Hundreds of investors, businesses, and governments have recently announced major new commitments to tackle climate change, adding a fresh boost to efforts to expand investment in clean energy by an additional $1 trillion per year – the Clean Trillion.
Volunteers from Whirlpool Corporation, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and Indiana University’s Kelley School recently completed construction of a new Habitat home in Bloomington for Neydra Garza, a single mother of three and first time homeowner.
There is a very good reason why the corporate giving landscape is replete with companies re-examining their workplace giving program strategy, design, technology and providers: quite simply, they want to drive more successful outcomes.
CSX employee Raghu Chatrathi today received the 2015 North American Environmental Employee Excellence Award from the Association of American Railroads (AAR), the highest honor for industry environmental professionals. Chatrathi, the director of environmental remediation, engineering and advanced technology, is the seventh CSX employee to receive this honor in the last 14 years.
Every October during National Disability Employment Awareness Month businesses around the country reflect on and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. For 70 years, the Department of Labor used this time of year to showcase the talents of workers with disabilities and encourage diversity, inclusion and accessibility in the workplace. This year, the Department of Labor is focusing on the theme, “My Disability is One Part of Who I Am.” I am incredibly proud of AT&T’s commitment to the disabled community and to its employees with disabilities, and that commitment is especially meaningful to me because of my own disability.
The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UPS (NYSE: UPS) which leads the company’s global citizenship programs, today announced it will fund the planting of 15 million trees by the end of 2020. Since 2012, The UPS Foundation and its environmental partners have planted more than 5 million trees in 46 countries.
IBM uses energy across its business to deliver products, services and solutions to our clients around the world. In order to be competitive and minimize our environmental impacts, we strive to reduce the energy we consume and the associated carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as we deliver innovation that matters to our clients. In 2014, IBM reduced or avoided the consumption of 404,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy and an associated 142,000 metric tons (MT) of CO2 emissions, while saving $37.4 million through the execution of over 2,200 energy conservation projects. These energy conservation savings were equivalent to 6.7 percent of IBM’s 2014 energy consumption, exceeding our goal of 3.5 percent.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has made a US$2.2 million grant to Plan Netherlands to help the nonprofit deliver digital, technical and life skills training to more than 6,000 disadvantaged youth in Tanzania and Zambia.
What if that swamp could naturally convert waste water from a nearby manufacturing site at a cost far cheaper than building and maintaining a water treatment plant? Suddenly, the interests of the accountant, the environmentalist, the politician, and the corporate engineer coalesce around the same goal: protecting the wetland.
Mars Food, in partnership with the Sustainable Rice Platform, (SRP), a global alliance of agricultural research institutions, agri-food businesses, public sector and civil society organizations convened by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), today announced the first global standard for sustainable rice at the 5th Annual Plenary Meeting and Assembly here.
The National Association for Environmental Management will be releasing a research report in November that examines the core competencies, attributes, and responsibilities of EHS professionals at different stages of their career.
Broadening board compositions, reduced focus on quarterly returns and stronger sustainability/compensation linkages are just a few of the ways that board directors can elevate sustainability concerns more effectively at the companies they serve on. So concludes a new Ceres report highlighting the generally weak performance of U.S. corporate boards in prioritizing environmental and social issues and recommendations for boosting their effectiveness on such issues.
Looking out over 65 acres of green prairie grasses, Robert Scoville, Caterpillar's Environmental Health and Safety Senior Associate at the Decatur, Illinois, Earthmoving Facility, knows that supporting the prairie restoration partnership* in his community is having a big impact beyond Decatur’s city limits. In fact, this land reclamation project has the potential to positively impact our climate.
This November, the Global Engagement Forum in Washington, D.C., will bring together leaders and innovators to discuss how individuals and institutions can take ownership of Goal #6, to ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Unfortunately, natural disasters or severe weather emergencies are all too common. It’s not a matter of if the next disaster will occur but when... Do you know what to do before, during and after a natural disaster or severe weather emergency?
The AA1000AS Nominations Committee and AA1000 Standards Board are pleased to announce the members of the newly constituted AA1000AS Working Group. This collective body of global experts from industry, governmental, and non-governmental organisations from around the world is charged with all aspects of development and promulgation of the next release of the AA1000 Assurance Standard.
Experts from around the world agree: the design of collective spaces can improve quality of life. From transforming a city in crisis, to opening channels that increase knowledge, and improving performance in organizations, the effective use of space can foster rejuvenation, creativity and community. Even in the face of what seems like insurmountable obstacles, the way we use and reuse space can inspire progress and instill hope for a better future.
Employee engagement is key to company performance, leading to positive effects such as higher productivity, improved work quality, and decreased job turnover. Employees want to be involved in their work, enthusiastic about the organization they work for, and committed to their fellow workers. Yet less than a third of U.S. workers were engaged in their jobs in 2014, according to Gallup.
Tetra Pak has informed all of its key suppliers that they will be expected to file ethical performance reports on the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), as part of its commitment to improve supply chain transparency.
The environmental impact of any business enterprise depends on the specific environmental conditions and challenges that exist where that enterprise is doing business. So a dairy in Vermont, where the water tables are high but solar energy is more intermittent, will have a different set of environmental factors to consider than a dairy in dry and sunny Arizona. In other words, sustainability planning is context-specific.
In this method, energy consumption from purchased electricity is calculated in terms of fuel inputs to account for different fuel efficiencies during power generation and efficiency losses in power transmission. The equivalent energy value is represented in terms of sources as per power supplier-provided data. Our Westbrook Mill does not buy power, and the mill energy profile reflects sales of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). The 2013 conversion of the Cloquet pulp mill to dissolving pulp, a higher-purity pulp requiring more energy to produce, increased the energy intensity of that site. At the same time, Cloquet achieved higher use of renewable fuels, reducing natural gas, purchased electricity and fuel oil.
This October, Subaru is rolling out its "Subaru Loves Pets" initiative, part of the brand's Love Promise philanthropic platform, dedicated to supporting causes that are meaningful to its customers. While the initiative is year-round, specific months highlight key causes. October focuses on Subaru's commitment to pet safety and well-being, and the brand will work with several dedicated and highly regarded animal welfare organizations that help share a call-to-action for animals in need.
