Corporate environmental, social and governance practices (ESG) have the potential to impact a company’s financial performance, both positively and negatively. Corporate data on ESG practices has also been used by institutional investors and fund companies as part of their investment management.

Last week at the end of the second day of Bio-Based Live Europe, hosted at the University of Amsterdam, the winners of the Bio-Based Innovation Awards (Europe) were announced. The winner of our European Bio-Based Chemical Innovation of the Year 2017 which is Cyrene developed by Mercki, the Chemistry Centre of Excellence at the University of York and Circa Group in response to increasing demand for safer, greener alternatives to PMF and NMP.

2017 will be remembered as the year that corporate social responsibility (CSR) was redefined. Although CSR will always be grounded in business operations, the stakes have gotten a lot higher. Companies must now share not only what they stand for, but what they stand up for.

General Motors’ sustainability approach enables the company to serve its customers and shareholders, increase operational efficiency, mitigate risk and improve the communities where it does business.

When Cornell University competed in 2011 to develop an applied science and engineering campus in New York City, part of its pitch was that it would construct an academic building that would at least approach making as much energy as it used in a year, a concept known as net zero. It won. Then came the hard work of making that vision happen at the campus, known as Cornell Tech.

CITGO renewed its Official Fuel Sponsorship of First Response Team of America, helping the organization support communities across the country in the crucial moments immediately following natural disasters. As Official Fuel Sponsor, CITGO will help First Response Team purchase the fuel they need to help communities struggling in the aftermath of a catastrophe.

Ingersoll Rand®, a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments, won an Environmental Leader Product Award for its Ingersoll Rand Next Generation R-Series line of compressors at the Environmental Leader Conference in Denver, Colorado on June 6, 2017. Deborah Kalish, program manager for Ingersoll Rand, also received an Energy Manager Today 50 award at the conference.

In Europe, Arrow is working with universities that are participating in Formula Student, a global automotive engineering competition. Some 3,500 students across Europe participate in the program each year, producing more than 100 custom vehicles. Arrow sponsors the Formula-E Race Car Projects in Norway and Germany.

HP Canada is listed as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers for the tenth year in a row. Canada's Greenest Employers is an editorial competition organized by the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

21st Century Fox’s National Geographic is now accepting submissions for Chasing Genius, a new digital community developed in partnership with GSK Consumer Healthcare based on the idea that global change can come from anyone and anywhere. The platform is inspired by Genius, Nat Geo’s first scripted series produced by Academy Award winners Brain Grazer and Ron Howard, which premiered in April and chronicles Albert Einstein’s life through stories about his friends, lovers, enemies, and fellow scientific luminaries.