ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Two Startups Addressing Digital and Financial Inclusion Each Receive $50,000 Investments from the Points of Light Civic Accelerator

Jun 23, 2016 4:05 PM ET

ATLANTA, GA (June 22, 2016) – The Points of Light Civic Accelerator announced today that it will invest $50,000 each in New York On Tech and PYT Funds – one nonprofit and one for-profit startup. Both are creating greater opportunities for all to succeed in the digital economy by launching new models to increase financial and digital inclusion.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Nasdaq President Addresses Sustainability Reporting

Jun 23, 2016 3:30 PM ET

“If we make the make the mandatory standard too high, it will stifle the ability for entrepreneurial companies, and particularly small businesses, to get access to capital to grow, create jobs, create wealth and improve the overall economy,” Friedman told the UN audience. “Therefore it is a balance that we have to strike between mandatory and voluntary standards.”

Environment

Strong Water Risk Management Urged by Nestlé Waters Sustainability Chief

Jun 23, 2016 3:00 PM ET

There is a pressing need for companies to address water risks in their supply chain, according to well-known sustainability innovator Nelson Switzer, chief sustainability officer for Nestlé Waters North America, speaking at a national environmental conference today.

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar's Commitment to Alternative and Renewable Energy

Jun 23, 2016 3:00 PM ET

Across Caterpillar’s global operations, our employees are exploring ways to incorporate alternative and renewable energies to improve our safety, efficiency and sustainability performance. In 2015, 27.1 percent of our electrical energy was from renewable or alternative sources.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Avnet Interns Make a Difference at St. Mary’s Food Bank

Jun 23, 2016 2:30 PM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Employee Business Resource Groups Award $45,000 in Community Grants

Jun 23, 2016 2:05 PM ET

Sodexo Employee Business Resource Groups Award $45,000 in Community Grants

Funds for the award grants were generated through the proceeds from Sodexo’s Technology Recycling Program

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

There’s a Clear Path for Business on Sustainability, Finds United Nations Global Compact-Accenture Strategy Study

Jun 23, 2016 1:35 PM ET

The United Nations Global Compact-Accenture Strategy CEO Study 2016, Agenda 2030: A Window of Opportunity, finds business leaders accepting a mandate to take the lead in solving societal challenges. The survey of more than 1,000 CEOs, who are already committed to sustainability through their participation in the UN Global Compact, shows that they now see a unique opportunity to reshape their industries and accelerate progress towards the SDGs.

Health & Healthcare

New Report Aims to Help Health Care Sector Address Inequalities in Access to Specialty Care

Jun 23, 2016 1:30 PM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Bloomberg Philanthropies Support 'Extravaganza Macabre' Launch at Battersea Arts Centre

Jun 23, 2016 1:30 PM ET

Extravaganza Macabre is the latest in a series of Playground Projects at Battersea Arts Centre supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which over the last ten years has supported projects with lasting legacies that touch every part of the organisation.

Education

Unlocking Imagination Through Writing

Jun 23, 2016 1:25 PM ET

Remember the first time you put pen to paper as a kid to write your first story? It was a world of endless possibility, defined only by your imagination. Flying cars, dogs in suits, chocolate planets -- you could create any world you wanted.

Social Impact & Volunteering

What Do You Do if You are One of the 200 People Each Week Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

Jun 23, 2016 1:15 PM ET

Imagine waking up one morning and you can’t feel your legs… or you have double vision… or you have trouble moving and are too dizzy to stand. You go see your doctor, and you may go to several doctors, but eventually you are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). And you are just one of 200 people in the United States who are diagnosed every week with this debilitating condition.

Research, Reports & Publications

Pfizer Colleagues Volunteer Skills and Expertise to Improve Public Health

Jun 23, 2016 1:10 PM ET

Global Health Fellows (GHF), Pfizer’s signature corporate volunteer program, allows Pfizer colleagues to use their skills and expertise to work with international development organizations to strengthen health services for people living in developing and low resource areas.

Environment

GM and U.S. Navy Collaborating on Fuel Cell-Powered Underwater Unmanned Vehicles

Jun 23, 2016 1:05 PM ET

General Motors, the Office of Naval Research and the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are cooperating to incorporate automotive hydrogen fuel cell systems into the next generation of Navy unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Timberland Announces Commitment to Restore and Create Green Spaces in Five Cities over the Next Five Years

Jun 23, 2016 1:05 PM ET

As an outdoor lifestyle brand, Timberland has a longstanding commitment to protecting and restoring the outdoors. Not only the great outdoors, but the city parks, community gardens and green spaces its consumers explore every day. As part of this commitment, Timberland announces a goal to double its footprint in five U.S. cities by 2020 -- but not in the way you might think. Each year for the next five years, the brand will choose a different city with a Timberland® store, and match its retail floor space with the creation or restoration of an equivalent amount of green space in that city.

Events, Media & Communications

USBG World Class Sponsored by Diageo Announce Andrew Meltzer as the 2016 U.S. Bartender of the Year

Jun 23, 2016 12:30 PM ET

After two challenging days of standout mixology showmanship, the United States Bartender’s Guild (USBG) World Class Sponsored by Diageo has named Andrew Meltzer as the 2016 U.S. Bartender of the Year.

Education

Whirlpool Corporation is Proud to Support FIRST Robotics

Jun 23, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Only One Week Left for the Best BSR16 Rates

Jun 23, 2016 12:00 PM ET

To take advantage of the most discounted BSR Conference 2016 rates, register before June 30.

Diversity & Inclusion

Sanofi - Good Morning Sanofi - Meet Yukari from Japan

Jun 23, 2016 11:35 AM ET

Meet Yukari, a young employee illustrating intergenerational relationships in the Japanese culture.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Sappi North America on How It Evolves with Its Customers

Jun 23, 2016 11:30 AM ET

Given our strong record of capital investment to keep our machines modern and flexible, as well as our deep commit­ment to R&D, we are able to bring solutions to the market quickly in all four of our businesses. This year, the following business developments and improvements were made.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The UPS Foundation to Award More Than $ 7.4 Million to Promote Diversity & Inclusion in Communities Around the World

Jun 23, 2016 11:10 AM ET

Today, The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS (NYSE: UPS), announced it will award more than $ 7.4 million in global diversity and inclusion grants to 36 different organizations.

Health & Healthcare

Global Health Corporate Champions Work to Make Health Services Accessible in Rural Ghana

Jun 23, 2016 11:00 AM ET

This week, I’m in Ghana catching up with the Global Health Corporate Champions (GHCC), a dynamic group of eight professionals working to improve the quality of public health in Accra. Drawing from their collective expertise in management, product sustainability, operations, and finance, the GHCC are providing pro bono consulting to three social sector health organizations. This month-long service learning adventure is an activity of the Global Health Fellows Program II (GHFP-II), a USAID program implemented by the Public Health Institute with support from PYXERA Global.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Final Days to Nominate Volunteers for Louisiana’s 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Program

Jun 23, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, is seeking nominations for Louisiana’s 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes program.

Environment

Healthcare Plastics and the Circular Economy

Jun 23, 2016 10:20 AM ET

Hospital plastics show great potential to be part of the Circular Economy movement, in which waste and pollution have been eliminated and products, components, and materials are kept at their highest and most effective use. Plastics in particular, have unique opportunities and challenges in what the Ellen MacArthur Foundation has dubbed the New Plastics Economy. However, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. The challenges associated with recycling healthcare plastics are not just challenges at the hospital level; instead, barriers to recycling exist across the entire plastics value chain, from product design and manufacturing through product use and disposal.

Events, Media & Communications

Transcending Carbon Constraints

Jun 23, 2016 10:00 AM ET

The rapidly changing world around us is having a widespread impact on just about everything: global economies, industries, markets, consumer trends and our planet’s resources. As a company, we are embracing this reality with a focused strategy and some very clear objectives.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Final Days to Nominate Volunteers for Central Florida’s Cox Conserves Heroes Program

Jun 23, 2016 10:00 AM ET

WFTV Channel 9, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, is seeking nominations for Central Florida’s 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes program.