ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Honoring the Unsung Heroes Who Increase Productivity and Maintain Business Continuity

Jul 13, 2016 11:45 AM ET

Today we are celebrating World Facilities Management Day (World FM Day), dedicated to recognizing the men and women across the globe who take on the challenging responsibility of maintaining the safety, efficiency and usability of our workplaces.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Fossil Fuel Divestiture Campaign Focuses on Big Pensions

Jul 13, 2016 11:30 AM ET

The fossil fuel divestiture campaign GoFossilFree equates the end of oil, gas and coal to the great moral crusades of our time — Apartheid and tobacco — while hoping to reduce demand for fossil fuel stocks and thereby threaten their stock prices.

Education

Harris-Stowe University Science Summer Camp Students Visit Republic Services in St. Louis

Jul 13, 2016 11:30 AM ET

Republic recently hosted a group of high school students enrolled in the Harris-Stowe University Science Summer Camp. The students are from the Jennings and Riverview Gardens school districts in St. Louis, Missouri and were invited to tour the Bridgeton Landfill and Republic’s St. Louis Recycling Center.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Sanofi Foundation for North America Stands in Solidarity with Orlando

Jul 13, 2016 11:25 AM ET

The recent mass shooting at Pulse—a popular Orlando Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) nightclub and safe space—killed and wounded more than 100 people, and left our nation in shock. This tragedy is a stark reminder of the terrifying violence LGBT communities can face on a daily basis.

Diversity & Inclusion

Recruitment and Retention: It’s About More Than Your Bottom-Line

Jul 13, 2016 10:25 AM ET

“I don’t like my job.” That's how many employees may feel according to a Gallup survey that states less than one-third (31.5%) of U.S. workers were engaged in their jobs in 2014. Gallup defines engaged employees as those who are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace. It’s easy to say that the average employee has felt apathy about his job at one time or another. Personally I don’t believe that I fall within the 68.5% of un-engaged workers. That would make me average – and I’m not. Frankly, your employees aren’t average either. What does “average” really mean anyway? Merriam-Webster states it is a ratio expressing the average performance especially of an athletic team or an athlete computed according to the number of opportunities for successful performan

Environment

Daniel Kirk-Davidoff: Electric Grids of Tomorrow

Jul 13, 2016 10:10 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

New Report: U.S. Power Sector Continues Significant Reductions of Air Pollutant Emissions

Jul 13, 2016 10:10 AM ET

The nation’s largest electric producers continue to substantially reduce emissions of key air pollutants, the latest comprehensive analysis of U.S. power plant emissions shows.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Channel 2 WSB-TV and The Trust For Public Land Launch Atlanta’s 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Program

Jul 13, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Channel 2 WSB-TV, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, today launched Atlanta’s 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes to honor local environmental volunteers. Nominations are being accepted now through August 26 at wsbtv.com/coxconservesheroes for volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces. Nominee activities must be performed on a volunteer basis and may not be part of one’s paid job.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Michigan CITGO Station Recognized by Dearborn City Beautiful Commission

Jul 13, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Promoting a sense of pride and beautification in the Dearborn, Mich. community, Bazzi Oil & Gas Company, a CITGO Petroleum Corporation Marketer, recently received the Dearborn City Beautiful Commission’s Business Standard of Excellence Award for maintaining and enhancing the appearance of its CITGO station property.

Innovation & Technology

FCA US Launches Bug Bounty Program to Advance Vehicle Cybersecurity

Jul 13, 2016 9:55 AM ET

​Reflecting the rapidly increasing convergence of connectivity technology and the automotive industry, FCA US LLC today announced the launch of a public bug bounty program on the Bugcrowd platform to enhance the safety and security of its consumers, their vehicles and connected services.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bacardi Awards Employees for Remarkable Sustainability Efforts

Jul 13, 2016 9:25 AM ET

It’s been said that good starts make excellent finishes. This is true both with the production of premium spirits and corporate responsibility, like the employee initiatives nominated for the 2nd Annual Bacardi Limited Good Spirited awards. A total of 11 employees, teams and facilities received recognition for their outstanding environmental achievements within five different award categories.

Research, Reports & Publications

Sands ECO360 | The Journey of LED

Jul 13, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Resort operations account for most of our environmental impact. By implementing responsible practices and cutting-edge technologies, we can reduce our natural resource consumption and improve the experience of our guests and Team Members.

Research, Reports & Publications

WPP Publishes its Sustainability Report 2015

Jul 13, 2016 9:00 AM ET

The latest Sustainability Report from communications group WPP shows the business making progress on sustainability issues with its clients and in its own operations.

Research, Reports & Publications

Expanding Access to Basic Healthcare

Jul 13, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Along with affordable housing, access to basic healthcare is one of the most important building blocks of financial well-being.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Toyota Financial Services Offers Payment Relief to Customers Affected by West Virginia Natural Disasters

Jul 13, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) announced it is offering payment relief options to its customers affected by the natural disasters in West Virginia. This broad outreach includes any Toyota Financial Services (TFS) or Lexus Financial Services (LFS) customer in the FEMA-designated West Virginia disaster areas.

Events, Media & Communications

Malaria Experts and African Leaders Challenged to Maintain the Momentum and Win the Race for Malaria Elimination

Jul 13, 2016 2:15 AM ET

Novartis convenes the 15th Annual National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) Best Practice Sharing Workshop today in Dakar, Senegal. Over the next two days, leading malaria experts and African leaders will discuss how to take on the challenge to win the race for malaria elimination.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Electric Utilities Must Prepare for New Roles in the Smart City Transformation

Jul 12, 2016 6:30 PM ET

Electric utilities are facing a need and opportunity to transform their business due to the bidirectional nature of distributed generation and energy storage. This is just one of several fundamental changes that the smart cities movement is driving to reshape how fundamental services are delivered and managed.

Responsible Production & Consumption

The Three Pillars of Supply Chain Sustainability

Jul 12, 2016 5:20 PM ET

Implementing sustainability across one large company is substantial feat on its own. Yet for AT&T, we are not just working on sustainability at our own company but trying to embed sustainable business practices at hundreds of companies all at the same time. That is part of what it means to work on supply chain sustainability, from setting a goal to reduce our customers’ emissions 10x our own footprint, to setting goals to reduce energy intensity at our operations, to working with our suppliers to ensure they are living up to the standards we have set for ourselves.

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: Probability and Climate Change

Jul 12, 2016 4:15 PM ET

When climate change deniers find new evidence that suggests humans might not be driving climate change, that evidence cannot “disprove” anthropogenic climate change. Instead, the evidence might only slightly reduce its probability.

Research, Reports & Publications

Bring Your Future Engineer to Work Day

Jul 12, 2016 3:30 PM ET

Ingersoll Rand engineers, lab technicians, human resources representatives, sales team members and procurement leaders celebrated 2015 National Engineers Week by hosting “Bring Your Future Engineer to Work Day” at the company’s campus in Davidson, North Carolina.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

With One Flight to Spread Good, What Would You Do?

Jul 12, 2016 3:20 PM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Swim the Charles: Today... and Maybe Every Day?

Jul 12, 2016 3:00 PM ET

In conjunction with today's sold-out fourth annual CitySplash event, the Charles River Conservancy (CRC), released "Swimming in the Charles: A Feasibility Study for the Establishment of a Permanent Swimming Facility in the Charles River Basin" and launched Swim the Charles, an Indiegogo campaign to support returning swimming to the Charles.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Tennessee Agency Owner Who Created Nonprofit in Memory of Late Daughter Named Allstate’s National Volunteer of the Year

Jul 12, 2016 2:45 PM ET

Allstate agency owner David Erb has been named Allstate’s national volunteer of the year, recognized for his commitment to breaking down barriers for people with disabilities. Inspired by his daughter Amelia’s diagnosis with acute microcephaly – a birth defect caused by stunted brain growth that results in developmental problems and seizures, among other symptoms – Erb and his wife started a nonprofit to help better the lives of those with special needs.

Events, Media & Communications

LGBT Americans Optimistic About Planning for Future, Says Wells Fargo Survey

Jul 12, 2016 2:15 PM ET

One year after the federal ruling in favor of marriage equality, same-sex couples report experiencing a positive shift in their overall quality of life. According to a new survey from Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans, 75% feel marriage makes them more confident in planning for their future. More than half surveyed (67%) say marriage made their relationship better, and 62% believe it will improve their financial future.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

A Closer Look at the GOJO Sustainability Commitment

Jul 12, 2016 2:00 PM ET

The GOJO Purpose, Saving Lives and Making Life Better Through Well-Being Solutions, continues to inspire our deep commitment to creating Sustainable Value – that is, social, environmental and economic value – for GOJO and our customers and people who use our products, our suppliers, our team members, our collaboration partners and our community.