ESG News from Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

Skills-Based Volunteering as Corporate Self-Care

Jul 22, 2016 8:35 AM ET

Companies are frequently likened to machines–departments chugging away in happy synchrony like a well-oiled machine. It’s easy to see why this analogy exists. It works most of the time, and it helps us to emphasize company necessities like efficiency and functionality. When we want to shift that focus towards the overall health of a company, however, we are better served by a more humanized approach.

Within our new analogy, we can reflect on how a person remains healthy.So, self-care is vital for the person, and by extension, is vital for the company. What, then, is the corporate equivalent of getting plenty of sleep, eating your veggies, and maintaining a constructive mindset? I suggest skills-based volunteering as a holistic approach to corporate health.

Responsible Production & Consumption

How One Las Vegas Hotel is Trying to Reduce Food Waste

Jul 21, 2016 7:10 PM ET

A new Consumer Reports study highlights the staggering amount of food wasted in America, with 40 percent of the food produced in the U.S. ending up in the trash.

Responsible Production & Consumption

The Global Approach to Supply Chain Transparency and Compliance

Jul 21, 2016 6:45 PM ET

As we move into the second half of 2016, it is important to reflect on the events that we have seen so far in 2016 for supply chain transparency. We saw the global modern day slavery movement enhanced by many regions of the world passing legislation. There have also been new approaches developed by NGO's to tackle slavery in supply chains. The same can be said for conflict minerals. More companies started to take an active approach to identifying the origin of 3TG.

Environment

Infographic: Alliance Data’s GHG Inventory

Jul 21, 2016 6:00 PM ET

In 2015, Alliance Data lowered our scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 53% from the previous year. We generated 1 million kilowatts of solar power at LoyaltyOne’s Mississauga, Ontario, customer care center. We got a score of 69 from the Carbon Disclosure Project, as compared to the CDP supply chain average of 60. Check out this infographic about our environmental efforts to learn more.

Education

Children’s Science Center Lab Celebrates 1st Birthday with Launch of New Exhibits, $1 Admission

Jul 21, 2016 4:15 PM ET

The Children’s Science Center Lab in Fairfax, VA will celebrate its first birthday on Sunday, July 24, with a day full of festivities and the unveiling of two new gifts to the Lab and its visitors

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Arrow Electronics Sponsors Denver Scholarship Foundation’s Golf Classic

Jul 21, 2016 4:00 PM ET

Arrow Electronics sponsored the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF) Third Annual Golf Classic on July 11, which raised $189,000 for Denver Public School students to achieve their postsecondary goals.

Environment

Uncovering a Smart City’s Impact: A Conversation with Chandana Vangapalli

Jul 21, 2016 3:40 PM ET

There’s a lot of talk about how smart cities of the future will benefit society and the world around us. Take the environment, for example. We believe that the technology enabling smart cities has the potential to reduce carbon emissions and other air pollution, and could help empower cities to better manage resources like water and energy.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Republic Services Helps Fight Wildfire in Oregon

Jul 21, 2016 3:00 PM ET

Republic Services employee Tim Tycer was on his way home from work when he got a call letting him know there was a wild fire burning near Republic’s Coffin Butte Landfill and Pacific Region Compost (PRC) in Oregon’s Willamette Valley

Responsible Production & Consumption

Conflict Minerals SEC Filings Benchmarking Insights Released

Jul 21, 2016 2:35 PM ET

Yesterday, Source Intelligence released a benchmarking analysis Conflict Minerals Reporting. A Deeper Look Into RY2015 SEC Filings.

Energy

Lancaster Choice Energy's Smart Choice Option Certified by Center for Resource Solutions' Green-e Energy Program

Jul 21, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) announced today that Lancaster Choice Energy (LCE)’s Smart Choice renewable power option is now certified by Green-e Energy – North America’s leading independent certification program for renewable energy. LCE’s Smart Choice program, powered by 100% wind power, offers LCE customers the ability to “opt-up” to 100% renewable energy.

Education

Qualcomm and IIE Expand Summer Program to Build K-12 Pipeline of Girls in Tech

Jul 21, 2016 1:55 PM ET

This summer, thirty middle school girls will graduate from Qcamp for Girls in STEM, developed and implemented by Qualcomm Incorporated and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

Energy

Republic Services and Mas Energy Unveil Latest Renewable Energy Project

Jul 21, 2016 1:20 PM ET

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) and Mas Energy, LLC unveiled today a new renewable energy project serving Metro Atlanta. The innovative project involves landfill gas-to-energy facilities at three area landfills, located in the cities of Buford, Griffin and Winder. Together, these facilities are capable of generating 24.1 megawatts of electricity, or enough renewable energy to power 15,665 households.

Research, Reports & Publications

New NAEM Report Outlines Key Strategies to Ensure a Successful Software Selection

Jul 21, 2016 12:30 PM ET

The National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM) has released a new report that identifies the key strategies companies can use to optimize their selection of environmental, health and safety, and sustainability (EHS&S) software tools, the association announced today.

Health & Healthcare

Identifying Approaches to Improve the Patient Experience

Jul 21, 2016 12:05 PM ET

With the exception of the birth of a healthy baby, most people view the prospect of hospitalization with varying degrees of fear, from normal anxiety to full-blown terror. The reasons are as varied as the individuals, but often are based on the feeling of a loss of control and depersonalization. Creating a positive patient experience requires an understanding of what’s behind individual fears and adjusting the systems and protocols to relieve them as much as possible.

Social Impact & Volunteering

More Than Just a Scholarship: Corporate Partners Help Point Foundation Provide Leadership Skills, Development Programs and Events for LGBTQ Students

Jul 21, 2016 12:00 PM ET

Point Foundation (Point), the nation’s largest scholarship-granting organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students of merit, is committed to helping young people acquire leadership skills. Thanks to the generosity of corporate supporters and workplace giving, this year Point is able to bring its current 84 scholarship recipients and many of its 350 alumni together for leadership training events around the country, including a National Leadership Conference.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Providing Safe and Healthy Housing to Veterans

Jul 21, 2016 11:00 AM ET

In 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) unveiled a strategic plan to move the needle on housing the nation’s homeless veterans. They set an ambitious goal – as a part of the Open Doors strategy – to have zero homeless veterans by the end of 2015. This concentrated effort has yielded some incredible results.

Events, Media & Communications

“Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues” --New Harvard B-School Paper Will Further Inform Us on ESG “Materiality” & Impacts on Companies in Capital Markets

Jul 21, 2016 10:50 AM ET

One of the most influential voices of the Harvard B-School faculty on corporate sustainability and sustainable investing trends is George Serafeim, the Jakurski Family Associate Professor of Business Administration. He has teamed with Calvert and other organizations to produce a substantial, impressive body of work related to “making the investment” and “making the business” cases for both corporate managers and boards, as well as for institutional and individual investors.

Research, Reports & Publications

MetLife Foundation Sponsors Series of Studies on Financial Inclusion in Japan

Jul 21, 2016 10:45 AM ET

The concept of financial inclusion is still relatively new in Japan. However, there are a rising number of individuals and households who find themselves in a difficult financial situation due to a decrease in savings, the inability to borrow money, and growing poverty. Working together with MetLife Insurance K.K. on financial inclusion, one of the company’s theme-based CSR activities in Japan since last year, MetLife Foundation has seen this as an opportunity to identify emerging needs around financial inclusion while advocating for further dialogue on this topic on the policy front.

Environment

Moving Beyond a Stalemate: Using Renewable Materials as a Bridge to a Resource Secure Future

Jul 21, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Closing gaps in knowledge and improving understanding about the benefits of renewable materials can have a transformative effect on the economy and the environment, according to findings in a new report from Tetra Pak.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Doing Well by Doing Good is A Lot More Than the Bottom Line

Jul 21, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Michael Oxman Named Managing Director of Scheller College's Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business

Jul 21, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Michael Oxman joins Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business as the new managing director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Final Days to Nominate Environmental Volunteers for Boston’s Cox Conserves Heroes Program

Jul 21, 2016 10:30 AM ET

FOX25, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, is seeking nominations for local environmental volunteers through July 25 at myfoxboston.com. Boston’s Cox Conserves Heroes program honors volunteers in FOX25’s viewership area who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces. Nominee activities must be performed on a volunteer basis and may not be part of one’s paid job.

Green Infrastructure

New Protocol Brings a Breath of Fresh Air for Managing Natural Capital​

Jul 21, 2016 10:15 AM ET

The Earth’s natural resources, whether it’s the air, water, soils, geology or ecosystems around us, sustain all life on earth. These resources, sometimes termed ‘natural capital’, provide us with a vast range of services, from the more obvious examples, such as the food we eat and the materials we use to build our towns and cities, to those less visible, such as climate regulation and the pollination of plants by insects.

Research, Reports & Publications

Kimberly-Clark Corporation Unveils New Sustainability Strategy and Goals with 2015 Report

Jul 21, 2016 10:15 AM ET

Kimberly-Clark Corporation recently published its annual report on sustainability, providing a comprehensive update on the company's efforts and introducing new sustainability priorities and goals through 2022.

Environment

VIDEO | Electronics Recycling, People and Second Chances Through Dell Reconnect

Jul 21, 2016 10:10 AM ET