ESG News from Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Nonprofit Opportunity

Oct 24, 2018 10:30 AM ET

What motivates nonprofits and volunteers to engage in skills-based volunteering? Nonprofits use skills-based volunteering to strengthen their infrastructure in ways that better equip them to solve our communities’ challenges. Many volunteers give their skills to help solve a challenge for an organization addressing an issue they care about or to feel connected to the community. In this SNCR 2020 article, Taproot Foundation and Team4Tech partnered to further the social sector’s understanding of the leadership development benefits of skills-based volunteering—focusing exclusively on the nonprofit’s outcomes of such initiatives.

Events, Media & Communications

Brands Taking Stands | Looking Back, Moving Forward

Oct 24, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Our instinct to point the conference in this direction was on target. On the first day of last year’s “business” gathering, the major topics included immigration policy, gun control, and the opioid crisis—and that was before the lunch break. The event was definitely not a business as usual gathering.

Environment

Subaru Life Owner Spotlight: Buddy System

Oct 24, 2018 10:25 AM ET

“We spend a lot of time rearing babies, waking up at all hours of the night to bottle-feed them,” says Theodora Flory, a nature enthusiast who goes by Teddy, of the job she’s held for the last four years. Flory, who spends most of her days with a blind screech owl named Marbles by her side, is a wildlife rehabilitation specialist at Tri County Wildlife Care (TCWC), a nonprofit wildlife rescue organization based at the Sierra Nevada Foothills in California. The babies she feeds are, of course, baby animals.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Moody’s Selects Partners for Reshape Tomorrow, Aiming to Help Small Businesses Thrive

Oct 24, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) today announced the selection of its inaugural list of partners for Reshape TomorrowTM, its innovative, global program to help owners of small and growing business overcome the challenges of expanding their enterprises.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

New Program to Revitalize Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Wells Fargo announced today it will invest more than $1.6 billion in lending and philanthropy in Washington, D.C., as part of a new, five-year commitment.

Research, Reports & Publications

Energy Storage Evolution Electrifies the Future of Renewables

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Bolstered by decreasing costs and strengthening regulatory support, demand for renewable energy is increasing as wind and solar photovoltaics continue to become more prominent contributors to utilities’ generation and revenue mix. As enthusiasm for renewable energy grows, wind and solar remain hampered by how much energy can be stored when generated to be used subsequently when energy is needed.

Events, Media & Communications

David Schwimmer, David Gelles, Asher Jay, and More to Speak at BSR18

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

BSR has announced a new set of keynote speakers and other new program information for the BSR Conference 2018, taking place November 6-8 in New York

Education

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation Announce Nearly $4 Million in Grants to Create Innovative Pathways for Lifelong Learning and Training

Oct 24, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have announced nearly $4 million in grants for three organizations working to provide innovative pathways to learning and training to help create mobility for workers: The Foundation for California Community Colleges (the Foundation), Code for America Labs, Inc. and edX.org.

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact Bulletin (October 2018)

Oct 24, 2018 9:20 AM ET

Explore the new UN Global Compact Academy platform — designed to give you the knowledge and skills you need to meet your sustainability objectives.

Research, Reports & Publications

BlackRock, Heineken and State Street Share Business Strategies

Oct 24, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Business and investors need to take the lead with future innovations on climate mitigation action. Central to this is collaboration, creating partnerships to drive large scale change within business and value chains based on long-term goals.

Green Infrastructure

A LEED Perspective on Best Window and Shade Selection for Your Home

Oct 24, 2018 8:10 AM ET

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 25%-30% of energy wasted in the home is due to inefficient windows. So clearly, when buying a new home or upgrading your current home, selecting the ideal set of windows is an important part of the decision.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Hosting an Engaging Webinar in 4 Steps

Oct 23, 2018 7:30 PM ET

In a society of constant digital connection, isn’t it ironic that webinars are simply the worst? First of all, they’re called webinars. Web seminar? Really? Second, they’re rarely engaging, usually dry, and most often a good excuse to play a solid game of Solitaire. Maybe there’s nothing like a face-to-face meeting, but in lieu?

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

How AHC's Holistic Approach to Affordable Housing Provides Life-changing Programs for Residents

Oct 23, 2018 7:30 PM ET

Every time AHC Inc. builds an affordable housing community, we become a support system for so many parents trying to make ends meet. With stable housing and educational opportunities for at-risk children, we have been helping families thrive since 1975.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Video: CEO Spotlight - The Case for Fair Trade

Oct 23, 2018 7:00 PM ET

Since Fair Trade USA's launch in 1998, more than 1,250 companies have committed to a world-changing way of doing business through Fair Trade.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Bring Joy and Laughter to Seriously-Ill Children and Their Families by Providing Them "A Different Kind of Healing" At the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp

Oct 23, 2018 6:20 PM ET

Thirty years ago, The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp welcomed 288 seriously ill children to Camp for its very first summer. For these children, who were coping with a diminished quality of life and isolation as a result of their diagnosis, Hole in the Wall provided a chance to escape their illness and simply be kids, enjoying activities you might find at any summer camp, but modified to meet them where they are at medically and physically. What no one expected at the time was the incredible healing these children would experience being surrounded by other kids just like them, who understood their challenges and made them feel like they belonged.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

BLOG | Hawthorne and ScottsMiracle-Gro Make In-Kind Donation for Hurricane Florence Recovery

Oct 23, 2018 6:10 PM ET

Two weeks after Hurricane Florence made landfall, residents of coastal communities in the Carolinas were just beginning their recovery efforts. Severe flooding still had many residents under water and left with little hope.

Meanwhile, 3,000 miles away, Hawthorne Gardening associates in Vancouver, Wash., (Sunlight Supply) were putting together one of the largest donations in ScottsMiracle-Gro’s history.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Duke Energy Signs on to Congressional HBCU Partnership Challenge

Oct 23, 2018 5:50 PM ET

Duke Energy today became the first energy company to sign up for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Partnership Challenge created by the Bipartisan HBCU Caucus.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

WETA Television and Classical WETA 90.9 FM Are Engaging People of All Ages in the Joy of Lifelong Learning

Oct 23, 2018 5:30 PM ET

For more than 50 years, WETA Television and Classical WETA 90.9 FM have been the Greater Washington community’s source for high-quality, educational public media. Combined Federal Campaign and workplace giving contributions from individual community members have provided vital support to help make WETA’s public service possible.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Sappi's Allentown Facility Carries "Zero Waste" Mission

Oct 23, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Sappi’s Allentown sheeting facility generates just one pound of waste for every ton of paper processed, well below industry standards for zero waste designations. With great planning, execution, and a strong vision of how recycling can lower costs and bring in new revenue, Allentown’s range of materials re-used or recycled is impressive.

Allentown’s sheeting operations stand out as an excellent example of an industrial process that’s efficient, flexible and generates nearly zero waste.

Energy

Join LG and Celebrate ENERGY STAR Day!

Oct 23, 2018 4:35 PM ET

Health & Healthcare

Building Partnerships to Combat the Opioid Crisis

Oct 23, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Public-private partnerships that align around the single goal of reversing opioid misuse and heroin use are needed now more than ever to produce comprehensive approaches that change the trajectory of the future of health. It’s with this shared goal in mind that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Discovery Education have joined forces to launch Operation Prevention—a nationwide initiative to educate and empower students with facts to help them better understand the science behind opioids’ impact on the brain and body.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Smithfield Foods Marks Significant Step Toward Zero-Waste-to-Landfill in North Carolina

Oct 23, 2018 4:25 PM ET

Smithfield Foods, Inc. is pleased to announce a key step toward achieving zero-waste-to-landfill status across its North Carolina processing facilities. Smithfield will achieve this goal with support from its newest partner, Waste Connections, in a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a food company and waste services provider. The project will create a recycling facility that processes materials specifically from food production facilities. This project is part of Smithfield’s companywide sustainability initiative to reduce solid waste to landfills 10 percent by 2020 across all locations and its goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25 percent by 2025 throughout its supply chain.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Wells Fargo Pledges $1.6 Billion in Lending and Philanthropy to Help Revitalize Washington, D.C., Neighborhoods

Oct 23, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced that it will commit more than $1.6 billion in lending and philanthropy over five years focused entirely on Washington, D.C.

Environment

Walmart, SunPower Announce 23-Megawatt Solar Agreement

Oct 23, 2018 3:05 PM ET

Today, Walmart announced that it has reached an agreement with SunPower to have the commercial energy provider install solar systems at 19 stores and two distribution centers in Illinois.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Brown-Forman Recognized With Awards in Employee Engagement, Talent Acquisition, and Human Capital Management

Oct 23, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Brown-Forman was recently recognized with five awards from Korn Ferry, Talent Board, and Brandon Hall Group in the areas of employee engagement, talent acquisition, and human capital management.

Korn Ferry named Brown-Forman an Employee Engagement Award winner, one of only 52 companies in 47 countries to be recognized. These companies, in the second annual awards program, are chosen based on the largest percentage of positive responses to employee engagement questions in an employee opinion survey administered Korn Ferry. Award recipients are considered “best in class” in employee engagement.