Let’s be honest, in the world of development, the private sector has not always been our partner of choice in the race to achieve gender equality. There has been a perception that business actions in this area are merely front-line measures or meagre efforts that simply impose quotas on boards of directors. These assumptions are today less and less accurate. Indeed, the private sector is increasingly interested in this issue because it makes business sense, and the time has come for governments and donors to move closer to the private sector in order to enhance their impact on gender equality and women's empowerment.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) have formed a joint venture called Monarch Bioenergy to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) across Smithfield’s hog farms in Missouri. This partnership converts manure collected from Smithfield farms into RNG, while simultaneously delivering ecological services and developing wildlife habitat. Once complete, all Smithfield company-owned finishing farms in Missouri will have the infrastructure to produce RNG, resulting in approximately 1.3 million dekatherms of RNG annually, which is the equivalent to eliminating 130,000 gasoline vehicles.

Legg Mason and Jupiter Asset Management joined forces to co-sponsor a run on April 11th in Stockholm, Sweden, to benefit Plastic Oceans, a pioneer in the fight against plastics in our seas.

General Motors has won the title of 2018 Biggest Loser in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition for its energy and water reduction efforts at three Michigan sites. Over 1,000 buildings across the state competed in the year-long energy and water reduction competition hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan (USGBC-WM).

There is a sea change underway, and it is being led in no small part by organizations. Faced with increasing risk of business disruption from climate-related weather events, pressure from stakeholders to future-proof operations, and policy and political shifts, more and more organizations are taking voluntary action on environmental concerns. Commonly, these actions are also economically beneficial, helping organizations to reduce resource consumption, hedge against market conditions, or improve financial performance.

Chef Ro Sanders' recent celebrity ambassadorships with leading global nonprofit Habitat for Humanity led her to launch “Home Cooking with Love,” which marks a 20-year partnership between Habitat and Whirlpool Corp., stressing ways to cook for families on a budget and veterans.

In our inaugural Sustainability Report address as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer, we wish to outline the results achieved Company-wide from our work in sustainability in 2018 and share our strategic vision and targets for CNH Industrial going forward. We have updated our key targets to reflect CNH Industrial’s commitment to taking on this challenge. We have set even more ambitious goals for 2030: committing to cut CO2 emissions per production unit by 60% (compared to 2014) across our plants worldwide and to obtaining 90% of our total electricity consumption from renewable sources.

Red Nose Day, the national fundraising campaign to end child poverty, will return to NBC in 2019 with a night of special primetime programming on Thursday, May 23.

This is what health care professionals are saying about My Special Aflac Duck™: "The Aflac ducks are a game-changer, and honestly have made me fall in love with Child Life all over again. It reinforces to me the value of play, and the importance of empowering children to retain control over their environments. As of today, we have distributed 33 ducks (with another dozen or so slated to go out this week), and they have been universally adored across the ages.” - Child Life Specialist Bethany Fisackerly, MS, CCLS; Child Life Specialist: Hematology/Oncology, Rheumatology, Bone Marrow Transplant

SC Johnson Canada today announces it has been ranked No. 49 on the 2019 list of Best Workplaces by Great Place to Work®. This marks the 12th time the Canada operation has been recognized on the annual Best Workplace list of large and multinational workplaces in Canada, with more than 1,000 employees working in Canada or worldwide.