ESG News from Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

Introducing the Carver Family

Jan 17, 2018 12:45 PM ET

Kendra Carver is an American Express employee, a recent adoptive mother and an advocate for adoption benefits. Here she shares her family's story in a guest blog for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Environment

Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability faculty, Tom Lyon Weighs in on Secretary Zinke’s Proposals for Offshore Drilling – Knowledge@Wharton

Jan 17, 2018 12:25 PM ET

The U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has announced the next step for responsibly developing the National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program (National OCS Program) for 2019-2024, which proposes to make over 90 percent of the total OCS acreage and more than 98 percent of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in federal offshore areas available to consider for future exploration and development.

Education

Didier Drogba Foundation Opens its First School with the Support of Nestlé and the International Cocoa Initiative

Jan 17, 2018 12:00 PM ET

The Didier Drogba Foundation has built a new school in Côte d’Ivoire with the support of Nestlé and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). The school helps address the lack of educational facilities in rural parts of the country, and is part of Nestlé’s approach to tackling child labour in cocoa-growing communities.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotiabank Donates $500,000 to the University of Manitoba

Jan 17, 2018 11:45 AM ET

Scotiabank has donated $500,000 to the University of Manitoba’s Front and Centre campaign, giving students’ academic support and opportunities to serve their community.

A portion of the new donation will help more Manitobans get the oral health care they need, while enhancing dentistry student training. The remainder will establish the Scotiabank Scholarship in Data Analytics in the Asper School of Business.

Health & Healthcare

Keep That Resolution: It Can Yield More Than You Think

Jan 17, 2018 11:20 AM ET

This past year, I did the unthinkable and followed through on a resolution. And, by following through, my CrossFit journey didn’t just help me find my abs; it also gave me a crash course in business endurance and career success.

Innovation & Technology

Construction Completed on World’s First Floating LNG Storage and Regasification Barge

Jan 17, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Black & Veatch, a pioneer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure including floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) production and regasification, has delivered the regasification system for the world’s first barge-based FLNG regasification and storage unit.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Science Museum of Minnesota Honored With Energy Efficiency Leader Award From Trane

Jan 17, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Trane®, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, presented the Energy Efficiency Leader Award to the Science Museum of Minnesota. The award recognizes the museum’s long-term commitment to providing a learning atmosphere with minimal impact on the environment.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Team Members Celebrate Nevada Recycled Art Contest Win

Jan 17, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Two Las Vegas Sands Team Members celebrated their children’s victories on November 15 after placing first during the 2017 Nevada Recycled Art Contest, sponsored by The Venetian in partnership with Nevada Recycles. The contest, open to all Nevada residents, encourages participants to create art out of recycled material and is held in honor of America Recycles Day.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Advice for Breaking Down Sustainability Silos in 2018

Jan 17, 2018 10:15 AM ET

The walls between sustainability, corporate social responsibility and other corporate functions are starting to crumble which allows leaders to better integrate sustainable business practices.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Feeding Better Futures Seeks Young Innovators

Jan 17, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Calling all young scholars from Canada* and the U.S. who are advancing sustainable agriculture or alleviating hunger.

Today, General Mills launched the “General Mills Feeding Better Futures Scholars Program,” which is designed to encourage young people ages 13 to 21 to submit their best ideas for addressing these important global issues.

Green Infrastructure

Haworth Kerry Center Organic Office and Showroom Is the First WELL Certified Pilot Project in China

Jan 17, 2018 9:50 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

From the NBC Writers’ Room: How Authenticity & Diversity Built 'This Is Us'

Jan 17, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The vision for “This Is Us” started with our show’s creator, Dan Fogelman. He wanted to see a version of America that he felt was missing from mainstream media – one that he understood and related to through his own experiences growing up in suburban New Jersey. He saw an opportunity to bring a new structure to primetime TV, by building a cast of authentic, multi-dimensional characters who act, talk, and look like real people.

Dan was very intentional about creating something different, starting from the pilot episode. He knew that, if he wanted to create compelling storylines that connected with diverse audiences, he needed diverse voices at the table throughout the creative process. That’s where we came in.

Environment

Nikki Reed and Dell Turn E-Waste into New Treasures

Jan 17, 2018 8:55 AM ET

The Circular Collection by Bayou with Love, a jewelry line made from gold recovered from computer motherboards collected through Dell’s recycling programs. The collaboration brings visibility to the importance and value of recycling and sustainable design. It also supports Dell’s Legacy of Good goals to collect 2 billion pounds of e-waste and recycle 100 million pounds of recycled content into its product portfolio by 2020. The gold reclamation process created by Dell partner, Wistron GreenTech, has a 99% lower environmental impact than traditionally mined gold. In addition to the jewelry collection, the reclamation process is used on an industry first pilot to reuse gold from e-waste in millions of new computer motherboards including the Latitude 5285 2-in-1.

Sustainable Development Goals

A New Window Onto Sustainability: Microsoft Corporation Joins WBCSD

Jan 17, 2018 8:35 AM ET

Global Cloud IT leader Microsoft Corporation has today joined nearly 200 forward-thinking companies as the newest member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Sustainable Development Goals

Qualcomm Leverages Mobile Technology to Economically Empower Women

Jan 17, 2018 8:30 AM ET

For a growing number of women worldwide, particularly those in underserved communities, the road to economic empowerment starts with a mobile device. Women who have traditionally faced barriers to entrepreneurial success are discovering how they can use powerful, handheld devices and an internet connection to gain access to the business skills, technology, markets, networks or capital they need in order to participate in the global economy and improve their lives.

Events, Media & Communications

Keep America Beautiful Hosts 2018 National Conference in Dallas; Kicks Off 65th Anniversary Celebration With Focus on Future

Jan 17, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization celebrating its 65th anniversary in 2018, is featuring Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D., internationally-recognized author and founder of Community-based Social Marketing, as its keynote speaker at the 2018 Keep America Beautiful National Conference, taking place Jan. 17-19 at The Fairmont Dallas Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Humana Foundation Announces Focus for the Future: Addressing Social Determinants of Health for Sustainable Community Impact

Jan 17, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Evolution of foundation’s strategy aligns with Humana Inc.’s Bold Goal of improving the health of communities Humana serves. The goal of the Humana Foundation's new approach is to co-create communities where leadership, culture and systems work to improve and sustain positive health outcomes for their residents by focusing on social determinants of health – such as asset and financial security, food security, and social connection.

Health & Healthcare

6 Entrepreneurs Whose Innovations Could Make GenH the Healthiest Yet

Jan 17, 2018 8:00 AM ET

A necklace that helps doctors ensure a baby is up-to-date on vaccinations. An affordable, child-friendly antibiotic—delivered in a packet of peanut butter—that treats pneumonia and prevents malnutrition.

These are just a couple of the winners of the GenH Challenge: a Johnson & Johnson initiative focused on finding entrepreneurs whose innovations have the potential to help make future generations the healthiest yet.

Sustainable Development Goals

Sappi North America's Key Performance Indicators: Social Indicators

Jan 16, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Our pulp and paper products are derived from renewable resources, made with high levels of renewable energy, and are designed to be reused or recycled. While it is difficult to identify a more sustainable industry than forest products, not all companies perform equally when it comes to operating safely and sustainably. We track our progress annually, and in the following pages offer an updated view of our performance in important areas of environmental and social responsibility. We monitor key metrics for fiber, emissions, energy usage and the impact of our operations on air, water and solid waste. We use this data when setting improvement goals related either to our operations or our interactions with our key stakeholder groups—employees, customers and our local communities. We uphold the

Research, Reports & Publications

BNEF’s Annual Clean Energy Investment Trends Report Released

Jan 16, 2018 3:25 PM ET

An extraordinary boom in photovoltaic installations made 2017 a record year for China’s investment in clean energy. This over-shadowed changes elsewhere, including jumps in investment in Australia and Mexico, and declines in Japan, the U.K. and Germany.

Energy

Ohio Businesses Call on Senate to Protect Renewable and Energy Efficiency Standards

Jan 16, 2018 3:00 PM ET

The Ohio Senate is moving quickly to act on legislation that would undercut Ohio’s clean energy economy. In response, major businesses, investors, healthcare providers and trade associations representing nearly 200,000 employees are gathering to voice their firm opposition to legislation that would roll back the state’s clean energy standards.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Hormel Foods Receives Numerous Awards for Corporate Responsibility Report

Jan 16, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Hormel Foods announced today that it has received several awards for its 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report. The company’s annual report provides information about the company’s goals and progress as a leading corporate citizen.

Environment

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Announces Creative Collaboration with Globally Renowned National Geographic Photographer Andrew Mann

Jan 16, 2018 2:40 PM ET

Education

AT&T Aspire Accelerator Alumni: Where Are They Now? CommonLit's Story

Jan 16, 2018 2:00 PM ET

In the spring of 2016, CommonLit.org was a collection of about 100 individual PDF reading lessons that English teachers could download and use with their students. Despite its humble start, I had a big vision. I came to the AT&T Aspire team with a simple pitch: Create the best reading and writing program in America and make it available for free so that even the most vulnerable students could access it online.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Starting a Year-round Employee Giving Program: Benefits, Barriers, and Things to Consider

Jan 16, 2018 1:35 PM ET

According to America’s Charities’ Snapshot 2017 report, nearly 71 percent of workplace donors say that they want to work for employers who have missions and values that align with their own personal values. What’s more, nearly 6 in 10 workplace donors say they want to work for companies where the culture supports giving and volunteering.

To accommodate these interests, and to recruit and keep a talented workforce, many companies offer the chance for employees to take part in seasonal giving campaigns or in an annual day of service. But for companies that are truly committed to building a culture that is focused on giving back, a once-a-year event or campaign often isn’t enough.