ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Production & Consumption

US Court of Appeals Decision on US SEC Conflict Minerals Regulation

Aug 19, 2015 9:15 PM ET

Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reaffirmed its April 2014 decision regarding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Conflict Minerals Rule: the requirement to describe products as having “not been found to be DRC conflict Free” violates the First Amendment.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Giving Back and Going Back...Prepping for School in NC

Aug 19, 2015 7:00 PM ET

Today in Durham NC, over 150 GSK volunteers handed out backpacks filled with school supplies to children at the Durham Rescue Mission’s 16th annual Back to School Party. GSK donates the supplies (over 3000 backpacks!) and helps at the event as a contribution to the health of the community where we are proud to live and work. The goal is to get kids excited about going back to school and getting a good start on the new school year. View the photos for more info or check out GSK's More than Medicine blog for other ways that we are helping in our communities.

Social Impact & Volunteering

The CSR Scoop - 8/19/15

Aug 19, 2015 5:45 PM ET

This week, we’re talking about purpose. What is it? How do we channel and leverage it? Why bother? Read on to find out!

Energy

National Grid Submits Grid Modernization Plan to Mass. DPU

Aug 19, 2015 5:45 PM ET

WALTHAM, MA. August 19, 2015 ​– National Grid today submitted its grid modernization proposal to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities that represents the start of a conversation about how Massachusetts customers would benefit from a modern and more resilient electric grid.

Energy

Freight and Transport Companies Rapidly Investing in Biofuels

Aug 19, 2015 5:00 PM ET

Biofuels are emerging as a credible alternative that can help reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. Biofuels are an important key to decelerating climate change and improving global fuel security. The U.S. currently leads the world in biofuel investments. More than 13.3 billion gallons of ethanol was produced in the U.S. in 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Five Upstate South Carolina Businesses to Grow with Support from Michelin Development

Aug 19, 2015 3:30 PM ET

Five upstate businesses will be growing and creating new jobs with financial help from Michelin Development, a subsidiary of Michelin North America.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Why Being Customer-Centric is a Supply Side Strategy

Aug 19, 2015 3:10 PM ET

In recent years Human Centred Design (HCD) became a buzzword in the financial inclusion world. It focused financial service providers on the design of products and services based on customer insights. Design firms became part of the technical provider fraternity, servicing financial service providers in the quest to improve inclusion. At the same time, the network of financial service providers broadened to include mobile network operators and retail chains, in addition to microfinance institutions (MFIs), banks, cooperatives and a myriad of microfinance suppliers. With new entrants come new ideas – and repetition of old ones. One consistent, but underrated idea, is to focus on the customer.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

GM’s Toledo Transmission Goes 3 for E3

Aug 19, 2015 3:05 PM ET

Our Toledo Transmission’s 2,200 employees are busy bees. Not only do they build 5,400 transmissions every day, they’re building them in an environmentally responsible manner. Just ask the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Can Toilets Help Change Lives? Kimberly-Clark’s Commitment To Improving Access To Sanitation For Those Who Need It Most

Aug 19, 2015 3:00 PM ET

2.5 billion people around the world are living without access to improved sanitation, and the impacts on quality of life are significant. Millions of girls miss school every month because menstruation becomes too hard to manage without proper facilities. And countless children are absent from school because of the spread of disease and infection from a lack of basic sanitation.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Fostering Healthy Communities Makes for Healthy Businesses

Aug 19, 2015 3:00 PM ET

Businesses play a vital role in the welfare of the community, impacting the lives of employees, customers, investors and countless others. Conversely, the health of all these stakeholders has a direct impact on a company’s success. - See more at: http://3blmedia.com/News/Fostering-Healthy-Communities-Makes-Healthy-Businesses#sthash.rwaaQTBP.dpuf

Social Impact & Volunteering

JetBlue Moves People Through Employee Engagement

Aug 19, 2015 2:10 PM ET

The following member spotlight is excerpted from the most recent issue of The Corporate Citizen, the Center’s magazine, and illustrates the importance of strategic communication in effective corporate citizenship programs. To learn more about communicating effectively, join us in New York on Oct. 6-8 for our Communications 101 course.

Events, Media & Communications

MGM Resorts Employees Mark Educator Appreciation Day 2015 with Donated Supplies

Aug 19, 2015 2:00 PM ET

Annual event provides support to Clark County School District teachers and students by filling the Mirage Grand Ballroom with free supplies that have been donated by MGM Resorts employees.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

To Stand Up for Quality of Life is to Stand Up For a Certain Idea of Human Progress

Aug 19, 2015 1:30 PM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

Domtar Reduces Waste to Landfill 23%

Aug 19, 2015 12:35 PM ET

Canada-based specialty paper manufacturer Domtar reduced the waste its pulp and paper mills sent to landfill by 23 percent from 2013 to 2014, according to its 2015 Sustainability Report. The company is now more than half way to its 2020 goal of decreasing waste to landfill by 40 percent against a 2013 baseline.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Asia Waits for No One

Aug 19, 2015 12:20 PM ET

Throughout its modern history, Asia has labored under a perception problem. Most of the world saw it as the place that produced the goods and services that ran businesses and entertained consumers throughout the world.

Social Impact & Volunteering

GM Student Corps Paints the Town – And More

Aug 19, 2015 12:10 PM ET

DETROIT, August 19, 2015 /3BL Media/ – Pontiac High School students returning to classes this week are being greeted by a new, massive “PHOENIX PRIDE” sign that represents more than the school’s mascot. Ten of their classmates helped refurbish several areas of Pontiac this summer as members of the GM Student Corps.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

This Teen Captures the Imagination of Homeless Kids With His Favorite Childhood Toy

Aug 19, 2015 12:00 PM ET

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Grant Mercer. Read his story and nominate an outstanding volunteer or organization as a Point of Light.

Environment

Guayaki’s Sustainable Mission to Save the Rainforest Gets a Boost from NetSuite.org

Aug 19, 2015 12:00 PM ET

Take five college friends, a strong appreciation of yerba mate, a naturally caffeinated South American beverage, and a desire to make a difference in the world and you have the seeds for Guayaki, a natural products provider and a social enterprise.

Education

Empowering a New Generation of Women Leaders in Cambodia

Aug 19, 2015 12:00 PM ET

In 2004, I met a courageous young woman who changed my life. Her name was Veasna Chea. She was about thirty years old at the time and working with the UN Commission on Human Rights in Cambodia. Like many Cambodians of her generation, some of Veasna’s family members had been killed in the Khmer Rouge genocide of the 1970s, and she had grown up poor. But her mother was determined that her daughter receive an education.

Environment

Monetizing Nature Is a Fool’s Errand

Aug 19, 2015 11:55 AM ET

How will damage from the Gold King Mine spill of Silverton Colorado be valued? The lawsuits against the EPA for dislodging the toxic yellow sludge into the Animas River and beyond haven’t yet been filed, but injured parties are lining up.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Seabourn Legend Makes Special Delivery in Antigua

Aug 19, 2015 11:15 AM ET

Members of Seabourn Legend’s Entertainment Team went ashore in St. John’s, Antigua, earlier this month with a breakspecial delivery for the Antigua Public Library: nearly 150 gently used books.

Cruise Director Aaron Syfert and Assistant Cruise Directors Meredith Tyler and David Delarre delivered the novels and non-fiction titles to Port Agent Mark Azille, who helped arrange the donation.

Environment

TD Forests Helps Protect Critical Forest on Ontario's Northern Bruce Peninsula

Aug 19, 2015 11:00 AM ET

On Thursday, August 13, 2015, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) acquired 819 hectares (2,025 acres) of critical forest and wetland habitat in the heart of one of Canada's most significant natural areas – the Ontario Northern Bruce Peninsula. Crane River is an important area for rare and vulnerable species and includes pockets of remnant old growth pine trees. With help from TD Bank Group, through the TD Forests program, the new addition adds to the existing conservation lands in the area.

Diversity & Inclusion

Lighting Up Employee Wellbeing

Aug 19, 2015 10:55 AM ET

For a better, healthier and more sustainable world, it is important to understand that the type, pattern and quality of lighting in buildings is key.

Events, Media & Communications

Why Children Need a Good Digital Community to Become Good Digital Citizens

Aug 19, 2015 10:50 AM ET

When kids as young as five years-old receive their first mobile devices, who better to teach them how to use the technology responsibly than their parents? It’s just one of many parenting responsibilities, like teaching healthy eating habits, good study habits and good manners. But what happens when kids begin and continue their online journeys outside of their parents’ purview or homes? It’s not uncommon now for young school-aged children to be utilizing technology this way: using a math app in the classroom, watching a video on their grandparents’ iPad or playing a game on an Xbox at a friend’s house.

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Releases Program Details for Fifth Annual New Metrics Conference

Aug 19, 2015 10:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® recently announced the program and speaker line up for New Metrics ’15 scheduled for October 6-8 in Boston, MA. A gathering point for sustainability executives, corporate strategists and financial leaders from across the globe, this annual event focuses on the leading edge of corporate practices and performance indicators that quantify environmental and social impacts and tie them to financial value.