The Daily Point of Light Award, created by President George H. W. Bush in 1989, celebrates the power of individuals to spark change and improve the world. In 2014, British Prime Minister David Cameron started the daily award in the U.K. to recognize outstanding individuals who are voluntarily making change in their communities and inspiring others. Recently, at the Conference on Volunteering and Service in Houston, Points of Light honored awardees from the U.S. and the U.K. who are dedicated to serving young amputees around the world.

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading nonprofit that envisions a country that is a clean, green and beautiful place to live, honored Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and its Chairman and CEO, Doug Oberhelman, with the 2015 Vision for America Award on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in New York City.

Today, the National Community Advisory Council (NCAC), a diverse group of nonprofit and private-sector leaders convened by Bank of America, recognizes its 10th anniversary with the addition of five new members representing environment and sustainability expertise. Meeting this week in Washington, D.C., the group of senior consumer, community and academic leaders gathers twice a year to advise the bank on critical issues impacting society.

Congratulations! You’ve earned a senior role in your company’s societal engagement function. You’ve been tapped for your leadership and your ability to collaborate, influence, inspire, and creatively and resiliently navigate the unique complexities of your organization to drive business and social impact. Well done.

For the first time, Siemens has achieved the highest possible score in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the world’s largest climate-protection survey. For the transparency of its reporting on the opportunities and risks associated with climate change, the company received 100 (2014: 99) out of 100 possible points. In addition, Siemens’ efforts to achieve energy efficiency and cut CO2 emissions enabled the company to reach Band A, the highest performance range. As a result, the company is also included in the Carbon Performance Leadership Index.

Over the last ten years, leading companies have begun investing their greatest asset—their human capital—in “giving back” by improving lives around the world through global pro bono programs. Such programs place employees in short-term volunteer assignments within local social-sector organizations for a period of three weeks to three months in emerging or growth markets, from India to Brazil. While the pursuit of philanthropic community impact will likely continue to underpin such initiatives, some corporations are realizing that deploying employees as pro bono consultants can have two other significant and desirable effects as well.

What’s past is NOT prologue, according to Jean Paul Gladu, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. In his presentation during Sodexo’s inaugural Quality of Life Conference, he said that to make progress, “…government and industry should stop worrying about the past and look more deeply at their future. I think we spend too much time looking behind us and we’re not focusing, or at least looking ahead at what opportunities lay in front of us.”

A lot of brands talk the talk on social responsibility and sustainability. Many of those also walk the walk—but few put both together as forcefully as Timberland has with a new documentary, produced by Found Object, called KOMBIT: The Cooperative, telling the story of the company's mission to plant five million trees in Haiti over five years.

Tetra Pak has launched its 2015 sustainability report, which highlights the company’s achievements in environmental performance, social responsibility and good governance over the past year.