ESG News from Leading Brands

Environment

Indivisible: Sam Ball and Joan Blades on the American Creed

Mar 7, 2018 6:00 PM ET

Can’t we all just get along? That’s the hope of Sam Ball, the director of the new documentary film, American Creed, which tells a story of the American Dream, our nation’s patchy history of advocating for equality, and the great red/blue chasm in this country.

Education

Jackson Charitable Foundation and Discovery Education Announce 'Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids!' Elementary School Contest Winner, Set to Empower the Next Generation of Fiscally Fit Leaders

Mar 7, 2018 4:15 PM ET

Jackson Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission to advance financial knowledge on a national scale and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced St. Mary’s Elementary School in Bellevue, Nebraska as the $10,000 grand prize winner of the Cha-Ching Money Smart Kids! contest. The contest invited elementary school teachers and families to take a pledge to teach kids how to “earn, save, spend and donate.” St. Mary’s was also awarded a $1,000 prize to donate to a charity of their choice, with the goal of teaching students about the value of making donations.

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact Bulletin (March 2018)

Mar 7, 2018 3:15 PM ET

Join the United Nations Global Compact Academy to learn how to accelerate your company's sustainability performance. Click here to share the first-ever Academy session on your Twitter account!

Register for the 2018 Women's Empowerment Principles Forum and explore business actions to help create a gender-equal world. Join us on 15 March 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Albertsons Companies and Albertsons Companies Foundation Donate Nearly $300 Million in Food and Financial Support to People and Neighborhoods in Need

Mar 7, 2018 3:00 PM ET

As part of an ongoing commitment to have a positive and sustained impact on the communities they serve, Albertsons Companies and Albertsons Companies Foundation announced that they gave nearly $300 million in food and financial support to an array of important causes in 2017.

Diversity & Inclusion

International Women’s Day: Three Simple Ways We Can All #PressforProgress for Women in STEM

Mar 7, 2018 3:00 PM ET

I know what’s it’s like to be the “first woman.” It’s really lonely! It feels like all eyes are watching you. I was the first female attorney hired at Microsoft, supporting the engineering groups, and the “only woman in the meeting” far more times than I could count. Now it’s an honor to “pay it forward.” As a society, we have a responsibility to inspire the next generation of female science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) leaders.

Diversity & Inclusion

Transparency as a Force for Gender Equality

Mar 7, 2018 3:00 PM ET

What's the link between the #metoo movement, sustainability reporting and achieving the SDGs? The answer is women's empowerment through transparency. It is as a force of transformation, and the cornerstone of sustainable development. Watch this inspirational video and become part of the solution.

Sustainable Development Goals

Fair Trade USA and PUR Projet Tackle Deforestation in Cocoa Supply Chains

Mar 7, 2018 2:30 PM ET

Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, and PUR Projet, a social business working with companies to regenerate ecosystems, announce a new partnership to develop community-driven agroforestry projects within Fair Trade supply chains in Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire produces about 39% of the world’s cocoa and has lost about 85% of its forest since the 1960s largely due to agricultural expansion. The partnership will equip cocoa producers to better revitalize and protect their land.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

North Carolina Schools Reaching More Low-Income Students With School Breakfast, Report Finds

Mar 7, 2018 2:20 PM ET

In North Carolina, 371,000 low-income children participated in the national School Breakfast Program on an average school day in school year 2016–2017, according to a report released today by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), an anti-hunger advocacy group.

“School breakfast means less hunger, better health, and improved educational outcomes for our children,” said Jim Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “The many schools in North Carolina offering breakfast at no charge to all students and serving breakfast after the bell are ensuring that children start the school day ready to learn. We strongly encourage other schools to follow their lead so that more children may reap the benefits of school breakfast.”

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

After Leaving Foster Care, Young Girl is Returned to Foster Family and Finds Forever Home for Her and Her Sister

Mar 7, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Keeping sibling groups together is one of the main purposes of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s signature adoption program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. Too often siblings are separated when they enter foster care and our recruiters work hard to help siblings maintain those biological relationships and get adopted by the same family.

Events, Media & Communications

"Does the RobecoSAM CSA Deliver Quantifiable Business Returns?" - Find out April 6th in NYC at DJSI How INSIGHTS Inspire Action

Mar 7, 2018 2:00 PM ET

As the opening of RobecoSAM's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) draws nearer we wanted to remind you about our upcoming workshop on April 6th at Baruch College/CUNY in New York City. The workshop will be a very intimate discussion with 30 or fewer people with an opportunity to engage with representatives from RobecoSAM, G&A Institute, and your peers.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Ecocentricity Blog: Raising the Bar

Mar 7, 2018 1:45 PM ET

If a company wants to do a side project or charitable initiative to support an environmental or social cause, that is all well and good. There’s no penance in sustainability though.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Question I Hate

Mar 7, 2018 1:40 PM ET

In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, I’d like to share the question I get most often as a female leader.

Green Infrastructure

The Ray Is a Stretch of Highway Paving the Way for the Future of Motoring

Mar 7, 2018 1:15 PM ET

To see the future of motoring, point a flashlight toward electrified and autonomous vehicles (and sometimes a combination of both). But other technologies are being developed under a smaller spotlight. “The Ray” is an 18-mile stretch of west Georgia’s I-85 highway, including the surrounding land and community — and the future of cars is being dreamed up on its pavement.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Republic Services Volunteers Clear 22.06 Tons of Trash in Mint 400 Race Cleanup

Mar 7, 2018 1:00 PM ET

The weather was beautiful, the desert was vast and our more than 180 volunteers at @TheMint400Race cleanup in LasVegas crushed it! They filled more than eight 30-yard containers with trash left in the desert, leaving the city cleaner for all.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Timberland Unveils New Spring ’18 Footwear Collection Made With Recycled Fabric

Mar 7, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland releases three new Timberland X Thread men’s footwear styles for spring, made with Thread’s recycled Ground to Good™ fabric. The collection marks the brand’s second collaboration with Thread, a Certified B Corporation that transforms plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti and Honduras into one of the most responsible fabrics on the planet.

Environment

Delivering on Climate Commitments

Mar 7, 2018 12:20 PM ET

As the world counts down to two degrees, innovative companies are taking the lead and filling the policy void. Businesses are voluntarily setting quantifiable climate change targets; many committing to carbon neutrality. Going even further, visionary corporate leaders are delivering on climate commitments through enduring solutions that possess significant, measurable co-benefits.

Environment

Show Don't Tell: 5 Characteristics of a Powerful Sustainability Story

Mar 7, 2018 11:40 AM ET

Antea Group describes 5 things that can tell a powerful story of your organization’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.

Research, Reports & Publications

WATCH: Val Smith, Citi, Managing Director and Global Head, Corporate Sustainability

Mar 7, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Val Smith, managing director and global head of corporate sustainability at Citi, discusses how The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability serves as an important framework for benchmarking and understanding best practice for sustainable business leadership.

Research, Reports & Publications

Charitable Funds Management Case Study: How One Fortune 500 Company Scaled Its Impact and Cut Costs by More Than $225,000

Mar 7, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Is it cheaper to manage charitable funds distribution in-house? Read about this Fortune 500 company's experience and what it did to scale its impact and cut costs by more than $225,000.

Health & Healthcare

Nestlé UK & Ireland Cuts 2.6 Billion Teaspoons of Sugar and More Than 60 Billion Calories in Just Three Years

Mar 7, 2018 10:30 AM ET

The amount of sugar in Nestlé’s UK and Irish products has been reduced by more than 2.6 billion teaspoons since 2015 thanks to an ongoing, intensive programme of innovation and reformulation.

A report, issued today by Nestlé, reveals that more than 60 billion calories have also been removed from Nestlé UK & Ireland’s portfolio in the same time period.

Events, Media & Communications

Mike Bloomberg Named UN Special Envoy for Climate Action

Mar 7, 2018 10:10 AM ET

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Mike Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy for Climate Action. Mike Bloomberg will support the Secretary-General’s climate strategy and efforts toward the planned 2019 Climate Summit at UN Headquarters. The 2019 Climate Summit will mobilize stronger and more ambitious action towards 2020 climate targets.

Innovation & Technology

Leading Tech Companies Unite to Stop Online Wildlife Traffickers

Mar 7, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Twenty-one of the world's leading e-commerce, technology and social media companies are joining forces with Google and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to render online platforms and apps inoperable for wildlife traffickers to trade in endangered species.

Education

The Write Stuff: 3 Expert Tips from Tama Hasson on Academic Science Writing

Mar 7, 2018 9:55 AM ET

Education

University and College Students Across Western Canada Help Young People Reach Their Infinite Potential

Mar 7, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Undergrads at Okanagan College have developed a curriculum that teaches high school students everyday skills ranging from healthy meal preparation to smart spending.

Similarly, a team at Simon Fraser University is empowering high school students across the Metro Vancouver area by providing them with the tools and knowledge needed to build their own businesses. Their project, Bright Ideas, is an eight-week venture development course focused on instilling entrepreneurship skills, business knowledge, and promoting environmental sustainability.

Enactus Okanagan College and Enactus Simon Fraser University have been named the 2018 Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge Regional Champions.

Diversity & Inclusion

Viacom’s #SeeHer PSAs Portray Positive Female Role Models In Media

Mar 7, 2018 9:15 AM ET

On Feb. 1, Viacom launched the first in a year-long series of PSAs across MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, CMT, TV Land and Nickelodeon. These vignettes feature inspiring, diverse women role models, both real and fictional.

This spot is part of the Association of National Advertisers’ ongoing #SeeHer initiative, of which Viacom is a leading partner. The goal is to accurately portray women and girls in media and advertising by 2020 (100 years after women’s suffrage passed in the United States).