ESG News from Leading Brands

Environment

Barclays Analysis: Rising to the Water Challenge

Mar 22, 2018 3:50 PM ET

Innovation & Technology

How AI Is Helping Control Malaria

Mar 22, 2018 3:40 PM ET

Machine intelligence is being used to explore more effective malaria policy interventions, and to find the most cost effective ways to prevent transmission.

Diversity & Inclusion

Donor Data Shows Companies Can (and Should!) Do More to Prioritize Women's Causes

Mar 22, 2018 3:15 PM ET

Many companies brought gender equality issues to the forefront this International Women’s Day. But what’s even more interesting is that charitable giving also increased—though not in the way that you might imagine. According to Benevity data from millions of Fortune 1000 employees, there was a notable spike in donation activity on March 8, 2018, with triple the total amount donated last year. Continue reading to find out which surprising set of causes were supported.

Environment

USISPF Announces Launch of CEO Water Alliance on World Water Day

Mar 22, 2018 2:00 PM ET

The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), along with Nalco Water, an Ecolab company, today launched their CEO Water Alliance (CEWA) Initiative in New Delhi, which aims to bring together CEOs and other stakeholders to address the water crisis in India and create proactive measures that will promote sustainable usage of water.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Relationships Are Power for Impact

Mar 22, 2018 2:00 PM ET

In our daily lives, it isn’t easy to remove ourselves from individual routines to truly understand what life is like elsewhere – in neighboring cities or in distant villages on the other side of the globe, like Kanari. The nonprofit buildOn’s Trek program was created to give students, donors, and volunteers a first-hand cultural experience in underserved communities abroad, and an opportunity to ‘walk in the shoes’ of a stranger.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Transparency as a Tool to End Modern Slavery

Mar 22, 2018 2:00 PM ET

For companies, identifying and preventing modern slavery is important not only for reputational risks, but also to prevent supply chain disruptions and legal consequences. GRI believes that corporate transparency can help businesses improve their methods to detect human rights abuses in their value chains, and take steps to remedy them. Read more about GRI's Corporate Leadership Group on Modern Slavery, and help us contribute to the solution.

Environment

FCA Celebrates World Water Day

Mar 22, 2018 2:00 PM ET

The 2018 World Water Day, with its theme “Nature for Water,” seeks its inspiration from Nature and explores what we can learn from it. FCA has worked to conserve this natural resource for many years, progressively reducing the water footprint of our plants, supporting projects for the recovery and protection of biodiversity, and involving our employees so that this commitment also translates into individual, concrete and daily actions.

Diversity & Inclusion

Employees Enjoy a Unique Black History Month Celebration

Mar 22, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Employees in Legg Mason’s Baltimore headquarters recently enjoyed a unique educational and cultural celebration of Black History Month featuring a performance by local artists.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Challenges of Growing Wheat Along the Ganges River

Mar 22, 2018 1:15 PM ET

We refreshed our global water footprint in 2016 to better understand our physical water risks around the world. (Read more in our Global Responsibility Report).

Research, Reports & Publications

Duke Energy's New Climate Report Details the Company's Ability to Adapt to a Low-carbon Future

Mar 22, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Education

T. Rowe Price: "Adulting" Is Harder Without Any Financial Education

Mar 22, 2018 12:30 PM ET

T. Rowe Price’s tenth annual Parents, Kids & Money Survey revealed that receiving financial education in school can have a positive impact on financial behaviors years later. The survey sampled 1,000 young adults and found that those who received some financial education in school (59%) are more likely to have good saving habits compared with those who did not receive any financial education in school (41%).

Environment

Xylem Calls for Improved Water Resource Data Collection and Sharing on World Water Day 2018

Mar 22, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Xylem Inc., a global water technology leader, today called on the public and private sectors to work together to improve the collection and sharing of water data on this, World Water Day 2018. Despite dramatic improvements in big data collection and the application of that intelligence, the amount of on-the-ground data about water has been declining over the past 40 years. Since 1979, the number of stations reporting streamflow data has plummeted 40 percent, while the number of those reporting precipitation data is down by 30 percent.

Environment

Celebrating World Water Day: How Companies Are Addressing Water Challenges in the 21st Century

Mar 22, 2018 12:15 PM ET

March 22 is World Water Day, a United Nations-led initiative bringing attention to the importance of universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene. An annual occurrence, the theme for World Water Day in 2018 is “Nature for Water,” which explores nature-based solutions to the water challenges we face in the 21st century. Efforts such as planting trees to replenish forests, restoring wetlands and reconnecting rivers to floodplains are sustainable, cost-effective ways to mitigate the effects of climate change – thereby improving human health.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Making Waves: the Strategic Investor Initiative's CEO Investor Forum

Mar 22, 2018 12:00 PM ET

The third CEO Investor Forum, held on February 26 in New York City, has received a lot of attention in the media as the effort to end short-termism on Wall Street gains increasing traction. Responsible Investor and the Financial Times wrote pre-event sneak peeks and Business Insider wrote five articles coming out of the CEO Investor Forum. Read the newsletter to learn more.

Research, Reports & Publications

Shire Commits to Long-term Responsibility Goals in 2017 Annual Responsibility Review

Mar 22, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPG) today announced the release of the Company’s 2017 Annual Responsibility Review. The Review, available at shire.com/responsibility, outlines Shire’s new Responsibility strategy that includes ambitious long-term goals to be achieved by 2025, aimed at further enhancing the Company’s commitment to Responsibility and positively impacting patients, our employees, and our communities.

Diversity & Inclusion

Women's History Month: What Inspires You?

Mar 22, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Wendy Watkins, Vice President of Corporate Communications, shares what inspires her during Women's History Month.

Environment

Video: A Discussion on Eco-Design Across the Supply Chain

Mar 22, 2018 11:20 AM ET

HP, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Antea Group recently filmed a discussion on eco-design across the supply chain at IPC APEX in San Diego. Filmed by SCOOP, the 15-minute panel focused on improving products through eco-design, especially when using different supply-chain models.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

CSRHub CEO Highlights Difficulty of Performing Well Across ESG Spectrum

Mar 22, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Cynthia Figge, co-founder and CEO of CSRHub, joined Nareit for a video interview at Nareit’s 2018 ESG Forum in Seattle.

Figge described CSRHub, which she co-founded in 2007, as the “largest aggregation of ESG metrics worldwide.” CSRHub rates 17,000 companies on ESG measures and aggregates data from more than 500 sources, she noted.

Diversity & Inclusion

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE: Business’s Greatest Untapped Resource: Women

Mar 22, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Women occupy just 15 percent of board seats worldwide. In the US, women account for just five percent of all CEOs among S&P 500 companies. In the UK the situation is worse: in 2016 there were more male CEOs named David (eight) than women CEOs (six) in the FTSE 100.

These figures make for uncomfortable reading for men and women alike, but we have two choices in the face of this harsh reality – we can either feel discouraged by the lack of progress and downbeat about the prospects for women in the workplace. Or, we can allow this data to fuel women’s rise to the top and help drive the change that is needed at the higher echelons of business.

Environment

Pfizer On Track to Reduce Water Withdrawal Globally

Mar 22, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Today on World Water Day, we are reflecting on all the ways Pfizer is working to reduce and preserve water across our company, contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

Events, Media & Communications

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Debuts Water Positive Docuseries on Harmful Algal Bloom Water Crisis

Mar 22, 2018 10:55 AM ET

To spotlight the global environmental and economic challenges caused by harmful algal blooms in fresh waterbodies, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation today released a three-part docuseries with National Geographic photographer Andy Mann, coinciding with World Water Day.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

VIDEO | Papyrus-Recycled Greetings is Powering Her Potential Through Whole Planet Foundation

Mar 22, 2018 10:50 AM ET

Whole Planet Foundation is proud to share that Papyrus-Recycled Greetings, the founding member of the $100,000 Fund, has donated a total of $500,000 to fund 5,800 microloans and create 29,000 opportunities for microentrepreneurs and their family members to pull themselves out of poverty.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Blackbaud & Leading Experts Team up to Release New eBook on the Future of CSR

Mar 22, 2018 10:30 AM ET

This new ebook, “CSR 2020: Experts Look Ahead,” examines not only all the ways in which CSR has been evolving, but what companies will need to do in the next few years as expectations continue to increase.

Health & Healthcare

Aramark and American Heart Association Engaging Consumers to Feed Their Potential During National Nutrition Month

Mar 22, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Just two years into their breakthrough initiative, Healthy for Life 20 By 20, Aramark and the American Heart Association have made great strides to improve the health of all Americans 20 percent by the year 2020. As part of this alliance, Aramark launched Feed Your Potential 365, a health and wellness campaign dedicated to inspiring consumers to make healthy food choices a part of their everyday life.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Havas PR With MilliporeSigma: Curiosity Cube Sparks Scientific Curiosity Across the United States

Mar 22, 2018 10:10 AM ET

Havas PR created a comprehensive media relations strategy focused on generating buzz around each market the Curiosity Cube visits and highlighting its purpose in igniting scientific passion. The Curiosity Cube is a retrofitted shipping container that has been transformed into a mobile science lab. Knowing how important it is for all students to have access to science education, MilliporeSigma brings its Curiosity Labs program and the Curiosity Cube to students in underserved school districts.