ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Production & Consumption

Video: Fair Trade USA Celebrates 20 Years of Impact

Oct 11, 2018 4:20 PM ET

Twenty years ago, Fair Trade USA’s Founder and CEO Paul Rice brought an idea from his field work in Nicaragua to a one-room office in Oakland, California. What started with coffee and conviction – and not much else – is now the leading market-based model of sustainable production, trade and consumption.

Energy

UPS/Greenbiz Study Identifies Motivators and Barriers to Electric Fleets

Oct 11, 2018 4:15 PM ET

Attaining environmental benefits and lower cost of ownership are driving more commercial fleets to electrify, according to a UPS (NYSE: UPS) and GreenBiz study released today. In the “Curve Ahead: The Future of Fleet Electrification” report, industry leaders identify the main motivations and barriers to electrification, as well as strategies to move the commercial electric vehicle market from niche to mainstream.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Costa Cruises Supports the "Pink Is Good" Project on Board Its Ships

Oct 11, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Marking breast cancer prevention month, for the third year running, Costa Cruises will be supporting the Umberto Veronesi Foundation and its Pink is Good project, which aims to definitively defeat breast, uterus and ovarian cancer, promoting prevention and providing annual funding to doctors and researchers who have decided to dedicate their lives to studying and treating these diseases.

Diversity & Inclusion

An Advocate for Accessibility

Oct 11, 2018 4:00 PM ET

It’s easy to take for granted how significantly computers, tablets, and mobile devices have changed our jobs and lives — offering nearly instant access to an endless array of tools and information whenever and wherever we need it. For the 253 million people around the world with visual impairments — of whom 36 million are blind — all that information is sitting there at their fingertips, but without the proper accessibility tools, it might as well be a million miles away. Fortunately, there are people like Jeremiah Rogers who advocate for improving and enhancing online accessibility for the blind and visually impaired community.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bloomberg European Headquarters Named UK’s Best New Building

Oct 11, 2018 3:35 PM ET

Bloomberg’s new European headquarters has been named the UK’s best new building the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) after an expert jury reached a “unanimous” decision. The prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize was awarded at a televised ceremony in London where the judges called the building a “once-in-a-generation project” that has “not just raised the bar for office design and city planning but smashed the ceiling.”

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

General Motors Recognized for Exceptional Freight Performance

Oct 11, 2018 3:20 PM ET

General Motors North America was recently awarded the 2018 SmartWay Excellence Award, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) highest honor for leadership in freight performance. The award recognizes the top two percent of SmartWay Partners with superior environmental performance. This year, GM is the only original equipment manufacturer (OEM) represented on the list.

Sustainable Development Goals

Essity and the United Nations Foundation Lead Dialogue on UN’s Sustainable Development Goals

Oct 11, 2018 2:50 PM ET

Today, the hygiene and health company Essity will open the annual meeting of the United Nations Foundation’s dialogue on the UN’s sustainable development goals. The meeting will be held at the UN headquarters in New York and bring together the business community, governments, authorities, civil society and NGOs to exchange experiences and perspectives on how to achieve the global sustainable development goals.

Events, Media & Communications

Common Impact Connections: A Quarterly Newsletter

Oct 11, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Happy Fall! Common Impact is excited to head into the last few months of 2018 (can you believe it?) with new initiatives under our belt and a wealth of inspiration. Over the past eight months, we have had the opportunity to define and launch new models for scaled impact, interview everyday leaders from all backgrounds to understand how they create a meaningful impact in their communities, build our internal capacity by hiring new rock star team members and create new partnerships that enable inclusive and sustainable social progress.

Education

HP, the Clooney Foundation for Justice, UNICEF and Google.org Shine Spotlight on Education

Oct 11, 2018 1:35 PM ET

On the International Day of the Girl, HP Inc. launched a powerful new film titled A Generation Found. The film, narrated by George Clooney, tells the story of two young Syrian girls living in refugee settlements in Lebanon who regain access to quality education following years of uncertainty. It is the result of a unique partnership between HP, the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), UNICEF and Google.org focused on improving educational opportunities and learning outcomes for underserved communities.

Social Impact & Volunteering

VIDEO | Barclays Citizenship Awards: Sabrina Boanu-Williams Works with the Thameside Prison Initiative

Oct 11, 2018 1:05 PM ET

Through her work with the Thameside Prison Initiative, Sabrina is successfully helping prisoners gain the skills they need to find meaningful employment after release.

Health & Healthcare

New Nonprofit Tool: Pro Bono + The Food Value Chain

Oct 11, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Marina Bay Sands Introduces Learning Leave

Oct 11, 2018 12:10 PM ET

Marina Bay Sands has implemented an innovative two-day Learning Leave incentive for its over 9,700 Team Members to enroll in SkillsFuture courses. Believed to be the first such initiative in the hospitality industry, the two-day program allows all full-time staff to take paid leave to attend courses related to language and communication, service excellence and information technology.

Energy

Pollinate Energy Bringing Affordable Light, Energy and Clean Water to Low Income Areas in India and Nepal

Oct 11, 2018 11:50 AM ET

Pollinate Energy is improving the lives of India’s urban and Nepal’s rural poor by giving them access to sustainable everyday household products and empowering local entrepreneurs.

Education

Sustainability Academy Readying Practitioners for Climate Change

Oct 11, 2018 11:45 AM ET

The Sustainability Academy is CSE’s global initiative to offer affordable, specialized, online education in the field of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility.

Of particular relevance today is the Certificate on Carbon Reduction Strategy. The IPCC’s latest report finds that if greenhouse gas emissions increase by 1.5C by 2040 (down from the previous fear of 2C), the world can expect inundating coastlines and intensifying droughts and poverty.

Education

HP and Girl Rising Celebrate International Day of the Girl with 12 Stories of Empowerment from Around the Globe

Oct 11, 2018 11:30 AM ET

New York, NY, October 11, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Today, in honor of International Day of the Girl, HP (NYSE: HPQ) and Girl Rising, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating poverty by providing education to girls, are celebrating 12 stories of female empowerment gathered from around the globe as part of the first ever Girl Rising Creative Challenge. Introduced on International Women’s Day in March, the challenge was a call-to-action to highlight storytelling that has the power to change the world. More than 880 stories were submitted from people in 110 countries who entered essays, videos, art and more about how they, or people in their communities, are working to make the world a better place for girls.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Celebrating 10 Years of Comcast NBCUniversal’s Beyond School Walls

Oct 11, 2018 11:30 AM ET

In 2008, eight-year-old Alize Delgado had spent almost no time outside of his North Philadelphia neighborhood. That changed as he stepped off his yellow school bus and into the Comcast Center as a member of the first “class” of students matched to Comcast employee mentors through the John Alchin Big Brothers Big Sisters Beyond School Walls program.

Education

VIDEO | The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation to Connect One Million Children to Fresh Food in Partnership with The National Head Start Association

Oct 11, 2018 11:15 AM ET

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation is partnering with The National Head Start Association to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to one million of America’s most vulnerable children and their families.

Environment

Download the Antea Group 2017 Sustainability Report

Oct 11, 2018 11:10 AM ET

Download Antea Group’s Sustainability Report for 2017 to see how we demonstrate our belief in “Better Business, Better World”.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Creating Long-Term Partnerships that Stick

Oct 11, 2018 11:05 AM ET

If you’ve been following our content this year, you’ve likely heard us mention a concept called “The Knitting Factor,” which brings together three key conditions that enable skills-based engagements between the private and nonprofit sectors to create strengthened, sustainable solutions that don’t come undone when partners part ways. There are three key characteristics that make up The Knitting Factor, but for skills-based volunteering to become truly transformative, organizations need to find the “sticky” relationships that enable companies and nonprofits to drive progress on both mission and business-related goals.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

KeyBank Expands Corporate Responsibility Leadership Team

Oct 11, 2018 11:00 AM ET

KeyBank has expanded its Corporate Responsibility leadership team to further drive KeyBank’s commitment to helping communities thrive. As part of the expansion, Kelli Arnold has been named director of Corporate Responsibility and Community Engagement and Eric Fiala has been appointed Director of Corporate Community Initiatives & Relations.

Responsible Production & Consumption

ISO-22000 Food Safety Management Certification Now Offered by SCS

Oct 11, 2018 11:00 AM ET

SCS Global Services (SCS), a trusted third-party certification body and pioneer in the fields of food safety, quality, and sustainability, is pleased to announce that it has been accredited as a certifier under the ISO 22000:2005 international standard for food safety management. The standard provides robust food safety management requirements for growers, food manufacturers, processors, packers, retailers, and other entities across the human food and animal feed supply chains.

Environment

Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci Mine Receives Award for Bat Preservation Program

Oct 11, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Freeport-McMoRan’s Morenci copper mining operations were recently honored by the Arizona Mining Association with the 2018 Sustainability, Preservation and Diversity in Environment award in recognition of environmental excellence.

Environment

5 Ways Companies Can Act on the Latest Dire Climate Warnings

Oct 11, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Owens-Illinois Honored as 2018 Recipient of Keep America Beautiful’s Vision for America Award

Oct 11, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, honored Owens-Illinois, Inc. (NYSE: OI) as the 2018 Vision for America Award recipient at the organization’s annual gala award dinner on Wednesday, Oct. 10, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

Environment

Beverage Sector Taking the Lead on Carbon Management

Oct 11, 2018 10:00 AM ET

The beverage sector is facing increasing stakeholder pressure to be more productive while also consuming less energy and reducing carbon emissions. The good news is that there are considerable opportunities to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—if we come together to tackle the challenges standing in the way.