ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

'Tis the Season: Our Personal Mission Statements

Dec 20, 2017 9:45 AM ET

Tis the season to reflect, refresh and recharge as 2017 comes to a close. While this year has certainly had its ups and downs, the Common Impact team is grateful for the passion and dedication of our partners who continue to drive our mission forward. As we head into the last week of the year, we spent some time reflecting on (and discovering!) what truly motivates us to do the work we do every day to strengthen the communities in which we live and work. Below you will find our staff's personal missions statements, which reveal what drives us both personally and professionally.

Research, Reports & Publications

Wendy's | Investing in Quality and Making Progress on Animal Antibiotics

Dec 20, 2017 9:10 AM ET

We’ve just published a year-end recap of our corporate responsibility efforts at Wendy’s. Having now done this twice, it’s fair to say this is a practice we will follow on at least an annual basis. It was a busy year with encouraging progress on several fronts, and we spent a lot of time working on sustainable food issues related to the livestock in our supply chain.

Innovation & Technology

Oil and Gas Asset Data Quality and Asset Integrity

Dec 20, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Today’s approaches to managing oil & gas utility asset application data do not provide the high-quality foundation necessary to drive new insights into improving operations, regardless of how much we may wish for it.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

More Consumers are Punishing Companies for Their Behavior Rather Than Rewarding Them

Dec 20, 2017 9:00 AM ET

For the first time since 2009, more consumers say they have punished companies for their behavior (28%) rather than rewarded them (26%), and the number of those who are punishing brands is up by 9% since 2013.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

More Than Philanthropy: SDGs Present an Estimated US$12 Trillion in Market Opportunities for Private Sector Through Inclusive Business

Dec 20, 2017 8:45 AM ET

According to the Better Business Better World report by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission, achieving the Global Goals could open up an estimated US$12 trillion in market opportunities in four economic systems: food and agriculture, cities, energy and materials, and health and well-being. They represent around 60 percent of the real economy and are critical to delivering the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

VIDEO: Explore Our National Treasures

Dec 20, 2017 8:00 AM ET

Our forests are a treasured legacy threatened by insects, disease, and devastating wildfires. But Foundation members, corporate sponsors, and partners continue to respond to the need for replanting.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

CBRE Asia Pacific Walk for a Wish 2017

Dec 20, 2017 8:00 AM ET

On October 27, over 2,500 CBRE professionals from 22 locations across Asia Pacific took part in Walk for a Wish, an annual charity event where CBRE gets up and gives back, exemplifying our Employee Advantage.

Diversity & Inclusion

AEG’s Season of Giving Celebrates Chanukah With Chabad of Downtown Los Angeles Jewish Community Center at L.A. LIVE

Dec 20, 2017 7:55 AM ET

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, in celebration of AEG’s Season of Giving, the company’s charitable holiday initiative, AEG joined efforts with Chabad of Downtown Los Angeles Jewish Community Center to celebrate the eighth night of Chanukah at L.A. LIVE.

Sustainable Development Goals

WBCSD's Panorama Podcast | A Deep-dive Into Water: Resolving a Global Crisis

Dec 20, 2017 7:25 AM ET

With the world on the precipice of a water crisis, what do we need to do to better manage this precious natural resource? And what role can business play? To discuss this, I’m joined by Henk Ovink, the Netherland’s Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, Diane Holdorf, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP at Kellogg’s, and Tatiana Fedotova, The World Business Council’s Water Director.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Tax Reform: A Real Cohn Job

Dec 19, 2017 11:30 PM ET

How tax reform has fallen victim to the culture that can subsume decent men on Wall Street, where everything—a deal, a job, a house, even a marriage in some cases—gets reduced to and commodified as a “trade”.

Education

AT&T Aspire Accelerator: Where Are They Now?

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Feb. 17, 2017 will forever be burned into my mind. The Bitsbox team had that date circled in red on the calendar for months prior. It’s the day some of us sweat through our shirts and others found comfort in raiding the snack cabinet. Feb. 17 was the day our pitch to Shark Tank investors aired on TV.

Diversity & Inclusion

VIDEO | Walmart Helps Wreaths Across America Lay 100,000 Wreaths at Cemeteries Nationwide to Honor Veterans This December

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Every year, as part of its long commitment to support our nation’s military communities, Walmart helps Wreaths Across America (WAA) recognize the sacrifices of our nation’s veterans and their families through wreath laying ceremonies around the nation. Coordinated and led by local volunteers, this annual event seeks to further the WAA’s mission — Remember, Honor, Teach — ensuring that the memory of those who served our country endures.

Education

Meet Tiger Tech: How an Elite Group of Middle Schoolers Became the Tech Teachers

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

A group of 24 students at Armstrong Middle School, the Tiger Tech team keeps the school’s technology running smoothly.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Your Gift Gives Children the Stability They Deserve

Dec 19, 2017 3:00 PM ET

Laverne Moore-Jenkins and her husband Terry have been fostering children for almost 30 years. They have always enjoyed working with teens to help them get the skills they need to transition out of the foster care system as well as provide them a place to visit.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Rebels with a Cause: Promoting Goodness

Dec 19, 2017 2:40 PM ET

Mamadou-Abou Sarr was a long jumper and triple jumper as a teen in the suburbs of Paris—good enough to compete on a national level at 14. He gave up the sport because his father insisted he focus on his studies, but in many ways the eldest son of immigrants to France from Senegal and Benin hasn’t stopped jumping.

Diversity & Inclusion

Let's Crowd Source This: How to Get From Today’s Scandals to Workplace Parity?

Dec 19, 2017 2:00 PM ET

Reflecting on her interview with Robert Reiss, host of the CEO Forum, Lorna Donatone, CEO, Geographic Regions and Region Chair North America, Sodexo, addresses the need for workplace parity and how men and women in corporate America and beyond can advocate for gender equality in the workplace.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Citi Earns Perfect Score on LGBT Workplace Equality Scorecard

Dec 19, 2017 2:00 PM ET

For the 14th consecutive year, Citi received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The national survey benchmarks corporate policies and practices for LGBT workplace equality.

Sustainable Development Goals

WBCSD Sustain Newsletter | Our New CEO Guide and Your Last Chance for Factor10

Dec 19, 2017 1:20 PM ET

To fulfil the ambitions of the Paris Agreement we need a much wider view of the economy, one which incorporates environmental, social and governance-related factors and rewards companies that do so. To help CEOs to achieve this, we have published the CEO Guide to climate-related financial disclosures. T

Green Infrastructure

The Clean Power and Electrification Pathway

Dec 19, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Environment

Student Team from India wins Xylem Water Prize

Dec 19, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, congratulates the national team of India, winners of the Xylem Water Prize 2017, awarded at the 14th annual International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO). The theme of this year’s IJSO was “Water and Sustainability” and the competition took place on December 4-11, 2017, in The Netherlands, where more than 300 students aged 15 years or younger from 50 different countries tested their scientific knowledge and skills.

As a sponsor of the IJSO, Xylem launched the first Xylem Water Prize, which invited participating students to produce a video answering the question, “How do you solve water?”

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Whirlpool Employees Raise $400K for Darke Co. United Way

Dec 19, 2017 12:45 PM ET

Whirlpool Corporation employees raised more than $400,000 for United Way agencies in Ohio. The money will go toward education initiatives, health initiatives, and income stability initiatives that the service organization will support in 2018.

Green Infrastructure

Infrastructure Opportunity on The Ray: Solar Noise Barriers

Dec 19, 2017 12:30 PM ET

The Ray is proud to release groundbreaking research on solar noise barriers in conjunction with Innovia Technology, a UK based innovation consultancy. The Ray’s research was conducted in parallel with the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How Businesses in Puerto Rico are Recovering After Maria

Dec 19, 2017 12:15 PM ET

The Bacardi rum plant was back up and running less than two weeks after Maria. Good news for the place that produces 80 percent of Bacardi's rum and employs 300 people. The company has paid its employees throughout hurricane recovery.

Environment

Changing Consumers Ignite Food Revolution

Dec 19, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Elke Richards drives two hours to Maple Grove every month to shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, both of which offer more organic groceries or minimally processed food than she can find near her home in Alexandria. In the summer, she goes to farmers markets for locally grown produce. For meat, she visits a local family farm that raises sheep and cattle using environmentally friendly land management practices.

Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Management: Assuring the Integrity of Third-Party Certification

Dec 19, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Third-party certification is widely recognized as playing an integral role in helping companies demonstrate their environmental, sustainability, and safety achievements to their customers and stakeholders. As a certification body, the question we are most frequently asked is what qualifies us to do this work. SCS’ Quality Assurance Team assures that our operations run uninterrupted by supporting multiple accreditations in good standing and ensuring that our clients receive the most scientifically rigorous, impartial, efficient, and high-quality assessments from our auditors.