ESG News from Leading Brands

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Using Text Analytics to Help Reduce the Risk of Modern Day Slavery

Jan 11, 2019 12:35 PM ET

Building a unique, objective analysis and understanding of the risk is one way to improve business efficiencies and decision-making processes on preventing MDS in expansive supply chains. Earlier this year, we shared our approach of using text analytics to develop a business case for the SDGs. Because a high percent of business information is unstructured and mainly in text form, text analytics is a useful approach as it derives high quality information from text using discernible patterns and trends.

Environment

How the World's Largest Crowdfunder for Creativity is Kickstarting Sustainability

Jan 11, 2019 11:40 AM ET

Where else can you bring creative projects, like a handheld printer that can imprint on any surface or soap that smells like bacon, to life? I’m a big fan of Kickstarter. So when I heard the company was inspiring its creators to make environmentally conscious decisions, I immediately wanted to learn more.

Diversity & Inclusion

An Empowerment Mindset Creates Opportunity at BET Her

Jan 11, 2019 10:35 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

I Thought I’d Never Have Love: Teenager Maci Kean Finds Forever Family

Jan 11, 2019 10:00 AM ET

"Even if I wanted to be adopted, who would adopt a 17-year-old?" Maci had come to terms with being alone. “I was scared. I was lost. I felt hopeless." That all changed when Gigi Kean asked Maci, “Would you be interested in us adopting you?”

Health & Healthcare

Nutrition Labels Get a Makeover: Will It Make a Difference?

Jan 11, 2019 10:00 AM ET

It’s been nearly 25 years since the FDA mandated that all food and beverage packaging carry the Nutrition Facts panel. Now, the ubiquitous label is up for a makeover.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Breakthrough: The Michigan Source Reduction Initiative

Jan 11, 2019 9:50 AM ET

Relationships between environmental groups and businesses were not ‘normal’ when I came to Midland, Michigan in 1988 to start my career at The Dow Chemical Company. At best, there were periods of détente, interrupted by conflict, much of which took place in the courtroom or with the media. Had someone suggested that we could find a way to collaborate with environmentalists for mutual benefit, they would have been laughed from the conference room. ‘Tolerate’ was the best we could imagine then. That changed with the Michigan Source Reduction Initiative (MSRI) that launched Dow into a collaborative approach and opened eyes and minds to both the need and power of business to help the world achieve sustainable development.

Energy

Consumers Energy Program to Support Electric Vehicle Adoption

Jan 11, 2019 9:40 AM ET

Consumers Energy Co. is leading the charge to bring electric-vehicle infrastructure to Michigan.

As automakers look to electricity to fuel future vehicles, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved this week the state's first EV infrastructure pilot program. The three-year, $10 million incentive program would provide rebates for electric vehicle chargers and a special rate for nighttime charging.

Health & Healthcare

J&J Exec: Tuberculosis is a Global Emergency. It's Time to Start Treating it That Way

Jan 11, 2019 9:30 AM ET

Four years ago, a disease that rarely made headlines — Ebola — raged in West Africa. There was no vaccine, treatment or cure. Though the initial response was slow, the international community ultimately mobilized resources, developed scientific innovations and promised to make sure a tragedy on the same scale would never happen again.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Subaru of America Foundation Awards Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey a $95,000 Grant

Jan 11, 2019 9:05 AM ET

Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey announced today that it has been awarded with a $95,000 grant from the Subaru of America (SOA) Foundation to be paid over three years to support Girls Inc.’s work in the Camden Promise Neighborhood.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Healing wings

Jan 11, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Cruising at 8,000 feet, Sandie LeBlanc took in the scenery below en route to Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, for her lung-function testing. For a moment, the sights freed her mind from the weight of health concerns. “It’s so peaceful,” said LeBlanc, who suffers from lupus and is also a breast cancer survivor, “and I often forget about why I’m flying as I focus on all the beauty around me.” One thing she never forgets, however, is how these trips are possible — thanks to the 1,500 volunteer pilots of Angel Flight West who have flown LeBlanc and more than 30,000 other patients and their families for lifesaving medical care since the nonprofit’s launch in 1983.

Environment

Agriculture: The Missing Piece of the Climate Puzzle

Jan 11, 2019 9:00 AM ET

By 2050, countries around the world must find a way to produce more food than they have in the past 8,000 years to accommodate population growth—all while minimizing the agricultural sector’s contribution to climate change.

Health & Healthcare

How Companies Can Step Up on Safer Food

Jan 11, 2019 8:30 AM ET

Even if you haven’t heard of perchlorate, chances are that you probably have eaten it. Perchlorate is a chemical used in plastic packaging and food handling equipment for dry food like cereal, flour, and spices.

Sustainable Development Goals

VIDEO: Our Forests Are Our Heritage

Jan 11, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Our forests are a treasured legacy providing the very necessities of life itself — clean air, healthy drinking water, a tolerable climate, and so much more. But these majestic lands are threatened by insects, disease, and devastating wildfires.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Tetra Tech Developed an Assessment Framework to Support Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries

Jan 11, 2019 8:00 AM ET

In December 2018 Tetra Tech’s Catherine Courtney, along with the University of Connecticut’s Robert Pomeroy and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Stephen Brooks, published a paper in the Marine Policy Journal in which they developed an assessment framework based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines).

Social Impact & Volunteering

Scout’s Vision: Tiny Home for Homeless Veteran

Jan 10, 2019 4:30 PM ET

Step by step, teenager Tim Maron’s vision of home for a homeless military veteran has become reality in a resurgent, small-town neighborhood once infested with drugs and crime. Today, that neighborhood is known for its clean streets and renovated homes, thanks to a local nonprofit, and most recently a modest tiny house project led by Maron, 17, a Boy Scout and budding young community leader in eastern Pennsylvania.

Diversity & Inclusion

LAGLCC Announces New Capacity Building Program with AEG

Jan 10, 2019 3:30 PM ET

The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce today announced that it has formed a partnership with AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, to develop a capacity-building program designed to promote the economic growth and development of LGBTQ owned businesses in Los Angeles. The program will help qualified small-and medium-sized LGBTQ-owned businesses reach their next level of growth through mentoring, partnerships, referrals and promotions.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Arranges $28.4 Million in Financing for the Preservation of Affordable Housing in San Antonio

Jan 10, 2019 3:00 PM ET

KeyBank announced today arranging $28.4 million in a Fannie Mae affordable housing preservation refinance loan for Commonwealth Multifamily Housing Corporation (“Commonwealth”) for the benefit of White Rock Apartment Homes, a multifamily, 336-unit mixed-income property in San Antonio, TX. The refinance replaces two series of tax exempt bonds issued by the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation more than 17 years ago to develop and construct the property and provides over $2 million in capital for roof replacements and other improvements that will enhance White Rock’s role as Commonwealth’s flagship property. More importantly, the property will continue to provide its historical and much needed affordable housing in the city.

Events, Media & Communications

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light Green Team Summit 2019

Jan 10, 2019 2:50 PM ET

Georgia Interfaith Power & Light Green Team Summit focuses on creation care.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Duke Energy Named to Black Enterprise’s “50 Best Companies for Diversity” list

Jan 10, 2019 2:45 PM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Fulfill Your Resolution to Start an Employee Volunteer Program in 2019

Jan 10, 2019 2:15 PM ET

The benefits of employee volunteering are well documented. This video showcases some of the highlights. If you're convinced but don't know how to get started, check out the collection of resources below.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

A Newsworthy 2018 - Whirlpool Corporation

Jan 10, 2019 2:15 PM ET

Whirlpool Corporation welcomes 2019 with much excitement, but we're still taking time to reflect and celebrate the innovation, volunteerism, sustainability and news stories of 2018.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

CIT Bank Provides Grant to Neighborhood Housing Services of LA County

Jan 10, 2019 1:05 PM ET

CIT Bank N.A., the banking subsidiary of CIT Group Inc., today announced a $350,000 grant in support of Neighborhood Housing Services of Los Angeles (NHS). The grant is CIT’s second for the organization and will provide affordable lending, financial education and real estate services to 4,500 low- and moderate-income residents across Los Angeles County.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

MegaMex Foods Donates a Fire Truck to the City of Sabinas, México

Jan 10, 2019 12:15 PM ET

Sabinas is a city of 63,000 residents in the northern state of Coahuila, México. Since 1990, Avomex, the local subsidiary of MegaMex in México, has been producing Wholly Guacamole® dips. Due to the economic conditions of Sabinas, the city did not have a fire truck. So Avomex decided to help. On Dec. 14, 2018, MegaMex Foods and Avomex donated a fire truck to the local fire department. This was a major event in which several local authorities participated. The Mayor of Sabinas, Cuauhtémoc Rodríguez, received the keys to the truck from MegaMex Foods. The modern, fully equipped truck will be used to fight fires and help with other types of local emergencies.

Responsible Production & Consumption

The Future of Business Sustainability: Pushing Sustainable Consumption Toward the Mainstream

Jan 10, 2019 12:00 PM ET

Education

HP Commits to Empowering Another 100,000 Learners in Africa Over the Next Three Years

Jan 10, 2019 11:35 AM ET

HP has long recognized that access to education is crucial to powering the creativity and innovation that our industry thrives on. From a business perspective, access to education increases diversity, drives new business, and attracts and retains the best employees. But much more than that, education is a fundamental human right.