ESG News from Leading Brands

Energy

Disrupting the Electricity Industry

Feb 8, 2018 10:55 AM ET

Where does the future lie for electricity? One UPS expert believes it is in the auto-consumption and peer-to-peer trade of electricity. It’s no secret that going green is challenging. Governments, businesses and individuals must consider several factors when making the shift to alternative energy, including availability, cost and storage. In the case of electric energy, rising demand means we have to start rethinking the way electricity is produced, transported and consumed.

Education

Barclays Partners With Northern Powerhouse to Address the Skills Attainment Gap

Feb 8, 2018 10:45 AM ET

A Barclays colleague, who had joined the organisation as an apprentice, took centre stage in promoting private sector efforts to close the education and skills gap between north and south this week.

Social Impact & Volunteering

A Cancer-Fighting Force to Be Reckoned With -- Sanofi's CancerConnect Employee Resource Group

Feb 8, 2018 9:15 AM ET

The CancerConnect employee resource group unites employees who have a passion for supporting cancer patients and survivors. The Swiftwater group rallies around several cancer-related causes in Northeast Pennsylvania with both financial contributions and employee engagement.

Events, Media & Communications

2018 Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance Summit to Be hosted in Oakland at VERGE 18

Feb 8, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The annual Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) Summit will return to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2018 — hosted in Oakland, October 14-16, ahead of GreenBiz Group’s VERGE 18 conference and expo. REBA is a coalition of leadership organizations with deep expertise in transforming energy markets: BSR’s Future of Internet Power, Rocky Mountain Institute’s Business Renewables Center, World Resources Institute’s Electricity Initiative and World Wildlife Fund’s Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles (also supported by World Resources Institute).

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

A Global Events App for Cause

Feb 8, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Easily find millions of events and come together with others in support of humanitarian and environmental efforts. Simply access iCause from any mobile, tablet or desktop. Your location is automatically remembered upon log-in and a city change is easily done in the search bar.

“iCause is humanizing the marketing experience by offering features like rewards and free nonprofit tools within a global cause community.” Mike Lemire, CSO

Events, Media & Communications

Finalized Agenda for the Responsible Business Summit New York 2018 Is Released

Feb 8, 2018 8:25 AM ET

The sessions and timings have now been finalized for next month’s Responsible Business Summit New York (March 26-27), which will feature over 70 CEOs and senior executive speakers leading transformational change. To see the full event agenda you can click here http://events.ethicalcorp.com/rbs-ny/conference-agenda.php

Energy

Schneider Electric Announces an Agreement to Build a Microgrid With an Investment of $4.5 Million

Feb 8, 2018 8:15 AM ET

The recent wave of hurricanes in the US -- Harvey, Irma & Sandy -- have offered municipalities a reminder of the importance of installing assets that can provide resilient power in critical facilities. The need of the hour is to install advanced microgrids equipped with the latest technology that can perform on multiple levels during these extreme weather conditions and grid outages. Microgrids were chosen as one of the options to provide necessary resilience during inclement weather in the recent US Department of Energy’s 2017 Grid Reliability Study.

Responsible Production & Consumption

VIDEO | First Look: See How Mohawk Industries Champions Sustainable Flooring

Feb 8, 2018 8:05 AM ET

Mohawk Industries, a flooring manufacturer headquartered in Calhoun, Georgia, is committed to sustainability through better manufacturing and operations processes – providing products without negative impacts on our health and the planet’s health.

Diversity & Inclusion

No Barriers Youth, Wells Fargo Select Winners of Global Impact Challenge

Feb 8, 2018 8:00 AM ET

No Barriers Youth and Wells Fargo announced the winners of their year-long Global Impact Challenge, a diversity and inclusion competition designed to spark ideas from high school and middle school students for building a world free of barriers, stereotypes and discrimination.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

A Taste of General Mills Podcast: Taste of the NFL

Feb 8, 2018 8:00 AM ET

The premiere party in the state that hosts “The Big Game” each year is Taste of the NFL, which donates a portion of its proceeds to food banks and hunger relief organizations in each of the 32 pro football cities.

Events, Media & Communications

National Geographic Hosts ‘Evening of Exploration’ Gala in London, Highlighting Commitment to Exploration in Europe and Africa

Feb 7, 2018 7:00 PM ET

National Geographic recently hosted an “Evening of Exploration” at the Natural History Museum in London, the biggest event the organization has ever held in Europe. The gala was an opportunity to celebrate National Geographic’s 130 years of groundbreaking storytelling with National Geographic Explorers, National Geographic leaders, and luminaries from across Europe and Africa.

Innovation & Technology

Announcing Bloomberg’s Data Science Academic Engagement Programs

Feb 7, 2018 3:30 PM ET

At Bloomberg, we believe in contributing back to the community. In data science, we contribute back by sponsoring conferences, meetups, publishing our findings in conferences and journals, and contributing code to open source libraries. In addition to these efforts, we support academic research through meaningful engagement with university faculty and Ph.D. candidates.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Boeing’s “Dollars for Doers” Employee Match Program Takes Community Investments Higher

Feb 7, 2018 3:25 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Karen Dahut, Ted Sniffin Named to Wash100 List of "Most Influential Executives"

Feb 7, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Booz Allen Hamilton Executive Vice Presidents Karen Dahut and Ted Sniffin have been named to the prestigious Wash100, a yearly list of “the most influential and impactful executives of consequence at the intersection of government and industry,” selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Global Survey Applauds TransCanada’s Gender Equality Efforts

Feb 7, 2018 2:00 PM ET

TransCanada has earned global recognition for our efforts to create a gender equal work environment.

We are one of 104 companies from 10 sectors to be named in Bloomberg’s inaugural Gender-Equality Index (GEI), released January 22, 2018 – and one of only two energy companies to make the cut.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Serve, Lead, Learn: Corporations Pair Leadership Development With Pro Bono Service to Improve Health in Rwanda

Feb 7, 2018 1:15 PM ET

Four leading global companies have joined forces to place one of their most precious resources—their people—to work on strengthening health systems in Kigali, Rwanda. The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), SAP, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and WE Communications will each send top professionals into the field to work pro bono as Global Health Corporate Champions.

Sustainable Development Goals

GRI Podcast February Edition: Business and Human Rights

Feb 7, 2018 1:00 PM ET

In the first episode of 2018, GRI interviews Caroline Rees, President of Shift, the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. There's also a report from the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where GRI’s Chief Executive Tim Mohin delivered an important message to world leaders. You will also find out how GRI's Regional Hub in South Asia is helping local businesses contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Employees’ Research Leads to Innovative Light Pole Pilot Program

Feb 7, 2018 12:05 PM ET

A group of employees at Southern California Edison recently found an innovative solution to help fix and replace light bulbs or fixtures high above the ground at its facilities. The spring-loaded metal pole they found online could help reduce injuries among workers. The SCE employees pitched the idea and it is now being used in a Light Pole Pilot Program at the utility’s Redlands Mountainview facility. Once the pilot is completed, the program could then be used company-wide.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Xylem Employees Volunteer More Than 35,800 Hours in 2017

Feb 7, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Employees from Xylem, a leading global water technology company that is dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, logged more than 35,800 volunteer hours in 2017, participating in activities aimed at providing and protecting safe water resources in communities and educating people about water issues. Xylem Watermark, the company’s corporate citizenship platform, launched a service-focused employee engagement program in 2016 in support of this mission with a goal of logging 100,000 volunteer hours by the end of 2018. This year’s achievement brings the total number of volunteer hours to nearly 57,000, more than halfway to that goal.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Kings Join Forces With Enrich LA to Build Edible Garden at East Los Angeles YMCA

Feb 7, 2018 11:30 AM ET

AEG’s LA Kings and Enrich LA joined forces, with the help of Blue Shield of California, to build an edible and interactive garden at Weingart YMCA Wellness & Aquatic Center last week.

Energy

Washington Can’t Kill Solar Power: 6 Reasons to Be Optimistic About the Future of Solar

Feb 7, 2018 11:25 AM ET

The Trump administration recently announced that the U.S. will be implementing a steep tariff on solar panel imports. Taxing those solar panels up to 30 percent will destroy U.S. jobs, because far more Americans are involved in installing and maintaining panels than in manufacturing them. It will also raise Americans’ electric bills, by making the energy marketplace less competitive. And it will hurt our environment and public health, by slowing the transition away from heavily polluting, carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

Environment

Change 1% to Change the World

Feb 7, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Georgia Tech student, Will Courrèges-Clercq, talks about his experiences at the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business in the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business, and how guidance he obtained there has inspired his plans for the future. This is a TedXGeorgiaTech 2017 Salon Series Talk.

Health & Healthcare

Mindful Portions: Cutting Through the Quantity Confusion with Quality Meal Guidance

Feb 7, 2018 10:25 AM ET

People around the world are more attentive than ever about food and nutrition, questioning where and how their food is made and its impact on health. While many of us are trying to eat healthily, we’re faced with the difficult task of navigating an environment that consistently promotes food quantity over food quality.

Events, Media & Communications

CSRHub’s Cynthia Figge Speaking at CSR 4.0

Feb 7, 2018 10:00 AM ET

CSRHub CEO and Co-Founder Cynthia Figge will be moderating a panel at Skytop Strategies CSR 4.0 conference, in San Francisco on March 1st. The panel will be discussing The Power of Disruption: How CSR Can Affect Company Brand Value.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Our Food Journey™

Feb 7, 2018 9:45 AM ET

Our belief is that good business and good stewardship go hand in hand.

Given our role in helping to feed America and the world for over 125 years, we know that building social value and creating economic value are not competing goals. For us, there is no daylight between good citizenship and good business.

While we are committed to many worthy causes, including cancer research and fighting childhood hunger, it is our core business – efficiently producing delicious food for the world’s growing population – that we are most proud of. Since the beginning, we’ve believed that social responsibility is more than giving a percentage of our profits at the end of the year.