ESG News from Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Northern Trust Continuing the Season of Giving

Dec 20, 2018 9:55 AM ET

We are continuing the season of giving! Our Community Partners in Limerick gave their time over two days to pack 3,592 food hampers for families in the local community.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Dinty Moore And Goodr Feed Needy Atlanta Seniors One Bowl At A Time

Dec 20, 2018 9:45 AM ET

As winter temperatures set in, hot meals for Atlanta’s neediest seniors are often out of reach. Hunger-fight start-up Goodr continued their innovative pop-up approach to food distribution logistics by partnering with food giant Hormel Foods on November 28, 2018, for a free pop-up grocery store featuring staple Dinty Moore stew. Serving up hot bowls of Dinty Moore stew, Kroger biscuits and fresh produce added Southern hospitality to more basic food distribution.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Nasir’s #GardenStory: Teaching Other Kids Through His Love of Gardening

Dec 20, 2018 9:35 AM ET

Smarter, happier, healthier kids have one thing in common. They spend more time outdoors. That’s why at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation we make it our mission to give more kids the chance to experience the benefits of gardens and greenspaces like Nasir. Starting January 2, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation will launch its Grassroots Grants with KidsGardening, inviting schools and nonprofit organizations from across the country to apply for funds to support their youth garden programs.

Media & Communications

A Year in Purpose: The Top 10 Trends of 2018

Dec 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

As the year draws to a close, Cone evaluated a year’s worth of purpose-driven news, activities, campaigns and announcements to bring you the top 10 trends of 2018.

Green Infrastructure

Check out This Company's New Open Offices in Salesforce Tower

Dec 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Commercial real estate brokerage CBRE has been helping clients reimagine their workplaces and is now doing the same in San Francisco. A few months ago, the firm moved more than 200 employees into new offices on the 45th and 46th floors of Salesforce Tower at 415 Mission St., the city’s tallest office building.

Events, Media & Communications

Brand Activism Matters Now More Than Ever

Dec 20, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Where companies could once stay silent during times of political and social upheaval, their stakeholders—from employees and customers to shareholders—now increasingly expect them to speak out.

Diversity & Inclusion

How Bechtel Is Helping Veterans Enter the Workforce

Dec 20, 2018 8:05 AM ET

In 2017, Bechtel opened the Welding and Applied Technology Center (WATC), a full-scale welding, testing, and construction center located in the Houston Energy Corridor. Since opening, this construction technology hub has helped attract, develop, and qualify key talent, while also delivering cost-effective solutions capable of improving quality – all within proximity to our customers.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Sands Cares Becomes First Corporate Sponsor for Built for Zero’s Permanent Supportive Housing Campaign

Dec 20, 2018 8:05 AM ET

Built for Zero, a national initiative to end chronic homelessness, launched the Permanent Supportive Housing Campaign in Las Vegas, making Southern Nevada one of 70 communities participating in this comprehensive effort. Led by organizations including U.S. Vets, HELP of Southern Nevada and Lutheran Social Services of Nevada as housing providers, the local group’s goal is to become the first large community in the nation to end chronic homelessness.

Research, Reports & Publications

New BCG Report on Sustainability: It’s Time to Plant the Seeds of Sustainable Growth in Agriculture

Dec 20, 2018 8:00 AM ET

The world is inhabited by eight billion people. In the next 30 years, there will be two billion more people who will need to be fed. Today, already 30% of all land globally is considered degraded with 28% of crop land in water-stressed regions, malnutrition is endemic, and climate change is accelerating. There is a growing and urgent need for fertile farmland.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Community: Creating “Happy Tails” for Animals Across Michigan

Dec 20, 2018 7:15 AM ET

From wildfires to hurricanes and animal hoarding to dog fighting, Courtney Protz-Sanders is skilled in triage and emergency sheltering for animals. She’s also founder and executive director of Paws for Life, a non-profit, foster-based, all-breed rescue for dogs and cats that has saved nearly 3,000 homeless animals from shelters and the streets of Michigan.

Sustainable Development Goals

El Abra, a Freeport-McMoRan Company, Sponsors Free Health Care for Community

Dec 20, 2018 7:15 AM ET

Minera El Abra, a Freeport-McMoRan company, financed the services of Fundación Acrux in the Antofogasta Region of Chile where the El Abra operations are located.

The Fundación Acrux is a non-profit organization of volunteer medical specialists who provide medical services to patients from the most remote places in Chile.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Inspirational Youngsters Find a Way to Brighter Tomorrows

Dec 19, 2018 7:00 PM ET

They are brave, determined, humbling, and truly inspiring young Hong Kong people who rise above difficulties to succeed in their studies and move forward in life against the odds.
This year, CLP Power for the first time partners with the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups in sponsoring the CLP Energy for Brighter Tomorrows award. The programme aims to highlight real-life stories of young people who overcome challenging circumstances and backgrounds through the power of positivity.

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar Inc. | Dirt & Data

Dec 19, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Shire’s Partnership with SeriousFun Children’s Network Enabled Nearly 1,000 Children with Serious Illnesses to Attend Life-Changing Camps

Dec 19, 2018 4:30 PM ET

SeriousFun Children’s Network, founded by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, provides fun, life-changing camp experiences to children living with serious illnesses and their families throughout the world—totally free of charge. These medically safe, inclusive experiences allow campers to connect with peers and build confidence, empowering them to value the possibility and potential of their lives beyond camp—and beyond their illnesses.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Sodexo to Welcome Guests at Connecticut Services Plazas, Expanding Infrastructure Portfolio

Dec 19, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company committed to Quality of Life, is pleased to welcome Connecticut Service Plazas to its portfolio through a new relationship with Project Service LLC. The new 25-year relationship leverages Sodexo’s market research to deliver innovative, high-quality customer experiences at 23 service plazas throughout the state.

Green Infrastructure

VIDEO | Mohawk’s George Bandy Jr. from Greenbuild

Dec 19, 2018 2:45 PM ET

George Bandy Jr., vice president of sustainability, Mohawk Group, and winner of the U.S. Green Building Council 2018 Leadership Award, from Greenbuild, discusses the show and its turnout as well as the maturing and transition of sustainability.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

P&G Gets National Accolades for Corporate Citizenry, Management

Dec 19, 2018 1:50 PM ET

Procter & Gamble Co. has landed among the top 10 on two national lists.

Education

Young Innovators ‘Rise to the Challenge’

Dec 19, 2018 1:35 PM ET

Whirlpool Corporation’s 2018 High School Innovation Challenge came to a conclusion on Friday, Dec. 14 when an employee panel awarded the final prizes to four teams of area high schoolers.

Environment

PurpleAir Founder Adrian Dybwad

Dec 19, 2018 1:15 PM ET

Northern California’s now infamous Camp Fire was not only the largest, longest, and deadliest wildfire in the state’s history, it also produced record amounts of smoke. Schools closed, there was a run on protective masks, and people were fashioning do-it-yourself air purifiers because there were none left in stores.

Environment

BIER Member Spotlight: Al Halvorsen

Dec 19, 2018 1:00 PM ET

The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) highlights their members' beverage industry sustainability insights and ideas in their BIER Member Spotlight series on a monthly basis. These spotlights include their answers to questions about their company's sustainability achievements and strategy, practical insights from BIER, interesting facts, and more.

Education

PNC Taps High Schools for Talent

Dec 19, 2018 12:55 PM ET

The statistics sound bleak: 70 percent of employers cite a skills gap between what they need and what’s available in the talent pool and 22 percent of workers in the Pittsburgh region will be retiring within 10 years with no comparably-sized group to replace them.

Education

Cool Labs From Amgen Scholars: All About the New Experiences

Dec 19, 2018 12:45 PM ET

In this video, Amgen Scholars at the U.S. symposium at the University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Europe symposium at the University of Cambridge talk about the many and varied new experiences they had with the program.

Innovation & Technology

Best Practices for Employee Data Protection

Dec 19, 2018 12:35 PM ET

Data privacy is a primary concern for companies today, but that attention is often focused on customers. Yet they are not the only people whose data companies store. They also maintain information on their employees. And employees are apparently not all that confident that employers are doing a good job of protecting their personal data at the workplace.

Energy

National Grid Statement on Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Jurisdictions’ Commitment to Develop Cleaner Transportation

Dec 19, 2018 12:25 PM ET

“Today, two of National Grid’s service territories, MA and RI, along with jurisdictions across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, made a historic commitment to address one of the largest challenges threatening our clean energy future – transportation emissions. National Grid commends the Transportation and Climate Initiative and their members for their willingness to study and design a regional, market-based system transportation policy to reduce carbon emissions from transportation fuels.”

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

2019 Resolution: Rejecting the Tyranny of Positivity

Dec 19, 2018 12:10 PM ET

This year, we learned we have fewer than 15 years to prevent catastrophic climate change. We saw suicide rates rise at a rapid rate and watched journalists experience an unprecedented degree of abuse. When the news is overwhelmingly depressing, we find ourselves saying things like, “Just be positive – things will be alright” – or worse, “It doesn’t do any good to get upset.”