Client News Feed

Major League Baseball Players Association Supports Universal Declaration of Player Rights

Diversity & Inclusion

Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) Executive Director and 14-year Major League Baseball veteran, Tony Clark, joined executives from some of the world’s leading player associations in unveiling the Universal Declaration of Player Rights (the Declaration) to protect players from ongoing and systemic human rights violations in global sport.

In Search of the Most Community-Minded Companies in the Nation, Points of Light Launches Survey for the 2018 Civic 50

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Washington, D.C. (Dec. 14, 2017) – This week, Points of Light opened the survey for the 2018 Civic 50, an annual initiative that recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the nation each year. Now in its sixth year, the Civic 50 provides a national standard for superior corporate citizenship and showcases how companies can use their time, skills and other resources to improve the quality of life in the communities where they do business.

Northern Trust Sponsors Akola Jewelry Displays

Responsible Production & Consumption

Northern Trust announced today that it is supporting Akola, a nonprofit jewelry brand, by funding in-store displays with an app at select Neiman Marcus stores.

Sustainability (and Dinosaurs) Come to Life Every Day at VMware Costa Rica

Gleaming in a soft bluish light, the Tyrannosaurus Rex greets visitors with something close to a smile. Made entirely of recycled materials, including flattened plastic cups, it stands as a testament to ingenuity, creativity and a generous heap of good humor.

Representing U.S. Mike Bloomberg Joins One Planet Summit on 2nd Anniversary of the Paris Agreement

Events, Media & Communications

On December 12th, 2017, two years to the day after the historic adoption of the Paris Agreement, global leaders convened at the One Planet Summit in Paris to strengthen the world’s collective commitment to climate action. French President Emmanuel Macron, joined by the President of the World Bank Group Jim Yong Kim and Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, led discussions on the progress we’ve made so far, and the imperative action we must continue to ensure the health, safety, and future of our planet and global community.

Avnet Sponsors The Not Impossible Awards Recognizing Emerging Technologies That Improve Lives

Innovation & Technology

Avnet today announced its title sponsorship of The Not Impossible Awards, which recognizes the breakthrough achievements of innovators who share the Not Impossible Labs mission to create inventive technology that improves the well-being of others.

Carbon Offsets Help Salesforce Go Net Zero 33 Years Early

Energy

In 1998, when Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, Dee and Richard Lawrence, along with their daughter Skye, headed south, to help with the country’s recovery efforts and wound up starting a cookstove project that greatly reduces carbon pollution. Eighteen years later, the Lawrences founded Cool Effect to fund carbon-reducing projects around the world.

Solutions for All: How One Canadian Bank is Developing Technology to Drive Accessibility

Diversity & Inclusion

As Vice President of Design, Digital Banking, at Scotiabank, Pamela Hilborn is tasked with developing unique technology solutions that can meet the needs of the Bank’s diverse customer base — including those with disabilities.

Whole Planet Foundation | Dispatch From the Field – Crediting Field Officers

It’s the season of gratitude and a time to celebrate the impact of 2017. Whole Planet Foundation wants to acknowledge the achievements of our microfinance partners’ field officers, who are often the main point of contact between a microfinance organization and the entrepreneurs financing their businesses with microloans. In 2014 we piloted a new Field Officer Appreciation Award in the Africa & Middle East region of our work and this year, the foundation awarded its fourth year of awards to nominated field officers. In total, this region currently includes 28 partner institutions.

Marina Bay Sands Tackles Sustainable Farming with WWF Partnership

Sustainable Development Goals

As part of an effort to raise sustainability standards within Asia’s hospitality industry, Marina Bay Sands has partnered with World Wide Fund for Nature in Singapore (WWF). Together, they will focus on seafood and ocean conservation with goals including positive initiatives in Responsible Seafood, Aquaculture Improvement Projects (AIPs), and Enhanced Green Meeting Packages.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Becomes First Keep America Beautiful River-Based Affiliate

Social Impact & Volunteering

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced Keep Tennessee River Beautiful (KTnRB) became its first certified river-based affiliate. Keep Tennessee River Beautiful will focus on the waterways adjacent to the 652-mile Tennessee River, which flows through three states – Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky.

CITGO Continues Restoration Work in Lemont Quarries

Environment

The CITGO Lemont Refinery, in partnership with The Conservation Foundation and the Village of Lemont, continued their environmental restoration project in the Heritage Quarries Recreation Area (HQRA) this past October. Volunteers worked together to remove invasive plant species in visible areas by trimming trees and removing invasive brush.

Video | Can Agroforestry Propel Climate Commitments?

Environment

The Paris Agreement, reached at COP21 in December 2015, aims to keep global temperature rise this century to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are the main tool for defining countries’ contributions to the Agreement, and most developing country NDCs identified agroforestry as a key part of their climate strategy.

A Year in CSR: The Top 10 Trends of 2017

As the year draws to a close, Cone Communications, evaluated a year’s worth of CSR trends to bring you the top 10 trends of 2017.

51 Schools Named State Winners in Samsung’s $2 Million* National STEAM Contest

Education

Samsung Electronics America, Inc. has announced the 51 state winners in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest – a nationwide competition that challenges students to creatively use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) skills to address real-world issues and inspire change in their local communities. This year’s projects include everything from apps promoting kindness and empathy, to automatic wildfire extinguishing systems, and technology to address the opioid epidemic.

WELL@Home: Quick Tips to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Health & Healthcare

Think about how much time you plan to spend outdoors today. Research shows that we spend approximately 90% of our lifetime in enclosed spaces, and as much as 69% of that time is within the home. While cooking, cleaning or even comfortably resting on a sofa, we are exposed to millions of invisible air contaminants which can put us at risk for health problems. A recent global burden of disease study, published in The Lancet, demonstrated that household air pollution was rated as the third cause of ill health for the world’s population!

Opening Doors for Small Business Owners

Sustainable Development Goals

eBay launches Kiva Marketplace to help aspiring entrepreneurs reach global scale.

SRI Is Growing up Right Before Our Very Eyes

What was once considered the limited domain of environmental and social activists has grown to become an established force in the capital markets that should be ignored at your own risk. The space is expanding and evolving at an accelerating rate, and this trend shows no signs of turning. Over the past few years, we have seen unprecedented asset flows into ESG, SRI, and Impact Investing strategies; at last count, more than $8.6 trillion in assets were invested in some kind of socially responsible or impact-focused investment strategy.

Fun Ideas for Engaging Employees and Raising Money for Charity

America’s Charities can help your company design and implement a program centered on supporting nonprofits through workplace giving campaigns, employee fundraising, cause-focused signature programs, volunteerism, donation drives, matching gifts, Dollars-for-Doers, In-Kind Giving and other employee engagement and philanthropic initiatives.

You Can Change the Life of a Child in Foster Care

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Siblings Breauna, Renee and Kai were adopted this past May after spending 944 days (Breauna and Renee) and 678 days (Kai) in foster care.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is able to fund adoption recruiter positions at adoption agencies throughout the United States and Canada. Those recruiters are called Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters. They focus solely on older children, sibling groups and children with special needs. The Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiters are working hard each day to make sure that children who are most at risk of aging out of care, get adopted before that happens.

Forbes and JUST Capital Rank IBM No. 5 in America's Top Corporate Citizens

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

"No one sector – whether government, business, academia or civil society – can tackle today’s challenges all by itself. All sectors must work together, and all must raise their game." On THINK Blog, IBM Foundation President Jen Crozier writes about IBM's longstanding commitments to collaboration, diversity, inclusion and service - commitments shaped by IBM's enduring values, and recognized today by IBM's Number 5 ranking among America's Top Corporate Citizens by Forbes and JUST Capital.

Sodexo Earns Perfect Score on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo, the world leader in Quality of Life Services, announced today that it received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality.

A Message From the Chair of the Board of Trustees

As I look back on this past year, I am struck by the energy and power generated by the concern for trees. Our members, corporate partners, and planting partners are joining together with the Arbor Day Foundation every day and making great positive changes through our stewardship programs. Our vision of being a worldwide leader in the recognition and use of trees as a solution to global issues is being realized through these united efforts.

KeyBank Provides $4.4 Million in Financing for Multifamily Affordable Housing in New York

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided a $4.4 million Fannie Mae loan to Mt. Vernon Associates, LP, to renovate Greencourt Apartments, a 76-unit, multifamily affordable apartment complex in Mount Vernon, NY, with 59 units reserved for tenants earning no more than 60% AMI.