ESG News from Leading Brands

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Hosts Influential Brand Leaders at SB’17 Detroit

May 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® kicks off its largest community gathering today with Sustainable Brands’17 Detroit at the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. Over 2,000 business executives along with their teams from 35+ countries across the globe are attending the conference and Activation Hub. In addition, there is anticipated record breaking livestream viewership in collaboration with Detroit Public Television (DPTV).

Social Impact & Volunteering

PepsiCo and Feed the Children Unite to Strike out Hunger

May 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Eight hundred DC-area families in need will receive enough food to supplement meals for a week plus daily essentials, thanks to a partnership between PepsiCo and Feed the Children. The event kicks off today at 11:00 a.m. at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, 3675 Ely Place SE

Energy

National Grid Offers Free Professional Energy Network

May 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

National Grid has announced the launch of a new program that will support building designers, engineers, contractors, trade and other professionals in achieving their energy savings goals.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Investing to Close the Energy Gap

May 22, 2017 9:55 AM ET

Energy

Access to Energy is a Basic Human Right

May 22, 2017 9:45 AM ET

Sustainable Development Goals

Lockheed Martin Reports First Year of Progress Toward New Sustainability Goals

May 22, 2017 9:20 AM ET

In late 2015, we reassessed our priority sustainability issues based on Lockheed Martin’s evolving business portfolio and highly dynamic environment. Beginning in 2016, we focus on five core sustainability issues made up of 23 factors. Our sustainability factors have two tiers of priorities: Tier 1 performance factors where we seek to accelerate progress by setting targets for 2017 and 2020; and Tier 2 factors that we will advance through continued management and disclosure, without setting new SMP goals.

Green Infrastructure

SCS Global Services Approves VITO to Conduct VOC Emissions Testing for its Indoor Air Quality Certifications

May 22, 2017 9:10 AM ET

SCS Global Services (SCS) has partnered with VITO, a premier independent research and technology organisation based in Belgium, to provide volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions testing for SCS' indoor air quality certification programs SCS Indoor Advantage™, SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold, and FloorScore®.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Our Volunteers Have an Award-Winning Impact

May 22, 2017 9:05 AM ET

Every day, around the world, our employees choose to spend some of their time volunteering for organizations and projects they are proud to support.

Of those volunteer opportunities that primarily deal with food, our sweet spot, Second Harvest Heartland, keeps us coming back again and again. The organization has been a General Mills partner for more than three decades.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

4 Benefits of Implementing a Corporate Social Responsibility Program

May 22, 2017 9:05 AM ET

The casual consumer might consider a spirits organization like Bacardi Limited to be all about having a good time. However, Bacardi’s “No Straws” Pledge has positioned it as an environmentally conscious organization.

Environment

Xylem Watermark & Project 24 : Guaduas La Paz, Colombia

May 22, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Guaduas La Paz Village is home to 800 households and has a total population of over 2,000 people who earn a living mainly from the production of cheese and livestock.

Diversity & Inclusion

Northern Lights: Meet the Warm-Hearted Associates of Alaska

May 22, 2017 9:00 AM ET

It takes a special team to stay happy in one of the coldest, darkest places in the country. Even at temperatures of -30 F, associates in Alaska keep customers — and each other — smiling by taking outstanding customer service to the extreme.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Allstate Agency Owners from Across the U.S. Come Together at the “People’s Pier” to Assemble 2,400 Backpacks for Chicago Youth

May 22, 2017 6:55 AM ET

More than 100 Allstate agency owners from around the country sorted and stuffed 2,400 backpacks with books and loaded them onto Chicago Public Library trucks at Navy Pier on Wed., May 17. The backpacks, which included books tailored for preschool, elementary and middle school students, were delivered to all 80 Chicago Public Library branches and will be distributed to youth this summer.

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar Highlights Company's Focus on Building Better and Making Sustainable Progress Possible Around the World

May 22, 2017 5:00 AM ET

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) has released its 2016 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s focus for more than 90 years on building better – better lives, better communities and, ultimately, a better world.

Health & Healthcare

This Is Your Brain With Schizophrenia: How the Illness Manifests and What Researchers Are Doing to Help

May 21, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Even if you don’t know anyone who has schizophrenia, chances are you’re familiar with the symptoms.

People with the condition may experience hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, as well as have difficulty concentrating, organizing their thoughts and doing basic tasks of everyday life.

For many years, doctors had little insight into the illness beyond patients’ self-reported symptoms. The causes of schizophrenia, and the way it impacts the brain, were mostly a mystery due to the unique challenges researchers faced in trying to understand the most complex—and least accessible—organ in the body.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Heroes Working For a Restorative Future

May 19, 2017 5:30 PM ET

Every year, we recognize individuals who have demonstrated a fierce commitment to the Living Building Challenge with their desire to continually raise the bar on behalf of the green building industry.

This year, nine recipients are inspirational in their quest to help safeguard our future.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Cubs Pitcher Jon Lester Saddles Up for Team #NVRQT

May 19, 2017 5:30 PM ET

Chicago Cubs pitcher, Jon Lester, has built quite the résumé through his first decade-plus in the majors, helping to win two World Series with the Boston Red Sox and adding another last year with the Cubs. Jon has also made four All-Star appearances, won an NLCS MVP award and a Babe Ruth Award, and has even pitched a no-hitter.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful Completes Successful Great American Cleanup Event

May 19, 2017 5:00 PM ET

Earlier in May, Keep America Beautiful Reno, Nevada-based affiiliate Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB) hosted its 11th annual Great Community Cleanup -- a local initiative of the Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program.

Media & Communications

Walmart Reports Strong Comps, Shows Leadership And Fights Hunger

May 19, 2017 3:30 PM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

Army Veteran Brings Military Values to FedEx

May 19, 2017 2:30 PM ET

Bobbi Wells, Vice-President of Aviation Safety & Airworthiness, FedEx Express discusses how her military values of service and leadership prepared her for the responsibilities of her current role at FedEx.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Amgen Staff Volunteer with Habitat for Humanity

May 19, 2017 1:50 PM ET

Amgen employees from the Corporate Audit team at the Thousand Oaks, CA HQ volunteered at their local Habitat for Humanity. Not only did they learn valuable skills, they helped provide housing for families in need.

Environment

TD Bank Group Wins U.S. Department of Energy's Green Lease Leader Award

May 19, 2017 1:05 PM ET

On May 15, the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Better Buildings Alliance announced the 2017 Green Lease Leaders at the Better Buildings Summit in Washington, D.C. This year’s Green Lease Leader portfolio, which collectively spans almost 200 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial buildings across North America, recognizes companies who effectively leverage their lease as a smart tool to achieve higher energy and water savings.

Health & Healthcare

Report Calls for Better Measurement of Access-to-Medicine Programs to Support the World’s Poorest

May 19, 2017 12:30 PM ET

Pharmaceutical companies have long experience in measuring the impact of their business programs. The same should apply to their access-to-medicine efforts. Richard Laing, from the Boston University (BU) School of Public Health and former World Health Organization official, says that many efforts to expand access to medicines fail to gather sufficient evidence on how effective they are.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Morgan Stanley and The Economist Intelligence Unit Release New Index to Support Investment in Inclusive Growth

May 19, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Today the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing announced the Inclusive Growth Opportunities Index, a report and interactive tool for investors to explore technology-based opportunities that support inclusive economic growth – the first in a body of work that the Institute will produce to help drive private capital toward reducing inequality.

Energy

International Living Future Institute and New Buildings Institute Partner to Accelerate the Zero Energy Movement

May 19, 2017 11:30 AM ET

The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and New Buildings Institute (NBI) today announced a partnership that will streamline and strengthen the tracking and certification of zero energy (ZE) buildings in order to drive broader market adoption, codification and standardization of ZE technologies in everyday buildings.

Diversity & Inclusion

PayPal’s Brandon Tineo on Strong Work Ethic Creating Opportunity

May 19, 2017 11:15 AM ET