ESG News from Leading Brands

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $16.6 Million in Total Financing for New Affordable Housing in Pittsburgh

Jan 26, 2018 9:00 AM ET

KeyBank Community Development Lending & Investment (CDLI) has provided $16.6 million in total financing for Allegheny Dwellings Phase I. The first of three phases, Allegheny Dwellings Phase I involves replacing existing public housing with 65 new mixed income units in Pittsburgh’s Fineview neighborhood. The Project will be developed by TREK Development Group, in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Agricultural Models We Want Tomorrow

Jan 26, 2018 8:40 AM ET

Food loss in the supply chain, the shift to a less-nutritious fast-food diet and wasteful irrigation techniques are among the most important challenges currently facing the food and agriculture system in the region. In Egypt, 2.5 million tonnes of wheat is lost per year mainly due to slow transit times. For fruits and vegetables, which have the highest proportion of losses and waste, estimated at 45 percent, country specific data indicates a substantial part (as high as 29 percent for fresh vegetables in Egypt) of these losses occur at the post-harvest stage. However, these losses between the grower and consumer along the value chain can be avoided.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Year After CEO’s Death, North Texas Food Bank Donors Exceed Her $55 Million Goal

Jan 26, 2018 8:35 AM ET

Plano-based Alliance Data was approached by the North Texas Food Bank three years ago to offer support to their not-yet-announced capital campaign to expand its services and build a new distribution center. The company committed $2.5 million to the campaign, specifically for the center, which will allow the agency to focus not just on food, but on nutritious food from a facility in the heart of Plano, home of Alliance Data's corporate headquarters.

Health & Healthcare

New Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy Launches to Accelerate Progress Toward a World Without Leprosy

Jan 26, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Ahead of World Leprosy Day on Sunday 28 January 2018, several leading leprosy groups have joined forces to launch a Global Partnership for Zero Leprosy to accelerate progress towards a world without leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease.

Education

Smithfield Foundation Awards Scholarship to Iowa State University Senior

Jan 26, 2018 8:30 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

eBay Everyday Heroes VIDEO: Making a Difference

Jan 26, 2018 8:05 AM ET

Whether by selling goods to run a local food pantry or helping someone halfway across the country after a natural disaster, the eBay community is making a difference.

Sustainable Development Goals

How a Project Helping Mothers in India Could Help Save the World

Jan 26, 2018 7:45 AM ET

It has been inspiring to see the international community embrace the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Even more encouraging are the growing recognition of the critical role the private sector has to play, and the push for meaningful public-private partnerships (PPPs), in order to reach these goals.

Environment

Cerro Verde, a Freeport-McMoRan Company, Featured in Mining With Principles Campaign for Water Treatment Program

Jan 26, 2018 7:20 AM ET

Cerro Verde is located in an arid region of southwestern Peru, close to the city of Arequipa. Population growth, industrialization, and sewage contamination of the river Chili were increasing pressures on an already limited water supply. Recognizing this, Freeport-McMoRan worked with local stakeholders to co-finance a water treatment plant that takes contaminated water from the local river and makes it drinkable.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Gildan Glow Run Lights Up the Night for Communities in Latin America

Jan 26, 2018 7:00 AM ET

The brightest night in the city once again raised a total of more than $100,000 for communities in Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic. The Glow Run, a 5k run and fundraising event, united more than 12,000 Gildan employees and their families at the end of 2017 to celebrate a night of physical activity and entertainment in support of their communities.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

K-O-H-L-E-R Spells Success for Special Needs Family

Jan 25, 2018 5:15 PM ET

Adam Augustine makes a beeline through the Kohler Design Center to his favorite display where he delights in pressing each button to turn on the showerheads. It's not surprising that kids—and people of all ages actually—get a kick out of this hands-on interaction. However, it was unexpected that a KOHLER® product would help open a door to communication for this young boy.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Scotiabank Recognized by Junior Achievement Americas With 2017's Transforming Education Award

Jan 25, 2018 4:15 PM ET

Scotiabank has been recognized by Junior Achievement Americas (JA) as the winner of the 2017 Transforming Education Award, the maximum recognition that JA gives to its partners at the regional level. Brent Currie, Scotiabank's Senior Vice-President of Brand Management and Marketing Services, received the award in Toronto, Ontario.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

CBRE Group, Inc. Named by Forbes as One of America’s Best Employers for Diversity

Jan 25, 2018 1:10 PM ET

CBRE Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) has been named to the 2018 America’s Best Employers For Diversity list by Forbes. The company earned a #45 ranking on the list of 250 organizations and is the only commercial real estate company to receive this honor.

Environment

Climate Action Recognizes AEG’s StubHub Center and Los Angeles Convention Center for Sustainable Mobility Operations

Jan 25, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Climate Action, an international contracted partner with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) – the world’s foremost body on environmental protection and stewardship – recently recognized AEG’s StubHub Center and Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) for their sustainable mobility operations and their influential role in the sports industry in an infographic in its latest newsletter.

Social Impact & Volunteering

LBG Canada Data Stories: Corporate Community Investment Has Economic Impact (Part 2)

Jan 25, 2018 11:40 AM ET

Did you know that LBG Canada companies have leveraged over $1 Billion in stakeholder contributions to community since 2007?

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

U.S. Conference of Mayors, Wells Fargo Announce 2018 CommunityWINS Grant Program

Jan 25, 2018 11:35 AM ET

$3 million commitment over three years from Wells Fargo will support neighborhood revitalization, economic development and job creation in local municipalities.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Fast-Growing North Texas Nonprofits to Merge

Jan 25, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Possibilities, a pioneer in vocational learning for adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD); and LaunchAbility, the leading supported employment and job placement for adults with IDD, will join forces to make a greater impact on this under-served North Texas community. Alliance Data is an ardent supporter of both organizations, serving as a founding donor of My Possibilities' higher education campus, which is slated to open this spring, and as an employer of LaunchAbility clients for the past decade.

Education

DEA and Discovery Education Kickstart Lifesaving Conversations with Students about the Impacts of Prescription Opioid Misuse and Heroin Use by Launching Second Annual Operation Prevention Video Challenge for High School Students Nationwide

Jan 25, 2018 11:25 AM ET

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the DEA Educational Foundation, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have launched the 2018 Operation Prevention Video Challenge – a peer-to-peer platform for communicating messages about the dangers of opioid misuse.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

The Brewing Environmental Problem of Retail Returns

Jan 25, 2018 11:15 AM ET

In 2017, 11.3 percent of all purchases were returned and returned goods in the U.S. amount to 5 billion pounds of landfill waste each year - isn't it time we figure out how to fix that?

Events, Media & Communications

Airbnb, Pandora, and Other CSR Innovators Share Their Experiences

Jan 25, 2018 11:00 AM ET

In late 2017, CSR leaders from 27 Bay Area companies and organizations convened at VolunteerMatch headquarters for networking, collaboration, and open discussion on the successes and challenges corporate giving professionals face.

Events, Media & Communications

2018 CRO Global Summit Commences in Shanghai

Jan 25, 2018 11:00 AM ET

SynTao, Mainland China and Hong Kong’s Global Exchange local authority and a leading CSR professional body will host the 2018 CRO Global Summit – Sustainability, the Engine of Future Business on January 25th in Shanghai. The Summit includes discussions around the approaches of the future of business driven by sustainability and the implementation of the SDGs in the Chinese market.

Energy

Lighting Upgrades in Our Plants Increase Energy Efficiency, Reduce Environmental Impact

Jan 25, 2018 10:35 AM ET

When team members arrive to start their day at Ingersoll Rand’s Club Car plant in Augusta, Georgia, the energy-efficient LED lights start turning on section by section as they sense movement. And as people leave an area, the motion-sensitive LED lights start dimming to save energy and then turn off entirely after 30 minutes.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Voya Financial Named a World’s Most Admired Company by Fortune Magazine

Jan 25, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Voya Financial, Inc. has been named to Fortune’s 2018 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Voya was ranked as one of the most admired companies on the magazine’s list of securities and asset management companies. This year marks the first time that Voya was eligible for and appeared on the list.

Environment

Behind the Curtain: The State of EHS and Sustainability Today

Jan 25, 2018 10:20 AM ET

75 EHS professionals reveal to Antea Group what they value, the challenges they face, and what lies ahead in 2018.

Diversity & Inclusion

KeyCorp Names Kim Manigault As Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

Jan 25, 2018 10:00 AM ET

KEYCORP NAMES KIM MANIGAULT AS CHIEF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION OFFICER

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo’s Healthcare CEO in North America Named Among Powerful Executives by BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine

Jan 25, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company, announced today that Aster Angagaw, CEO, Healthcare North America, Sodexo, was named as one of the 300 “Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America” by BLACK ENTERPRISE. Consisting of 16 CEOs, 13 division CEOs and 271 Top Executives, the list pays tribute to the most dynamic African American executives leading some of the nation’s largest public and private companies.