I have been asked more than once if I thought the topic of brands taking stands on the big issues of the day is a trend that will eventually run out of gas. My answer is always the same: Get used to it. This is a movement, not just a meme of the current overheated political moment.

Northern Trust’s Corporate Services Group, charged with management of our real estate portfolio, procurement and facilities services, executes Northern Trust’s objective of reducing or eliminating negative environmental impacts from our supply chain. We detail our environmental expectations of vendors by providing them our Supplier Code of Conduct. Vendors’ sustainable practices are factored into our selection process, and we regularly review suppliers’ adherence to the Supplier Code of Conduct and pursue corrective measures when necessary, as noted in our Global Procurement Policy.

The Allstate Foundation announced today it is awarding $1.25 million in Moving Ahead grants to state domestic violence coalitions under its Purple Purse® initiative. The grants will enable the coalitions to provide financial empowerment resources for nearly 500,000 domestic violence survivors to help them break free from abuse.

Our friends at FB Heron recently published a summary of how they arrived at their current ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) investment process. It should be interesting for anyone who is trying to bring ESG factors into their own framework.

In June, Common Impact worked with our corporate partner S&P Global to deploy a team of skilled volunteers in Charlottesville, VA. The volunteer team was eager to share their expertise in data management with a nonprofit partner seeking to better communicate their stories of impact through data. SARA or the Sexual Assault Recovery Agency was excited to work with S&P experts to help organize their existing metrics and identify key data to highlight the effectiveness and importance of their prevention and response activities.

As an environmentalist, I am pulling for the growth of this movement. For every person who chooses to borrow or rent a tool, that’s one fewer tool that has to be built. For every person who chooses to buy clothing on the second-hand market, that’s one fewer garment that has to be created.

Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held spirits company in the world, today announced the compilation of results of its environmental sustainability goals made in 2014 and expanded its “Good Spirited: Building a Sustainable Future” environmental initiative to now encompass the company’s entire Corporate Responsibility (CR) platform.

With the expansion, the Good Spirited platform now comprises Marketplace, which includes responsible marketing and responsible drinking, Philanthropy & Community Investment, People, as well as the initial focus areas of Responsible Sourcing and Environment. This commitment aligns family-owned Bacardi’s CR platform with most of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Predicting the way forward (that is, defining the future) is always challenging but pundits do try anyway. One of the most often quoted of such predictions is the 1944 forecast for the computer and copier markets with CEO Thomas Watson of IBM projecting…a market of perhaps five computers and as many as 5,000 copying machines!

The Erb Institute is joining the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, CA on September 12, 2018, to host a roundtable “Developing Climate-Business Strategies: Partnering with Universities for Science-Based Impact.” This invitation-only affiliate event will bring together senior-level business, academic and non-profit executives and thought leaders and will focus on how to build and leverage partnerships with universities—like the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute—to:...

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided $30.9 million in total financing to Community House Mental Health Agency for two tax credit affordable housing properties located at the corner of 23rd and Jackson streets in Seattle, WA.