ESG News from Leading Brands

Energy

A Nega-What?

Feb 8, 2017 9:00 AM ET

In the five months since he changed the light bulbs, he’s saved over $1000 cumulatively compared to the previous year’s power bill. Those 28 LED bulbs cost him less than $200.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Barclays is Leading the Way in Supporting Older Workers

Feb 8, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Barclays is leading the way in recruiting, retaining and retraining older workers and is one of the first UK businesses to support the new government scheme 'Business Champion for Older Workers'.

The initiative, launched by Business in the Community, aims to find tangible solutions for businesses to retrain older workers and help them stay in work. The employment rate for working age adults is at a record high of almost 75%, but for people over 60, this falls to around 50%.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Redefining Business Leadership in a New Environment

Feb 8, 2017 9:00 AM ET

As we witness a systematic assault on the foundations for a just and sustainable world, a new question is arising: How do companies and CEOs respond when basic principles are under attack? BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer provides advice.

Environment

Serious #Green Seventeen

Feb 8, 2017 8:05 AM ET

If my title makes you think of Janet Evanovich, I hope it makes you smile. Smiling doesn’t always come easily these days for many of us committed to a sustainable and just world. However, as I keep reminding my friends, the world is not flat, and no amount of bluster makes it so. And for a long time now, it’s the multinational corporations that have had the economic power to effect needed change.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Kirstie McIntyre on HP’s Full Lifecyle Responsibility

Feb 8, 2017 8:05 AM ET

HP has a long track record of placing sustainability high on its priority list and is recognized as a sustainability leader, recently receiving a 10 out of 10 rating by Gartner in its 2016 Supply Chain Top 25 rankings. Participating in and leading the circular economy is the next step in HP’s sustainability journey. It will help redefine how we function as a company, how our partners work with us, and how consumers work and live.

Environment

Daimler is Reducing the Burden on Cities

Feb 8, 2017 8:05 AM ET

Thomas Beermann: Free-floating carsharing is a great opportunity for cities. Every large city that we have spoken to has more or less the same three problems, namely traffic density, air pollution and a lack of parking spaces. The service provided by car2go offers proven relief for all these problems.

Innovation & Technology

Register for Lockheed Martin's Annual Code Quest Competition

Feb 8, 2017 7:30 AM ET

Each year, Lockheed Martin hosts Code Quest, an annual computer programming competition where teams of 2-3 High School students each work together for 2.5 hours to solve problems by using JAVA and/or Python programming to complete the “quest.”

Environment

Cox Enterprises Brings New Waste Management Technology to the United States

Feb 7, 2017 7:30 PM ET

Cox Enterprises announced that its Golden Isles Conservation Center, located in Nahunta, Ga., is bringing a new technology to the U.S. and making a positive impact on the environment. The Center utilizes an Italian pyrolysis technology that is being used for the first time in the U.S.

Environment

Georgia Historical Society Announces the Collection of Environmental Visionary Ray C. Anderson Now Open For Research

Feb 7, 2017 3:15 PM ET

The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is pleased to announce that the collection of the late Ray C. Anderson, the visionary industrialist, environmentalist, and founder of Interface, Inc., is now available for research at the GHS Research Center in Savannah and online through the GHS online finding aids. The collection was donated to GHS by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and Interface, Inc. in late 2015.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Defense Commissary Agency Selects Sodexo to Provide Deli-Bakery Services Operations at 12 On-Base Commissaries in Georgia and North Carolina

Feb 7, 2017 2:55 PM ET

Innovation & Technology

From Whiteboards to Neighborhoods, Smart Street Systems Engage Citizens

Feb 7, 2017 1:30 PM ET

Once considered the purview of Jetsons-era futurescapes, smart street systems have made the transition from science fiction to real city council planning agendas. Sensor-laden Wi-Fi kiosks, smart streetlights, EV charging stations and integrated urban mobility systems are generating rising interest as cities demand greater connectivity, resource efficiency, enhanced public safety and more effective municipal service delivery.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

GRID Alternatives Receives Grant from Wells Fargo for Major Low-Income Solar Expansion

Feb 7, 2017 1:15 PM ET

GRID Alternatives, America’s largest nonprofit solar developer, today announced the Wells Fargo Foundation has committed to a four-year, $2 million grant to expand low-income solar access. The grant builds on more than $4 million Wells Fargo has invested in GRID Alternatives since 2008, catalyzing the national expansion of GRID’s work bringing solar power and job training to disadvantaged communities.

Health & Healthcare

Three Quality of Lifehacks for Eating a Healthier Breakfast

Feb 7, 2017 12:15 PM ET

February is National Hot Breakfast Month. And while chilly February is the perfect time to start your morning with something warm, there are benefits to eating a cooked breakfast year-round.

Environment

TransCanada Recognized for Leadership in Corporate Sustainability

Feb 7, 2017 12:00 PM ET

It’s something many of us ask ourselves, especially around the start of a new year – what have I learned and how can I do better? From a company standpoint, opening ourselves up to evaluation by leading agencies is one way we can learn and improve.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Aflac #Duckprints Campaign for Childhood Cancer Soars Past 2016 Goal

Feb 7, 2017 11:30 AM ET

Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the U.S., announced it exceeded its 2016 goal for social interactions regarding the company’s #Duckprints campaign for childhood cancer. The year-long campaign rallied people across America to become active in the fight against pediatric cancer by asking them to create or share posts related to childhood cancer using the hashtag #Duckprints on social media.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Transparency and Trust in the Cognitive Era

Feb 7, 2017 11:25 AM ET

We are in the early days of a promising new technology, and of the new era to which it is giving birth. This technology is as radically different from the programmable systems that have been produced by the IT industry for half a century as those systems were from the tabulators that preceded them.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Mrs. Arkansas Using Title to Further Awareness of Foster Care Adoption

Feb 7, 2017 11:00 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Quick Look at Brand Finance’s 2017 Banking League Table

Feb 7, 2017 10:40 AM ET

Brand Finance has recently released its analysis of the brand strength for the world’s 500 top banks. This annual review uses Brand Finance’s royalty relief methodology to estimate how much of a bank’s market value derives from its brand assets.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

AIDA Supports SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. in the Philippines and the Dominican Republic in 2017

Feb 7, 2017 10:30 AM ET

Continuing its longstanding commitment to SOS-Kinderdorf e.V. projects in 2017, AIDA Cruises has presented the children’s charity with a donation of 102,450 euros.

This year the proceeds from the New Year’s raffle that is traditionally held on board the AIDA fleet on December 31 will once again go to the SOS Children’s Village in Iloilo, Philippines and an SOS Children’s Village in Los Mina/Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

How DSI Alums Are Putting Social Design to Work

Feb 7, 2017 10:30 AM ET

She came to DSI in the first class as a Fulbright Scholar, from a family devoted to social issues in Mexico City, and her dream was always to return to her native country to help its citizens.

Energy

UPS Invests $18 Million In On-Site Solar

Feb 7, 2017 10:20 AM ET

UPS today announced plans to significantly escalate its investment in solar energy as an owner/operator of solar assets starting with at least eight of its facilities in the U.S.

Diversity & Inclusion

VMware’s Commitment to an Inclusive and Diverse Workplace

Feb 7, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Strong, balanced and inclusive practices and policies that support our commitment to diversity are key to the health of our business, and our unique culture and employee community. We know that innovation thrives in cultures where diverse perspectives are actively encouraged, respected and celebrated. As a globally connected community, we know that the power of human difference has been, and will continue to be, a vital component to VMware’s success.

Health & Healthcare

School Food Director Embraces Buying Power, Diversity to Improve Menus

Feb 7, 2017 10:05 AM ET

One rainy day last fall, Anneliese Tanner scrolled through photos of sweet potatoes on her phone.The managers at some of the 114 school cafeterias under her watch in the Austin Independent School District were posting photos of the vegetables as their cooks made baked sweet potatoes for the first time.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Abbott Receives Gold Class Sustainability Award 2017

Feb 7, 2017 10:00 AM ET

RobecoSAM recently awarded Abbott with a Gold Class Sustainability Award for excellent corporate sustainability performance in its annual Sustainability Yearbook, the world's most comprehensive publication on corporate sustainability. The award recognizes Abbott for promoting responsible business practices in its own operations and throughout its supply chain, with a focus on business ethics, environmental stewardship and development of human capital.

Events, Media & Communications

Inogen Worldview Conference 2017

Feb 7, 2017 9:55 AM ET

Antea Group is excited to host a future look at what Food & Beverage industry leaders should be thinking about and planning for today to prepare them for what’s next in terms of environment, health, safety and sustainability (EHS&S) impacts to business.

Join us along with esteemed keynotes and our Inogen Environmental Alliance partners for a thought-provoking day of discussion around how innovation and technology are shaping EHS&S management.

This event is free of charge. Come to learn, discuss, and connect. Or just come for the drinks. Either way, we would love to see you there.