ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

SC Johnson Europe Earns Best Multinational Workplace Honor

Jun 6, 2019 11:00 AM ET

SC Johnson today announces its recognition as a Best Multinational Workplace in Europe by Great Place to Work®. SC Johnson Europe ranked No. 15 on the 2019 list of top places to work in the region. This is the 14th time the company’s Europe region has been recognized as a Best Workplace, and the third consecutive year.

Media & Communications

NASDAQ Exchange Publishes the “ESG Reporting Guide” for Corporate Managements and Boards

Jun 6, 2019 11:00 AM ET

There is encouraging news for sustainability professionals coming from the world of stock exchanges this month. The NASDAQ Exchange just published its guide for listed companies – as well for privately-owned firms as perhaps future IPOs for NASDAQ listing – for companies’ public ESG reporting. This is the “ESG Reporting Guide – A Voluntary Support Program for Companies”.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

MilliporeSigma Expects Extra Cost of Sustainability to 'Wash out Over Time'

Jun 6, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Business-to-business (B2B) companies should be considering the sustainability of their packaging as much as consumer goods companies, according to pharma firm Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

VIDEO | Worker Safety

Jun 6, 2019 11:00 AM ET

The health and safety of Smithfield Foods’ employees is a core value, and the company is constantly working to better its safety performance by engaging all employees in its safety management programs.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Las Vegas Sands Property Announces Further Commitment to Renewable Energy and to Sustainable Seafood

Jun 6, 2019 10:00 AM ET

The Venetian Resort today announced elevated support for the development of green power and sustainable seafood at the iconic Las Vegas hotel and convention center. The announcement coincides with United Nations-sponsored World Environment Day on June 5. Beginning in May, the company entered into a partnership with NV Energy to offset 100% of the annual electricity consumption at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and Sands Expo & Convention Center through the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

World AIDS Day 2018: Together We Are Stronger

Jun 6, 2019 9:00 AM ET

World AIDS Day takes place on December 1 each year. The day was first recognized in 1988 to raise awareness of the AIDS pandemic, show support for people living with HIV and remember those who died of AIDS-related causes. Our commitment to fighting HIV and AIDS began in 1986 in the San Francisco Bay Area when we started to see HIV/AIDS affecting our employees and communities first hand. A few years later, our company recognized that some of our largest operations were in areas where the grip of AIDS was growing rapidly.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Albertsons Companies Fulfills Pledge to End Use of Eel (Unagi) in Sushi 3½ Years Ahead of Planned Deadline

Jun 6, 2019 8:05 AM ET

Albertsons Companies, an industry leader in seafood sustainability, announced today that it completed the phase-out of freshwater eel (unagi) from sushi products 3½ years ahead of its self-imposed deadline of year-end 2022.
The nation’s second-largest supermarket company vowed in 2018 to eliminate the popular product because wild eel populations are in dangerous decline and the process of raising farmed eel is equally unsustainable for the species and the oceans.

Environment

Texas Wind Farm Is Helping Ingersoll Rand Reduce Environmental Impact

Jun 6, 2019 8:00 AM ET

On June 1, 2019, the renewable energy generated by Seymour Hills Wind Farm in northwestern Texas started helping Ingersoll Rand reduce U.S. Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity by about 30 percent through a virtual power purchase agreement.

This is equivalent to taking 15,000 cars off the road.

Research, Reports & Publications

Vodafone Group Plc Sustainable Business Report 2019

Jun 6, 2019 5:00 AM ET

Vodafone’s sustainable business strategy is embedded within and helps to drive its purpose – to connect for a better future – and is accompanied by a commitment to act responsibly and with integrity wherever it operates.

Through its business, Vodafone aims to help build a digital society that enhances socio-economic progress, embraces everyone and does not come at the cost of our planet. That is why it has committed to improve one billion lives and halve its environmental impact by 2025.

Media & Communications

World Environment Center Names Glenn Prickett as Interim President and CEO

Jun 5, 2019 6:30 PM ET

he World Environment Center (WEC) announced today that long-time sustainability expert Glenn Prickett has been named interim CEO of WEC on a part-time basis, following the departure of Lori Michelin. Prickett will oversee WEC’s world-recognized programs and strategic mission to advance sustainable development and corporate sustainability in partnership with governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

Environment

Sustainable Steps to #BeatAirPollution

Jun 5, 2019 5:30 PM ET

Chances are, right now, you or someone you love is breathing polluted air. Nine out of 10 people on Earth breathe polluted air, according to the World Health Organization. That’s why this year’s World Environment Day on June 5 encourages people everywhere to work together to #BeatAirPollution. Air pollution comes from many sources, and Schneider Electric focuses on combating two types through long-term sustainable action: Indoor (or household) air pollution – a reality for more than 4 billion people2, Outdoor pollution from transportation or energy production...

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Arrow Electronics Employees Score Funds for Financial Education Through Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon

Jun 5, 2019 4:00 PM ET

More than 100 Arrow Electronics employees in the company’s Centennial, Colo. headquarters participated in the Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon to raise money for the nonprofit’s outreach to Colorado youth. The employees raised enough funds to sponsor educational programming for 250 students. Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain, Inc. will reach over 100,000 students this year, teaching them invaluable life lessons in financial literacy, career readiness and entrepreneurship at no cost thanks to corporate partners like Arrow.

Events, Media & Communications

National Grid at Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Report Launch

Jun 5, 2019 4:00 PM ET

Patty DiOrio, VP of US Strategy, National Grid, appeared as a speaker on a panel hosted/moderated by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) to briefly discuss Climate Innovation 2050 repository, which produced three alternative scenarios for achieving an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Her participation mainly highlighted National Grid’s efforts to assess and advance long-term climate goals (Northeast 80x50 Pathway and internal GHG targets) for the power, transportation and heating sectors.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

From the Street to the Street: The Circular Economy in Ghana

Jun 5, 2019 3:40 PM ET

The ASASE (‘Mother Earth’) Foundation has put the circular economy into practice through its CASH IT! social enterprise, aiming to establish a replicable, sustainable business model, formalizing employment, mobilizing volunteers, and creating a product desperately needed by the community from trash that formerly littered the streets. It’s sustainability in action. PYXERA Global Senior Fellow Laura Asiala caught up with Dana Mosora on a recent trip to Connecticut, where she squeezes in a visit to her granddaughter when she’s not generating value from the waste stream in Ghana or advising companies across Europe on sustainable packaging through her consulting company.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Building a Nation of Makers and Young Scientists in Thailand

Jun 5, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Johnson & Johnson Releases 2018 Health for Humanity Report

Jun 5, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), the world’s largest and most broadly-based healthcare company, today released its Health for Humanity Report detailing the Company’s annual progress in its environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus areas: advancing better health for all, investing in our people, maintaining responsible business practices, and safeguarding the environment.

Environment

Travel and Adventure Photographer Jody MacDonald Sees a Changing World Through Her Lens

Jun 5, 2019 2:35 PM ET

With more than 100 countries’ stamps on her passport, she spends more than half her time on the road. Her constant companion is her camera, which captures striking portraits and landscapes teeming with flora and fauna. But whether she’s documenting one of the last ocean-swimming elephants, a kiteboarder shredding in blue-green waves above a dense coral reef or otherworldly glacial peaks — she knows that all of them are in peril.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Subaru Earns Top Marks in 2019 Corporate Equality Index

Jun 5, 2019 2:00 PM ET

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced that for the third year running, the company has received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), the nation’s premier benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. Subaru joins the ranks of major U.S. businesses that also earned top scores this year.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Duke Energy & Piedmont Natural Gas Volunteers Build Outdoor Learning Lab

Jun 5, 2019 1:45 PM ET

More than 100 Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas volunteers spent the day at Governors’ Village STEM Academy in north Charlotte on May 10 to build an outdoor learning lab.

Green Infrastructure

UPS is Driving Progress in Renewable Fuels

Jun 5, 2019 1:05 PM ET

Crystal Lassiter, Sr. Director of Global Sustainability at UPS shares how the company is advancing its goal to reduce GHG emissions through game-changing investments in renewable fuels.

Environment

The Walt Disney Company and Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund Announce The Lion King “Protect the Pride” Campaign

Jun 5, 2019 1:00 PM ET

To celebrate the release of Disney’s The Lion King, the upcoming groundbreaking feature film helmed by Jon Favreau, The Walt Disney Company has launched a global conservation campaign to raise awareness of the crisis facing lions and other wildlife across Africa. The Lion King “Protect the Pride” campaign focuses on protecting and revitalizing lion populations and the habitats they need to thrive.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Keep America Beautiful® Partners With Pernod Ricard to Host One of the World’s Largest Social Impact Programs

Jun 5, 2019 1:00 PM ET

Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, is partnering with Pernod Ricard USA, the largest subsidiary of the world’s leading premium wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard SA, as it hosts the company’s ninth annual Responsib’All Day.

Innovation & Technology

Video | Warming Mittens and Hearts

Jun 5, 2019 12:45 PM ET

Beyond her monthly bill, Karen Smoots never gave much thought to Consumers Energy. That changed when she started a small business. Today, Smoots is working with us to grow her company — Green Glove Dryer — help the environment and improve life in Michigan communities.

Research, Reports & Publications

Second TCFD Status Report Shows Steady Increase in TCFD Adoption

Jun 5, 2019 12:35 PM ET

he Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) published its 2019 Status Report to the Financial Stability Board (FSB) today. The TCFD’s second status report provides an overview of disclosure practices aligned with the Task Force’s recommendations between 2016 and 2018.

Environment

Water, Air and Pentair: Supporting World Environment Day

Jun 5, 2019 12:30 PM ET

At Pentair, even as our focus remains on clean, safe and sustainable water, we’re taking time on World Environment Day 2019 to reflect on how water and air pollution can be interconnected.