The Global Reporting Initiative and the Swiss government embarked on an experiment to addresses this challenge in Ghana. By helping SMEs in Ghana to report for the first time, the experience showed that sustainability reporting can lead to clear business benefits for smaller companies in developing countries.

In this week's Brands Taking Stands newsletter, John Howell takes us onto the "unconscious bias bus" with CEO Action on Diversity & Inclusion; Cone tells us that Americans want businesses to have purpose; Green Money Journal finds faith taking a stand on finance; and a Christmas commercial with an adorable orangutan is deemed "too political".

When we protect our parks, we protect our future. This commercial follows the journey of a grandmother taking her granddaughter to a national park for the first time.

Last month, I joined many colleagues and peers in New York for the annual UN General Assembly. While the political will galvanized at the UN can feel far away from the incredibly important work on the ground, my mind was drawn to a different place – the boardroom. The toil and intention that designed our UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Commitment in 2016 represents an integrated and determined approach to leverage our size and scale for global health and social impact. Or as we like to say, big for good. This determination is shared in boardrooms across the world, but as we get one more year into commitments, what can we say about action?

Meeting the sustainable development goals (SDGs) – a global call to action to eradicate poverty, protect the Earth and promote peace and prosperity – will not only require all hands on deck, but all tech on deck as well.

Identifying Japan, Australia, Mexico, Turkey and Taiwan as growth hotspots, the RE100 Progress and Insights Annual Report “Moving To Truly Global Impact” shows a 41% increase in renewable electricity sourced by RE100 companies in 2017, compared to 2016. With the falling cost of renewables strengthening the business case for switching, 37 companies are already over 95% renewable, and six members reached their 100% goal for the first time. Schneider Electric is one of these companies who has committed to being powered by 80% renewables across all facilities by 2020 and 100% by 2030.

Increased climate variability and surging population growth are placing greater demands on limited resources such as water, energy, and physical space. Our teams are considering how buildings and infrastructure can be designed to more effectively cope with these stresses and perform well into the future. Facilities need to be built not only to operate in greater harmony with nature but also to withstand the forces it may unleash.

We released our Global Impact Report - $PYPL’s first comprehensive summary of our Environmental, Social and Governance efforts. As we continue to advance on our #ESG journey, we’ll share updates on our progress along the way.