ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MGM National Harbor First Integrated Resort in Washington D.C. Region to Achieve Prestigious LEED® Gold Green Building Certification

Dec 2, 2016 9:00 AM ET

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) today announced that the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED) Gold certification to MGM National Harbor, the company’s newest resort. Located minutes from Washington, D.C., in Prince George's County, Maryland, the resort will is scheduled to open Dec. 8.

Innovation & Technology

Microgrids Should Be a Key Element in Power Grid Modernization

Dec 2, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Modernization of the U.S. power grid will not only require replacement of old components with new ones, it will also need to account for larger amounts of renewable energy and distributed generation. This movement is causing utilities to consider microgrids as a part of the solution.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

HPE Wins the Stop Slavery Award for Transparency and Response to Challenges

Dec 2, 2016 8:35 AM ET

At least 21 million people are trapped in modern slavery around the world, according to an estimate by the International Labor Organization. That’s an absolutely appalling figure. As a global organization with a supply chain that spans the world, we’ve long recognized the part we can play in tackling the root causes of forced labor and human trafficking. We embrace our opportunity and responsibility to use our scale, influence, and experience to help our suppliers improve their social and environmental responsibility (SER) standards and performance.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Scotiabank is First Bank to Offer Fully Online Account Opening Service for Small Business Owners

Dec 2, 2016 8:15 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

PayPal Users Donated More than $48 Million on #GivingTuesday

Dec 1, 2016 5:45 PM ET

This year the #GivingTuesday movement turned five. Founded in 2012 by 92nd Street Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, this global day of giving has seen millions around the world unite to generously give their time and money to charitable causes. PayPal has been a lead supporter of the #GivingTuesday movement from the beginning, powering millions of donations on this day alone.

Responsible Production & Consumption

International Living Future Institute + GreenCircle Certified Partner to Boost Product Transparency

Dec 1, 2016 3:50 PM ET

Consumers and specifiers alike are increasingly looking for transparency in products, whether it is to verify point of origin, to understand environmental impacts, or because they want to eliminate exposure to toxic ingredients.

Social Impact & Volunteering

City Year Baton Rouge Expands to Broadmoor High School

Dec 1, 2016 3:15 PM ET

My family raised my little brother and me in Fort Valley, a small town in Peach County, Georgia. When I was 18, I moved to Baton Rouge to attend Southern University on a track scholarship. I majored in business and joined Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. where we did volunteer work on campus and across the city. I particularly enjoyed getting to know the kids in the Baton Rouge community when we were part of a Dress for Success initiative.

Environment

Amid Political Uncertainty, the World is Looking to U.S. Businesses to Act on Climate Change

Dec 1, 2016 3:10 PM ET

As business people, we have an opportunity every day to decide how we create value. Do we focus, as Milton Friedman suggested, on creating products and services in a way that maximizes our bottom line with no direct accountability for social responsibility? Or do we find ways to create shared value that can enhance our shared natural and social capital?

Coming off last month’s 22nd UN Conference of the Parties (COP22) climate meeting in Marrakesh and the recent results of the U.S. election, the question on everybody’s minds is: what will become of the current climate change agenda and what role will non-government actors play?

Diversity & Inclusion

Does Your Company Have This Key Business Strategy in Place?

Dec 1, 2016 3:05 PM ET

SINGAPORE (Nov 22): As both a woman and a person of colour, Erika Irish Brown spent over 15 years of her career in the financial sector feeling fortunate to have been given what she saw as equal opportunities as everyone else in the US.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

GAF Donates Roofing to Habitat for Humanity for Sixth Consecutive Year

Dec 1, 2016 2:50 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MGM Resorts International Achieves Spot on Prominent List of ‘Best Companies for Diversity’ for 10th Year

Dec 1, 2016 2:30 PM ET

For the tenth year, Black Enterprise (BE) magazine has named MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) one of the "Best Companies for Diversity" in the U.S. based on MGM Resorts’ diversity and inclusion practices. MGM Resorts (the “Company”) is the only company in the gaming industry, and the only company based in Nevada, to be named to the magazine’s list this year.

Education

Arrow Electronics Donates Educational Tablets to Tuleeni Orphanage

Dec 1, 2016 2:25 PM ET

Arrow Electronics recently donated 50 refurbished tablet computers to the children of the Tuleeni Orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. The tablet donation is an extension of the global technology company’s ongoing support of the remote orphanage.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $95.2 Million for Affordable Housing Development in Auburn, WA

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

KeyBank’s Community Development Lending & Investing (CDLI) group announced today it has provided $95.2 million in tax exempt bond financing to construct almost 600 units of 4% LIHTC affordable apartments in Auburn, Washington, called the Villas at Auburn and the Reserve at Auburn. Upon completion, the Villas at Auburn will offer 295 units of affordable housing for families; the Reserve at Auburn will offer 297 units of affordable housing for seniors. Both projects will serve residents making 60 percent or less of the area median income.

Health & Healthcare

Pfizer Foundation Grantee North Star Alliance Uses Innovative Approach to Provide Care “At the Right Locations and at the Right Time”

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Eva Mwai is the Regional Director for East Africa with North Star Alliance, which has built a network of 36 roadside clinics made from refurbished shipping containers throughout 11 countries in Africa. North Star Alliance’s clinics provide health services along major transportation routes using scalable and sustainable practices. This unique public-private partnership model provides low-cost primary and sexual healthcare to mobile, at-risk individuals.

Environment

How Advances in Digital Technology are Unlocking Water’s Circular Potential

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

We need to change our relationship with water to ensure that communities and businesses can thrive today and tomorrow, and the circular economy must be part of the solution. Water can no longer be considered an inexpensive, “use and dispose” commodity but should be valued as a reusable asset and growth enabler. Yet today, less than three percent of wastewater is recycled. In the United States, industry reuses far less than ten percent of the fresh water used for industrial processes. The identification of waste in terms of resources, capacity, lifecycle and embedded value that is the building block of the circular economy, must also be fully applied to water cycles.

Education

Starting-Up Sustainability: Back to the Future

Dec 1, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Back in the 80’s, when SCS Global Services was a start-up and everyone wanted to time travel in Doc’s DeLorean, recycled content was the cutting edge environmental technology claim pursued by innovative product and packaging manufacturers. Today’s start-ups bring us self-driving vehicles and face an increasingly complex landscape of sustainability requirements demanded by customers.

Environment

National Conservation Program gets $500K Boost from Duke Energy

Dec 1, 2016 1:05 PM ET

The National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Energy for Wildlife program received a recent boost thanks to a $500,000 Duke Energy Foundation grant to conserve or enhance more than 6,000 acres of critical habitat across Florida, the Carolinas and Indiana.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Norfolk Southern Named a Military Friendly® Employer for Supporting Veterans

Dec 1, 2016 12:45 PM ET

Veterans in search of jobs that pay well and offer career advancement will find Norfolk Southern among 210 companies recently recognized for being military friendly. Norfolk Southern was named to the list of 2017 Military Friendly® Employers by Victory Media, a veteran-owned publisher of G.I. Jobs, Military Spouse, STEM, and Vetrepreneur magazines. This is the 10th year that Norfolk Southern has appeared on the list, which features companies with a proven record of hiring and supporting veterans in the workplace

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Five Inspirational Companies to Watch in 2017

Dec 1, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Corporate philanthropy is focused on heart and luckily, more companies are finding ways to incorporate giving and heart into their own business practices. Employees want to give back and participate in the community, candidates watch potential employers closely when considering applications and consumers are as vigilant on cause work as ever.

Events, Media & Communications

The Message of Thomas Friedman’s New Book: It’s Going to Be O.K.

Dec 1, 2016 12:25 PM ET

From Donald Trump to Brexit to Marine Le Pen, one thing that unites the unhappy West is a profound sense of mystification. Across Europe and North America, people have an acute feeling that their world is accelerating away from them — but they can’t quite understand why.

Innovation & Technology

Technology Adoption in the Philanthropic Sector: A Conversation with Lisa Pool, Executive Director of Technology Affinity Group (TAG)

Dec 1, 2016 11:20 AM ET

In this episode of the Champions for Social Good Podcast, Jamie Serino speaks with Lisa Pool, Executive Director of Technology Affinity Group (TAG), a non-profit membership organization that promotes the power of technology to advance the goals of the philanthropic sector.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Wendy’s Believes in Giving Back

Dec 1, 2016 10:45 AM ET

Our founder Dave Thomas believed everyone has an obligation to put back into life more than what they take out. With that in mind, Wendy’s was founded with the belief that a company should do more than just sell a product or service. We believe in giving back to our local communities and continuing Dave’s legacy, which is why Give Something Back is one of our brand’s core values.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotiabank Announces $1 Million Gift Supporting Research Aimed at Improving Children's Health

Dec 1, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Scotiabank has announced a $1 million gift to one of the top biomedical research institutes in North America to support discovery of the determinants of health for infants and children. The announcement was made on Monday, November 21, at Sinai Health Foundation's marquee event Dinner with Scientists.

Energy

Connecting an Untapped Market

Dec 1, 2016 10:30 AM ET

With operations in Asia, Solar energy provider Buffalo Grid has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) by committing to reach 27 million people with solar energy and reduce global CO2 emissions by 11,771 tons while creating jobs for 74,000 local entrepreneurs – all by 2020.

Events, Media & Communications

Quo Vadis on Sustainability Issues in 2017 -- As a New Administration & New Congress Come to Town?

Dec 1, 2016 10:20 AM ET

Are you holding your breath after the November elections? Wondering where corporate sustainability or sustainable investing goes from here? What our public sector positioning may be on issues of importance to the corporate or capital markets communities?