the Caribbean’s first independent nation is on the cusp of welcoming back cotton production due to the work of Timberland and the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA).
With increasing pressure on natural and man-made resources, innovative companies are taking a lifecycle assessment approach and tackling circularity from as early as product development, with the goal of reaping the reputational and commercial benefits.
As I reflect upon this past year at the Arbor Day Foundation, one word remains top of mind: impact. We set our sights on responding to global challenges by planting trees at an unprecedented scale. Those issues — air pollution, water quality, climate change, and deforestation, among others — heightened our resolve that if ever there was a time to plant trees, now is that time.
More businesses are becoming a force for good in society. Sound like an alternate reality? Check out the notable moments from the last year that brought us here.
Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, today announced the acquisition of YourCause™, a market leader in enterprise philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and employee engagement software.
At the U.S. Amgen Scholars symposium at UCLA in July, an unexpected reunion occurred. When Janielle Cuala took the stage to explain her summer research at Caltech, Kristina Folta couldn’t believe her eyes: It was a friend of hers from Guam with whom she played rugby. “I was so excited to see someone else coming out of Guam and entering the STEM field,” Folta recalls.
Realized Worth is always on the lookout for great examples of employee volunteering and storytelling to share with our readers. On International Volunteer Day, we shared a video produced by Emirates NBD, a leading banking group and a leader in the practice of employee volunteering in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The video was produced to encourage UAE residents to “Give in to Giving” by giving time to volunteer in the community.
RPD Energy arranged the supply of wind energy and concurrent Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) for five LG Electronics USA facilities in Texas, Illinois and New Jersey. The LG facilities are being served under the unique Purely Green affinity program partnership launched this year by RPD Energy, Intuit, Hudson Energy (the Commercial Division of Just Energy), and EDP Renewables.
“LG applauds this innovative approach. Purely Green has removed common barriers to accessing renewable energy,” said John I. Taylor, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, LG Electronics USA. “RPD Energy and Hudson Energy created a unique structure that made it possible for LG to buy wind power on short-term contracts for these five distribution centers with economical pricing.”
Consumers Energy Co. CEO Patti Poppe took a leadership role in Michigan in eliminating coal as an energy source, approving a strong policy on renewable energy production, adopting electric charging stations and autonomous vehicles as a major growth strategy and committing the company to a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
Earlier this year, Poppe led somewhat of a reversal of Consumers' energy policy when the company announced it would eliminate coal as an energy source, close its seven remaining coal plants, reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent and boost renewable energy production to 43 percent, all by 2040.
“Water security is the single largest investment opportunity in the years ahead. It is the foundation for healthy people, planet and profit. Water security investments ensure social and environmental returns, as well as possible financial outperformance,” states writer Thomas Schumann
The warehouse will have an integrated Schneider Electric EcoStruxure™ Microgrid and EcoStruxure Building Operation solution that runs on 100% renewable energy.
As the year draws to a close, Cone evaluated 365 days’ worth of Purpose-driven campaigns to bring you the top 10 trends of 2018. Join us as we count down through what trended in 2018, the implications for businesses and what’s on the horizon for 2019.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently launched a new video that tells the story of how its local and international partners are developing a commercially viable, conflict-free supply chain for artisanal minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Tetra Tech is supporting the USAID Capacity Building For Responsible Minerals Trade (CBRMT) project to help scale-up conflict-free mineral certification and traceability systems in the region. View the video to learn more about how responsible mining is becoming a reality in DRC.
One of my goal’s for 2019 is to create Europe’s leading meeting place for businesses to come together and share ideas on how they will take action to transform their business and industry to a more sustainable future. 2019 is the year we all need to step up and deliver a new way of doing business.
It has been quite a year for those of us immersed in the corporate responsibility world, especially when we’ve witnessed how many companies have stepped up their activism during 2018. We’ve seen CEOs increasingly speak out on diversity and inclusion, companies oppose the separation of families at the U.S. border with Mexico and watched corporate leaders double down on volatile issues like gun violence.
There’s often much more below the surface. If you look beyond the wall color at Rebuilding Together projects, you’ll see that we remove lead paint and mold which can have long lasting effect on the lives of children and other residents. We install drywall, waterproof interior masonry walls, prep and paint rooms and install dehumidifiers to give our neighbors a dry place to live.
Hundreds of people came together to enjoy a hot meal on Christmas Eve – that they may not otherwise have had this holiday. The Christmas Eve feast was meant to warm the hearts of those in need. This meal is provided by the Salvation Army and Safeway.
GRI CEO, Tim Mohin, rang the closing bell at Nasdaq last month, showing that non-financial reporting with the GRI Standards is becoming more relevant to investors in tech and beyond.
SCS Global Services (SCS), a global third-party certification body, announced today that Ledesma SAAI, an Argentinian agribusiness company that produces 40% of the nation’s printing and writing paper has earned Carbon Footprint Verification for its Office Ream paper product. This internationally recognized verification demonstrates Ledesma’s strong commitment to product transparency as part of its overall leadership in product stewardship and environmental sustainability.
The rapid rise of home DNA testing services like 23andMe and Ancestry.com present new questions about privacy and security, as these DNA results are increasingly leveraged for applications that go far beyond customer curiosity.
With a finite amount of resources available to us, it’s essential for both individuals and businesses to make a greater commitment to sustainability. By addressing the full product lifecycle, companies can help reach the ultimate goal of net-zero environmental impact
Jeremy Grantham, the co-founder of Grantham Mayo Van Oterloo, only one of the largest asset managers in the world recently stated, “We are racing to protect more than our portfolios from stranded assets and other climate change impact…But for those portfolio managers who happen to be human, we have a much more important job. We are racing to protect not just our portfolios, not just our grandchildren, but our species. So get to it.”
