ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

TransCanada Employees Empower Their Communities

Mar 22, 2017 1:00 PM ET

2016 was a transformational year for TransCanada. Even though we’ve had some big changes, employees and contractors remained dedicated to the local causes they care about.

Energy

National Grid Urges Congress to Keep LIHEAP Funding to Protect Vulnerable Customers

Mar 22, 2017 12:50 PM ET

The White House proposed the elimination of the Low-Income Home Energy Program (LIHEAP) last week. While this proposal is not binding, we urge Congress and the Administration to reconsider this position. LIHEAP, created under President Ronald Reagan, has a history of bipartisan support and has provided millions of vulnerable Americans critical assistance with their energy bills since it was first created in 1981.

Events, Media & Communications

Statements by Daryl Brewster, CEO, CECP and Peter Malkin, Chairman Emeritus, Empire State Realty Trust on the Passing of David Rockefeller

Mar 22, 2017 12:30 PM ET

CECP celebrates the life of David Rockefeller by reflecting on his contributions to society, including the role he played in the founding of CECP: The CEO Force for Good.

Health & Healthcare

A Graduated Approach to Intellectual Property

Mar 22, 2017 12:00 PM ET

In 2016, we expanded our existing approach to filing and enforcing patents to ensure we balance the need to protect our intellectual property with a country’s economic maturity.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Timberland’s Global Stewards Engage Employees Worldwide in Service and Sustainability

Mar 22, 2017 11:30 AM ET

Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland recently hosted the company’s team of Global Stewards at Timberland headquarters in Stratham, New Hampshire for their 12th annual week-long training meeting. The Global Stewards, a team of 30 dedicated and passionate employees from 20 different countries, volunteer above and beyond their regular job responsibility to serve as ambassadors of Corporate Social Responsibility to their location.

Education

The Amgen Scholars Spring 2017 Travel Award Opens

Mar 22, 2017 11:00 AM ET

The Amgen Scholars Global Program Office is now accepting applications for Spring 2017 U.S. Alumni Travel Awards. The deadline for application submission is April 21, 2017.

Environment

How Global EHS Managers Can Improve The Reliability of Facility Compliance Data

Mar 22, 2017 10:50 AM ET

Global EHS Managers use self-inspections and/or third-party compliance audits to gauge the EHS risk exposure of their facilities. Self-assessments may lean towards underreporting findings and underestimating risks. Third-party audits cost more. Is there a solution that can strike a compromise? Read more about this at the Antea Group website.

Events, Media & Communications

Twitter Chat | Preventing the Preventable, Treating the Treatable: Non-Communicable Diseases

Mar 22, 2017 10:50 AM ET

Join GSK, PSI, the Public Health Institute, and IntraHealth International for the Twitter Chat, Preventing the Preventable, Treating the Treatable: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), on Wednesday, 3/29 at 10 AM ET at #GEFlive.

Environment

Millennial Leaders from Across the Political Spectrum Debate What, if Anything, Can be Done About Climate Policy

Mar 22, 2017 10:50 AM ET

Environment

James M. Cox Foundation Donates $1 Million to Support American Rivers

Mar 22, 2017 10:45 AM ET

In celebration of World Water Day, the James M. Cox Foundation announced a $1 million grant to support the efforts of American Rivers to protect and restore the nation’s rivers.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge to Benefit 14 Nonprofit Organizations in U.S. and UK

Mar 22, 2017 10:30 AM ET

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the launch of the ninth annual Strategy Challenge, the Firm’s signature skills-based pro bono volunteer program. Over the course of the next ten weeks, teams of Morgan Stanley employees in New York and London will work with leadership teams at 14 nonprofit organizations to provide strategic recommendations to address their mission-critical challenges.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Inclusive Business Maturity Toolkit: How Inclusive is Your Business?

Mar 22, 2017 10:25 AM ET

Following on from the successful launch of Uncharted Waters, a report jointly published by Business Call to Action (BCtA), UNDP and Deloitte in October 2016, BCtA has now launched its Inclusive Business Maturity Toolkit. While the report examines how the private sector can move beyond philanthropy and corporate social responsibility to more meaningfully contribute to the SDGs, the toolkit takes this concept a step further by helping companies identify both how well they’re including people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) as employees, consumers and more, and how they can do it better.

Research, Reports & Publications

Ethical Corporation’s Social Impact Dividend Briefing

Mar 22, 2017 10:20 AM ET

This report outlines key strategies for companies to measure and quantify their social impact to give them a competitive edge.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Atlas Copco USA’s Water for All Organization Surpasses $1 Million in Donations

Mar 22, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Atlas Copco USA’s employee-run program Water for All has surpassed $1 million in donations. The milestone comes after making a $50,000 contribution to charity: water, a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to funding water projects across the globe.

Environment

Anonymous Engineer Discusses Gold Mining

Mar 22, 2017 10:05 AM ET

Did you know that a metric ton of electronic waste can contain 8 to 16 ounces of gold? Whether we like it or not, precious metals show up in more than just that gold necklace or platinum ring we might have purchased - from the titanium used in our high-end mountain bikes, to platinum in our cellphones, to silver in our solar panels, precious metals are all around us.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

The Value of Smart City Initiatives Offer New Twist on Old Question of Affordability

Mar 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Black & Veatch’s 2017 Strategic Directions: Smart City/Smart Utility Report reinforces lessons learned in the past year—although governments and municipalities believe strongly in the smart city model, they continue to struggle to fund these efforts. According to survey data, only 16 percent of municipalities can self-fund a smart city initiative, a little over a third cannot.

Responsible Production & Consumption

PepsiCo: We Expect Suppliers to Share Our Values

Mar 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

PepsiCo’s 10-year-old sustainable business philosophy, Performance with Purpose, is embedded deeply into its workplace culture — so deeply, that it’s part of the "code of conduct" that must be signed and upheld by every employee.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Pentair Advances Sustainable Water Solutions

Mar 22, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Pentair, a global leader in sustainable water solutions, is collaborating with the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science at UC-Davis to advance water stewardship and accelerate new innovations in dairy and beer processing.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Pentair Announces $5 Million Project Safewater Commitment

Mar 22, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Pentair's next Project Safewater initiative with Water Mission will deliver clean, safe drinking water and sanitation to 150,000 people in Central America.

Environment

AEG Celebrates World Water Day with Focus on Potable Water Conservation

Mar 22, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Last year, AEG relaunched its 2020 Environmental Goals to include a new water target to reduce potable water use at water-stressed sites by 2.3 percent per year from 2010 to 2020. Through different water conservation projects like drought-tolerant landscaping and equipment retrofits, AEG reduced its 2015 potable water use by 27 million liters of water at its water-stressed sites compared base year consumption.

Environment

Whirlpool Corporation Celebrates World Water Day

Mar 22, 2017 9:00 AM ET

At Whirlpool Corporation, we are passionate about improving our consumers’ quality of life while minimizing our environmental impact. We have been focused on sustainability since 1969, long before it became the norm, and we continue to integrate it into our everyday work. Join us in celebrating World Water Day!

Energy

MARTINI® Energized by Hydropower from the Italian Alps

Mar 22, 2017 8:55 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Global Food in a 'Farm-to-Table' World

Mar 22, 2017 8:50 AM ET

It has been estimated that by 2050 the world will need to feed more than 9 billion people, requiring at least 70 percent more food than we consume today. That's amid growing concerns over water depletion and threats to biodiversity worldwide caused by food production. So the question is, how can the agriculture industry produce food in ways that are environmentally sustainable?

Environment

PNC Meets 30 Percent Carbon Reduction Goal Ahead of Plan

Mar 22, 2017 8:00 AM ET

The PNC Financial Services Group disclosed today that it has met its 30 percent carbon reduction goal four years ahead of plan. PNC set this goal, along with an energy reduction goal, in 2009 with plans to reduce its carbon emissions and energy consumption by 30 percent by 2020.

Environment

Make Your Mark on World Water Day

Mar 22, 2017 7:00 AM ET

This year on World Water Day, March 22, Xylem will kick off the “Make Your Mark 30-Day Challenge,” which will run through Earth Day, April 22.