ESG News from Leading Brands

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Celebrating a Decade of Global Brand Innovation Leaders

Jun 7, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® largest community gathering kicked off with Sustainable Brands ’16 San Diego at Paradise Point Resort & Spa. Nearly 2,000 community members from 30 countries around the globe are participating in the conference, Activation Hub and live stream. This year’s theme, Activating Purpose, focuses on how companies are developing real tools, techniques, methods and models for embedding purpose into the core of a brand and finding business success.

Environment

BJ's Wholesale Club Announces Winners of #ItsMyTree Photo Challenge

Jun 7, 2016 10:35 AM ET

BJ's Wholesale Club announces today the three winning images from the #ItsMyTree photo challenge. The second annual photo challenge invited people to submit a photo of their favorite tree for a chance to win a Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR Camera. The winning photos captured trees in Hawaii, Michigan and North Carolina.

Environment

The UPS Foundation Awards Tree Planting Grants to 30 Keep America Beautiful Affiliates Nationwide

Jun 7, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the national nonprofit that envisions a country in which every community is a clean, green and beautiful place to live, and The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs at UPS (NYSE: UPS), today announced the distribution of 30 grants totaling $160,000 for its 2016 Keep America Beautiful/UPS Community Tree and Recovery Tree Planting Grants program. The grant recipients’ projects will result in more than 10,500 trees being planted in support of locally-relevant initiatives.

Education

New National Survey Sheds Light on How to Better Engage Students in Science Education

Jun 7, 2016 10:30 AM ET

The Amgen Foundation and Change the Equation (CTEq) today announced results of a survey conducted to better understand what motivates U.S. high school students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The report, titled “Students on STEM: More Hands-on, Real-World Experiences,” shows that students want additional opportunities that will inspire them to explore careers in scientific fields, and teachers are uniquely positioned to stimulate students’ interest in STEM.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Finally, A Place To Call Home

Jun 7, 2016 10:15 AM ET

Samantha had been in foster care for eight years and during that time was separated from her brother. It was a traumatic experience made worse when a pre-adoptive home broke down, but little did Samantha know there was a ray of sunshine around the corner.

Research, Reports & Publications

Apuesta GFNorte por las PyMes y por la educación

Jun 7, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

GFNorte Bets on SMEs and Education

Jun 7, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

#WorldOceansDay: Cox Conserves Heroes Raising Awareness, Protecting Oceans

Jun 7, 2016 10:00 AM ET

World Ocean’s Day is tomorrow. Across the nation, volunteers are generating awareness of coastal issues and helping protect our oceans. Here are some examples of how Cox Conserves Heroes are making a difference. View the videos to learn more about their projects.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Allstate Named 2016 Corporate Citizen of the Year by The Executives’ Club of Chicago

Jun 7, 2016 9:55 AM ET

Allstate Insurance Company is the 2016 Corporate Citizen of the Year, topping a record number of nominees to take home the coveted annual award from The Executives’ Club of Chicago. The company was honored for the impact its youth empowerment programs had on Chicagoland youth in 2015.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Minding the Generational Digital Literacy Gap

Jun 7, 2016 9:35 AM ET

Founded in 1999, the Comcast Foundation focuses on connecting and strengthening communities by supporting programs that expand digital literacy, promote community service, and build tomorrow’s leaders.

In 2015, the Foundation donated more than $18 million to more than 1,100 nonprofit organizations nationwide that focus their efforts on the communities Comcast serves. The Gads Hill Center, founded more than a century ago and based in a struggling Chicago neighborhood, is one of those nonprofits.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Facts About Global Poverty and Health

Jun 7, 2016 9:05 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Walmart | Our Approach to Global Responsibility: Shared Value

Jun 7, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Working with others, we aspire to reshape whole systems to achieve significant and lasting improvement in social, environmental and economic outcomes.

Health & Healthcare

Celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day by Sharing Your #LIVESTRONGVoice

Jun 7, 2016 8:00 AM ET

Education

Ghetto Film School Students Talk Television, the Creative Process and Working With Fox On International Promos for 'Outcast'

Jun 7, 2016 8:00 AM ET

This spring, 21CF partnered with GFS LA for their Industry 101 course, a semester-long class where students create video promos for a media client. The project gives them first-hand exposure to the business behind filmmaking and teaches them the day-to-day process of working with clients. For nearly five months, GFS LA students worked with Fox Networks Group International to create promos for Outcast, the new horror drama from "Walking Dead" creator Robert Kirkman.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

SCS, Bon Appetit, and New Resource Bank Among Companies Honored at Sustainability Awards Ceremony

Jun 7, 2016 7:00 AM ET

The Acterra 2016 Business Environmental Award for Sustainability was presented to SCS Global Services at a ceremony in late May, recognizing SCS’ three decades of service to the cause of environmental stewardship and social responsibility in the public and private arenas. SCS’ certification, auditing and standards development activities around the world were spotlighted in a short video produced by Acterra for the event.

Research, Reports & Publications

Hormel Foods Shares Food Journey in 10th Annual Corporate Responsibility Report

Jun 7, 2016 5:00 AM ET

As the company celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) today announced the launch of its 10th annual corporate responsibility report. The report is available online at 2015csr.hormelfoods.com and includes information related to the company’s sustainability performance in fiscal year 2015.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Uncovering a Level of Knowledge About Dog Lifestyles Never Before Seen

Jun 6, 2016 6:50 PM ET

Each year, 12 million dogs and cats are diagnosed with cancer. Many of these cancers have few treatments and no chance at a cure. In fact, cancer accounts for nearly 50 percent of all disease-related pet deaths every year, and is the leading cause of death in dogs over the age of 10, meaning many families are losing their beloved companion animals far too soon to this devastating disease.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Feeding the Future of New Orleans and 22 Other U.S. Cities

Jun 6, 2016 6:15 PM ET

Food is an integral part of our everyday lives. However, the sad reality for many families is that the ability to provide one of life’s basic necessities to their children is barely, if at all, feasible. While programs put into place during the school year take the strain off of parents and caretakers only about 18 percent of eligible students participate in summer feeding programs according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

TransCanada Named Top Performing Midstream Company

Jun 6, 2016 6:00 PM ET

At a time when TransCanada is facing resistance to its major liquids pipelines, it made a bold (and big) move in the gas market, states Alberta Oil Magazine in naming Alberta’s Top Performing Midstream Company.

Social Impact & Volunteering

New Orleans Children Benefit from Sodexo’s Feeding Our Future® Summer Meal Program

Jun 6, 2016 5:35 PM ET

Sodexo’s Feeding Our Future® summer meal program launches in New Orleans today, helping to further close the nutrition gap that widens when the school year ends. The program, led by Sodexo’s Dining Services team at Tulane University, is a collaborative effort with the City of New Orleans Recreation Development Commission and the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation. Feeding Our Future in New Orleans starts today, June 6 and runs through August 5.

Events, Media & Communications

CSR Communications and Measuring Success: Q&A with Susan McPherson, Founder and CEO, McPherson Strategies, LLC

Jun 6, 2016 3:00 PM ET

If you attended the CECP Summit last month you had the chance to hear from serial connector, cause marketer, and corporate responsibility expert Susan McPherson. We are pumped to have the opportunity to interview her for the Versaic Blog as well.

Health & Healthcare

The High Stakes of Hypertension

Jun 6, 2016 2:40 PM ET

Most of us know about hypertension – at least we think we do. We understand that abnormally high blood pressure puts us at greater risk of heart attacks and stroke. And we also know that it is linked to diet and lifestyle, and can be treated with the right medication. But many would say that hypertension is primarily a “rich-country” problem, implying that most affected people have access to the right knowledge and treatment. That is not the case at all.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Global Poverty Facts

Jun 6, 2016 2:05 PM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

GRI New Global Reporting Standards Released

Jun 6, 2016 2:00 PM ET

New global reporting standards released by the Global Reporting Institute aim to make sustainability reporting easier for companies worldwide.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Mellon Capital Management Unveils Case Study on Creation of its Carbon Efficiency Strategy

Jun 6, 2016 1:30 PM ET