On June 23, Epsilon and Conversant associates helped spruce up Chicago Public Schools buildings as part of the 25th annual Chicago Cares Serve-A-Thon, the city’s largest day of community service.

As part of Whole Planet Foundation’s annual due diligence visits to our microfinance partners around the globe, we observe the presence or absence of “responsible finance indicators” which shed light on how our partners are serving the world’s poorest people. Many of our microfinance partners use or develop strategies to inform their work, ensuring they are reaching their target populations with the services they need most.

Procter & Gamble (P&G), the world’s largest advertiser, advanced its commitment to gender equality through a series of new actions and partnerships announced at the 2018 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. P&G has called for an aspiration to achieve 100 percent accurate and positive portrayals of women in advertising and media, supported by equal representation of women and men in the creative supply chain including through the Free The Bid pledge.

Sandy Nessing, Managing Director of Sustainability at American Electric Power, describes how sustainability has transformed how the Ohio-based utility does business.

Benjamin Mays, mentor to Martin Luther King, once said: “He who starts behind in the great race of life, must forever remain behind, or run faster than the man in front.” Mays’ comments were made in the context of the 1960s civil rights movement in America, but could just as easily apply to inequalities today—and with regard to our digital future.

Benevity saw a big boost in giving to immigrants’ rights organizations following the news about family separations at the U.S. border. Donations to RAICES skyrocketed, as the organization moved from place #13,433 in May to the #2 recipient of funds disbursedon the Benevity platform in June.

The past two years have witnessed a bold shift in leadership from the C-Suite. Now more than ever, CEOs and senior Executives at the world’s leading companies are speaking out on social policy issues that conflict with the core values of their business. This phenomenon, dubbed “CEO Activism,” is on the rise – and right on queue. CEO Activism as a core component of corporate societal engagement strategy has shifted from important to imperative. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, public trust in business and government to “do the right thing” fell sharply from 2017 to 2018.

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today released its 2017 Global Citizenship & Sustainability Report, citizenship.yum.com, highlighting the company’s progress in 2016 and 2017 and outlining efforts by KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell to make a meaningful impact in three areas of strategic focus: Food, Planet and People.

Major brands like ours have an opportunity to lead in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. A new report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that businesses are stepping up their use, procurement and investment in renewable electricity. While this is good news, only 17% of us have a specific target for renewable electricity and a mere 134 have committed to 100% renewable electricity use.

The Arbor Day Foundation announced today a gift from the Edward C. Fogg, III and Lisbeth A. Fogg Charitable Trust. The Trust’s gift was given in December 2017 and has enabled the planting of 50,000 trees on 79 acres of forests in Wayne and Glynn Counties as well as the Upper Altamaha Watershed in southeast Georgia.