ESG News from Leading Brands

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: A Shattered Record

Jan 22, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Tesla’s Model 3 is the new king, with a whopping 139,782 vehicles sold in 2018! December alone saw more than 25,000 Model 3s purchased.

Media & Communications

The US Sustainable Development Goals – How Companies & US Cities Are Leveraging the Goal to Maintain the Pace of Progress

Jan 22, 2019 10:00 AM ET

The nation’s leading think tanks, home to numerous scholars and policy wonks, including former officeholders (with many centers headquartered in Washington DC) focus on a variety of political, economic, cultural, environmental, science, and global issues and topics -- typically reflecting the points-of-view of their constituent base.

Diversity & Inclusion

3 Vital Steps to a New Gender Equality Playbook

Jan 22, 2019 9:35 AM ET

We launched the “Women at Work: Myth vs. Reality” installation on the promenade of Davos last January. For four days, leaders from around the world stepped into the installation and immersed themselves in the myths and realities of women at work. For many, it was a powerful moment as they recognized that myths they had accepted as truth were not based on reality, but were affecting reality every day.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Congrats to the Benevity Clients Who Made the JUST 100!

Jan 22, 2019 9:25 AM ET

We couldn’t be more proud of all of our clients that make up a significant part of the JUST 100. Together, we’re evolving the way companies do well by doing good.

Media & Communications

Common Impact Announces New Initiatives to Build Nonprofit Capacity Through Pro Bono Service

Jan 22, 2019 9:05 AM ET

Common Impact, a national nonprofit leader in corporate skills-based volunteering, is launching a model to engage private sector talent in supporting community disaster preparedness and resiliency, as part of a broader expansion of its program models and leadership team. The move is designed to meet the demand of U.S. communities faced with recovery from wild fires, hurricanes, and other disasters brought about by climate change, with long-term preparation and recovery services from catastrophic events.

Environment

Sustainability and the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Jan 21, 2019 2:15 PM ET

Since the late 1700's, the world has experienced three industrial revolutions. From the advent of mechanical production in the 1700's and early 1800's, to the introduction of mass production in the late 1800's, to the advancement of production automation in the mid-1900's, each revolution has had a lasting impact on manufacturing processes, economic growth, and overall living conditions around the world.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Deeper Look at CECP's Year-End Investing in Society: Planet

Jan 21, 2019 12:00 PM ET

Investing in Society, CECP’s recently launched and updated compendium of data, research, and case studies illustrates innovations in corporate efforts to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Divided into five sections – Priorities, Performance, People, Planet, and Policies – the collection of insights offers a far-reaching assessment of what leading companies are doing in each of the five focus areas.

In the Planet section, CECP asks, “How does a company's approach to the planet's resources factor into investments, resource management, and sustainability decisions?"

Social Impact & Volunteering

SpongeBob Mural at Roy Romer, Van Nuys

Jan 21, 2019 11:45 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

Business Resource Groups Take Off at UPS

Jan 21, 2019 11:20 AM ET

As one of the world’s largest employers, UPS employs people from all cultures, backgrounds, lifestyles, and experiences.

Events, Media & Communications

How to Make MLK Day a Day “On”

Jan 21, 2019 10:30 AM ET

Starbucks and VolunteerMatch are empowering volunteers to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and find ways to do good this MLK Day of Service.

Diversity & Inclusion

Yum! Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Elevates Inclusion by Making It a Leadership Competency

Jan 21, 2019 10:30 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Aflac Highlights Why Benefits Matter

Jan 21, 2019 10:15 AM ET

Benefits are important to employees, and they’re important to your company’s bottom line too. The Aflac WorkForces Report found that employer-offered benefits are a strong differentiator when it comes to attracting employees, retaining them and protecting their well-being.

Research, Reports & Publications

Your Cheat Sheet to Cisco’s 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Jan 21, 2019 10:05 AM ET

FY18 was a significant year for CSR in many ways – Blackrock’s CEO Larry Fink came out strong in his annual letter titled, “A Sense of Purpose,” emphasizing the importance that business considers their impact on society and the environment. Companies continued to take a public stand on issues such as equality, immigration and more. At Cisco, we recognize we cannot solve the world’s problems on our own, but we have an opportunity and a responsibility to do our part. Last week we launched our 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Report, celebrating our achievements to date as well as how we are addressing the areas where we can do more. Here are highlights from this year’s report across our three CSR pillars of People, Society and Planet; your “cheat sheet” to CSR at Cisco in FY18.

Environment

Putting the “Success” in Succession Planning: Why It Matters and How to Do It

Jan 21, 2019 10:05 AM ET

Antea Group’s blog helps you prepare your successor to allow for a potentially seamless career transition and create an invaluable safety net.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Impact at Work: Attracting Talent to Support Financial Education for California Youth

Jan 21, 2019 10:00 AM ET

I had the exciting opportunity to interview Amiko Foster of Youth Finance Institute of America (YFIA), a California-based nonprofit that provides personal finance education programs designed to teach finance life skills to youth in disadvantaged areas. Since launching their program in 2015, YFIA’s entirely volunteer-based staff has been able to serve over 1200 youth to date.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Developing Syria's New Humanitarians

Jan 21, 2019 9:15 AM ET

“The worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II.” That’s how the United Nations human rights chief has described the ongoing conflict in Syria. The response from international NGOs has been swift, providing food, healthcare, and temporary shelter to the millions of Syrians affected by the conflict, but the challenges these aid organizations face getting humanitarian assistance to those in need have grown more extreme.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Partner Insights: Pfizer Global Health Fellows

Jan 21, 2019 9:00 AM ET

In 2018, Pfizer celebrated 15 years of the Global Health Fellows (GHF) program, our signature international corporate volunteer initiative that places colleagues on short-term assignments with international development organizations to help improve healthcare systems and build local healthcare capacity in underserved communities. For program partners, it brings much-needed resources, specific technical skills and a fresh mindset.

Diversity & Inclusion

Interview with Tim Singh, Proposal Coordinator, Business Development Support Services

Jan 21, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Tim Singh is a proposal coordinator with Tetra Tech based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He helps Tetra Tech teams specializing in water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, and geotechnical engineering pursue and win new business. Tim has a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and a master’s degree in strategic design.

Green Infrastructure

Alliance for Community Trees Groups Improve Communities Through Tree Planting

Jan 21, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Local impact happens when community-based tree planting organizations create projects that involve citizens, schools, churches, and government. This is the work of the nearly 130 members of the Alliance for Community Trees program. These passionate nonprofit organizations are the boots on the ground — a grassroots network united in its purpose of improving communities and towns across the country with trees.

Environment

General Mills Works to Decouple Emissions From Business Growth

Jan 21, 2019 8:00 AM ET

As our warming climate poses greater and greater uncertainty for the food sector, leading companies are looking to shrink their own contributions to climate change and build resilience for the days to come.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Gildan Opens “Rio Market” for Employees at Their Rio Nance Complex in Honduras

Jan 21, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Gildan has launched a new onsite supermarket for its employees, offering non-perishable food, household essentials and personal care items at discounted prices for 8,500 workers located at the complex.

Research, Reports & Publications

Elkay Begins Tracking Their “Honorable Endeavors”

Jan 21, 2019 4:00 AM ET

Elkay Manufacturing Company today released their inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, documenting the company’s commitment to their communities, employees, customers, and the planet. The report, named Honorable Endeavors, follows the Global Reporting Initiative G4 model and outlines the company’s focus on promoting social and environmental responsibility while building stronger communities.

Diversity & Inclusion

21CF and U.S. State Department Host Second-Annual #HiddenNoMore Program, Helping Advance Women Around the World in STEAM Fields

Jan 18, 2019 7:05 PM ET

In 2017, 21st Century Fox partnered with the U.S Department of State to launch #HiddenNoMore, an all-female STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) leadership development program inspired by the Fox 2000 film Hidden Figures. The initiative marked the first time in history that a Hollywood movie led to the creation of a publicly-funded educational exchange program.

Innovation & Technology

5 Best Practices of Design Thinking Companies Can Use to Ensure Data Privacy

Jan 18, 2019 4:30 PM ET

As online security and user experience simultaneously become two of the most important topics for modern companies, GDPR compliance by companies is a must. There is an art to creating a high-quality user experience while also adhering to this new regulation, and it begins with design thinking.

Energy

Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc., Salesforce and Workday Close All-New Renewable Energy Aggregation Deal

Jan 18, 2019 2:45 PM ET

Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc.(NYSE: GPS), Salesforce (NASDAQ: CRM), and Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), with guidance from LevelTen Energy and its renewable energy procurement platform, closed 42.5 megawatts of a 100 megawatt North Carolina solar project, by global renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler, BayWa r.e. This group of companies, coming together as the Corporate Renewable Energy Aggregation Group, is the first example of companies aggregating similar, relatively small amounts of renewable energy demand to collaboratively enter into a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), collectively acting as the anchor tenant for a large offsite renewable energy project.