ESG News from Leading Brands

Environment

Timberland Makes New Commitment to Green 500,000 Square Feet of Urban Space in U.S. Cities Over Next Five Years

Nov 5, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Over the next five years, Timberland has pledged to create or restore at least 500,000 square feet of green space in cities across the U.S. – equivalent to 11 acres and nearly four times the amount of urban space greened through its most recent effort.

Events, Media & Communications

Robbie Lock Named Executive Director, 3BL Association

Nov 5, 2018 8:55 AM ET

3BL Media, the world’s leading communications partner for purpose-driven organizations, has appointed Robbie Lock as executive director of the 3BL Association. Formerly the Corporate Responsibility (CR) Association, the 3BL Association builds peer-to-peer collaboration to support and elevate corporate responsibility and sustainability leadership, through professional development and sharing best practices.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Circulate Capital Announces US$90 Million in Expected Funding to Combat Ocean Plastic

Nov 5, 2018 8:05 AM ET

Circulate Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic, today announced that it expects to receive US$90 million in funding for its strategy to combat ocean plastic from several of the world's leading consumer packaged goods and chemical companies, including PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP), the first investor; Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), Dow (NYSE: DWDP), Danone (EPA: BN), Unilever (NYSE: UN) and The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO). Circulate Capital anticipates formalizing definitive agreements with these parties by early 2019.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Amgen Foundation Deepens Commitment To Aspiring Scientists Worldwide By Expanding Amgen Scholars Program

Nov 2, 2018 5:15 PM ET

The Amgen Foundation today announced the expansion of the Amgen Scholars Program, a hands-on research program that allows undergraduates to spend a summer at one of many of the world’s premier research institutions. The new four-year, $21 million commitment brings the program to a total of 24 elite institutions across the U.S., Europe, Asia and, for the first time, Australia and Canada. Over the next four years an additional 1,500 undergraduates from hundreds of colleges and universities will have the chance to engage in research opportunities in biomedical and biotechnology fields.

Innovation & Technology

The Top 3 Ways Mobile Phones Can Help Disaster Victims

Nov 2, 2018 4:50 PM ET

Globally, disasters and humanitarian crises are on the rise. In the last 10 years, disasters have caused US$1.4 trillion in damage and affected 1.7 billion people. In the last two months alone, the United States has been hit by Hurricanes Michael and Florence, and Indonesia has been devastated by earthquakes and tsunamis.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Unlocking Possibilities Through Pro Bono Digital Transformation

Nov 2, 2018 3:35 PM ET

Technology has the power to unlock amazing new possibilities for our customers and the world. Through pro bono service learning, we translate the incredible potential of digital transformation from the corporate sector to our communities. Recently, I was fortunate to see this potential unfold—and watch a community transform.

Education

Curiosity Cube Visits Bruce School

Nov 2, 2018 3:30 PM ET

The Curiosity Cube™ mobile science lab recently visited Alexander B. Bruce School in Lawrence, Massachusetts

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Wells Fargo Deploys Mobile Response Unit to Panhandle to Help Customers Impacted by Hurricane Michael

Nov 2, 2018 1:30 PM ET

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it has deployed its Mobile Response Unit to provide housing recovery assistance as well as help for auto, credit card, personal lines/loan, student loan and small business loan customers in the Panhandle and surrounding areas impacted by Hurricane Michael.

Diversity & Inclusion

Comcast NBCUniversal Expands Military Hiring Goal to 21,000 by 2021

Nov 2, 2018 1:15 PM ET

In recognition of the start of Veterans and Military Families Month, Comcast NBCUniversal announced it will hire an additional 11,000 veterans, military spouses, and National Guard and Reserve members, bringing its total to 21,000 military hires by the end of 2021.

Comcast’s previous commitment, made in 2015, was to hire 10,000 military community members by the end of 2017, which it exceeded.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Quick Consult: Innovative Tactics to Drive Employee Recruitment

Nov 2, 2018 1:15 PM ET

You’ve built a great pro bono program and you have a group of motivated nonprofit partners eager to get started, but you’re struggling to get the right employees signed up. Does this sound familiar? Taproot has seen this time and time again and wanted to share a few tactics that we’ve seen be successful.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Reshape Tomorrow: More Opportunity for More People

Nov 2, 2018 12:50 PM ET

When small businesses are unable to access capital, great opportunities go unrealized. It’s a loss for financial providers and for the business owners seeking to provide for themselves and their communities.

Education

The Future of Education Is More About Learning, Less About Teaching

Nov 2, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Environment

Republic Services CEO Says Recycling Has Become a 'Broken' System

Nov 2, 2018 12:10 PM ET

CNBC's Jane Wells reports from a Republic Services facility on the "broken" recycling business as the commodity value of recyclables drop.

Events, Media & Communications

Aflac Delivers 1st My Special Aflac Ducks to the Aflac Cancer Center

Nov 2, 2018 12:05 PM ET

After more than 18 months of research, testing and development, Aflac delivered the very first My Special Aflac Ducks™ to the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center in Atlanta.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Kite Employees Assemble Care Packages for Families Affected by Cancer

Nov 2, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Last week, our Kite employees volunteered at Family Reach, assembling 400 care packages for families affected by cancer.

Responsible Production & Consumption

PepsiCo Announces New Packaging Goal For 25% Recycled Plastic Content By 2025

Nov 2, 2018 12:00 PM ET

As part of its sustainable plastics vision, PepsiCo, Inc. announced a new goal to strive to use 25 percent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2025.

PepsiCo aims to achieve this goal by collaborating with suppliers and partners, helping to increase consumer education, fostering cross-industry and public-private partnerships, and advocating for improved recycling infrastructure and regulatory reform, all of which are required to realize our ambition. The goal includes an aim specific to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles to achieve 33% recycled PET content by 2025.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The State – and Future – of Sustainable Business

Nov 2, 2018 11:55 AM ET

The past 10 years have seen incredible progress in sustainable business. There are global multi-stakeholder commitments on climate action and the SDGs, collaborations driving systemic change across value chains, and tremendous improvements in corporate and investor practices toward a more sustainable world.

Energy

#PoweringJobs: Elevating Energy Access Skills

Nov 2, 2018 11:10 AM ET

It’s estimated that scaling off-grid renewables can create 4.5 million jobs by 2030. But of the 10.3 million renewable energy jobs in the world today, just 76,000 are in Africa. In other words, less than 1% of the jobs worldwide are in the region that most urgently needs them. The same trend holds true for energy-poor communities in Asia and elsewhere.

That is why Schneider Electric is supporting the launch of the #PoweringJobs campaign, a global effort to ensure the creation of an energy access workforce.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotiabank and Concacaf Launch Youth Football Programme

Nov 2, 2018 11:05 AM ET

Innovation & Technology

7 Tips for Safe Use of Compressed Air

Nov 2, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Compressed air is an increasingly common utility in workspaces around the world from factories to construction sites. Although it may seem easy to operate, compressed air can become dangerous if used incorrectly. Here’s what you need to know when it comes to safe operation.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Xylem Donations Make Completion of New Prep School Possible After Devastation from Hurricane Harvey

Nov 2, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Xylem colleagues toured one of YES Prep Schools facilities in Houston, TX last week in celebration of the completion of a new school building. Xylem Watermark donated to YES Prep to support building classrooms in response to the devastation from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Xylem also participated in water monitoring educational events at the time, adding to its efforts to solve water and educate youth about water issues. YES Prep School is committed to providing students in underserved communities access to superior educational opportunities, and Xylem is proud to support this effort.

Environment

Working Toward Zero-Landfill Parks

Nov 2, 2018 10:45 AM ET

NPCA is working to significantly reduce waste at our national parks, starting with three pilot parks: Denali, Grand Teton and Yosemite. Collectively, these three pilot parks welcomed nearly 8.3 million visitors in 2017, who left behind nearly 9 million pounds of waste that could otherwise be recycled or composted.

Research, Reports & Publications

GRI Newsletter: Updates and Upgrades for Easier Reporting

Nov 2, 2018 10:35 AM ET

As the data collection for many report preparers gains momentum, we are happy to announce new and updated GRI Standards and services to support reporters' work. There are also new mapping documents that help harmonize and reduce the burden of reporting to different frameworks. GRI is also presenting updates to its Digital Reporting Tool, which helps in data collection.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

An Interview with Ron Reese, Senior VP of Global Communications and Corporate Affairs, Las Vegas Sands

Nov 2, 2018 10:10 AM ET

We’ve identified this as a priority for the company several years ago. We felt it was an issue the public didn’t know much about and as one of the biggest employers in Southern Nevada, we’re able to provide resources and help bring awareness to the issues most important as we work together with our community partners.

Events, Media & Communications

Innovative Initiatives, Visionary Leadership: Highlights from 3BL Forum 2018

Nov 2, 2018 9:25 AM ET

For the over 300 CR professionals, CEOs, sustainability executives, and journalists who gathered at the MGM National Harbor, just outside Washington D.C., the 3BL Forum was a fast-paced, idea-packed two days of panels, breakout sessions, issue tables, one-on-one interviews, and networking.