ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The Circular Economy Agenda for Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility

Jan 28, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Most of the products we buy and consume are bound to reach their ‘end of life’ at some stage. To date, business and industry have customarily followed an economic model that is built on the premise of ‘take-make-consume and dispose’.

Events, Media & Communications

"Influencing Customer Behaviour" - Easier Said Than Done?

Jan 28, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Influencing customer behaviour through an integrated marketing and sustainability strategy is the next big challenge for big brands wanting to create that bigger positive change.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Ecolab and Project WET Foundation Launch New Interactive Online Activity to Teach Kids How and Why to Wash their Hands with Soap

Jan 28, 2016 11:30 AM ET

With cold and flu season well underway, parents and teachers have a new tool to teach kids how to protect themselves from germs. “Soap and Water Science” is a fun online activity developed by Ecolab’s partner, the Project WET Foundation, to teach kids how germs spread—and how soap and water work together to stop that process. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite washing hands with soap as one of the “most effective ways to prevent the spread of many types of infection and illness in all settings.”

Energy

Leading Wind Developer Joins Transmission Experts To Deliver Clean Energy For New England

Jan 28, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Southwest Solutions, JPMorgan Chase and Mission Asset Fund Launch Peer Lending Circles to Boost Credit Scores of Detroit Residents

Jan 28, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Southwest Solutions, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mission Asset Fund (MAF) today announced the launch of Lending Circles, a new social loan program that will allow Detroit residents to safely build credit through zero-interest loans.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

LG ENERGY STAR Front-Load Washing Machines Capture Largest U.S. Market Share for Ninth Consecutive Year

Jan 28, 2016 9:50 AM ET

For the ninth consecutive year, LG Electronics is the number one front-load washing machine brand in the highly competitive U.S. market, according to 2015 data from the Stevenson Company, a leading market research firm. In fact, the data shows that LG ENERGY STAR® certified front-load washing machines comprised more than 25 percent of all washers sold during 2015 in major U.S. retail stores such as Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe’s, more than any other brand.

Environment

Republic Services: #RecycleMore Tip #2

Jan 28, 2016 9:45 AM ET

Environment

Basketball? Colleges Nationwide Fight for a Different Type of Championship as 2016 RecycleMania Competition Nears

Jan 28, 2016 9:15 AM ET

RecycleMania, the premier collegiate recycling competition managed by Keep America Beautiful, is back in action as college campuses build school spirit while competing to see who will claim the championship in the fight to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost the most on campus.

Energy

Siemens Sets New Performance and Efficiency World Record at Düsseldorf Power Plant

Jan 28, 2016 9:15 AM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

Toxic Substances Control Act Reform Edges Closer

Jan 28, 2016 9:05 AM ET

Chemical safety has been at the forefront of consumers, manufacturers, and lawmakers minds for quite some time. As the fight to create a safer and healthier world goes on, many people have debated how best to enforce chemical regulations.

Innovation & Technology

Selecting Grants Management Software: The Hidden Cost Of Implementation

Jan 28, 2016 9:00 AM ET

Many corporations are looking to utilize online solutions, unaware of the hidden cost of implementation when selecting a grants management system.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Mobilizing Suppliers for Climate Resilience: CDP 2015-2016 Supply Chain Report

Jan 28, 2016 8:55 AM ET

A report from CDP and BSR analyzes climate data from suppliers and their corporate customers, and offers a path toward better management and decreasing emissions.

Health & Healthcare

Building a Healthy and Inclusive Workforce, 156 Million Steps and Counting

Jan 28, 2016 8:45 AM ET

Our business is about empowering the people we serve by putting health insights into their hands, so it makes sense to start with ourselves. We want to help each employee and dependent know their health, improve their health, prevent illness and injury, access care appropriately and manage their health conditions. These are the five core areas of our award-winning HealthyQuest program, which, for the past decade, has been raising our collective health literacy and inspiring our colleagues and their families to make appropriate, healthy and lasting lifestyle choices and changes.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

KeyBank Provides $28.67MM to Affordable Housing Development for Seniors in St. Lawrence County

Jan 28, 2016 8:40 AM ET

Today, KeyBank announced its total investment of $28.67 MM in the Cambray Court Apartments, a 71-unit affordable housing project re-developed in partnership with Omni Housing Development LLC and managed by United Helpers to support seniors in St. Lawrence County, New York.

Innovation & Technology

First Study in Scotland Throws Light on Responsible Businesses Practices

Jan 28, 2016 8:00 AM ET

The face of business in Scotland is changing, as companies recognise that the traditional idea that business is simply about making money no longer holds true.

Events, Media & Communications

GLAAD Recognizes Fox Series for Outstanding Portrayals of LGBT Characters

Jan 28, 2016 7:00 AM ET

The LGBT advocacy organization GLAAD has announced the nominees for the 27th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, honoring media projects for their fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives. Empire, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Modern Family, all from 21st Century Fox businesses, were among the nominees. The GLAAD Media Awards will be held on April 2, 2016 in Los Angeles and May 14, 2016 in New York.

Education

Apply to be an Amgen Scholar at the University of Cambridge

Jan 28, 2016 6:00 AM ET

Responsible Production & Consumption

Canadian Company Leads Aquaculture Industry with Tech Advancements

Jan 28, 2016 6:00 AM ET

Canadian-based AgriMarine Technologies Inc. (ATI) is testing and developing new clean technologies that are shaping the future of the aquaculture industry. Centering its efforts at AgriMarine’s flagship farm, West Coast Fishculture (Lois Lake) Ltd. located near Powell River British Columbia, the company is creating technologies designed to lower the environmental impact and economic cost of running a fish farm.

Research, Reports & Publications

Novartis Releases 2015 Corporate Responsibility Performance Report

Jan 28, 2016 2:00 AM ET

Novartis 2015 CR highlights: Launched Novartis Access, a portfolio of 15 medicines to treat the main noncommunicable diseases in lower-income countries at a cost of USD 1 per treatment per month; Provided medicine to 66 million patients through access programs; Reached 7.6 million people through social business initiatives in India, Kenya, Vietnam and Indonesia.


•Launched a new Group-wide program to ensure our ethical standards are firmly embedded in our business practices

Social Impact & Volunteering

Turn Your Employee Engagement Failures into 2016 Success Stories!

Jan 27, 2016 4:00 PM ET

Have you worked on a project or program that simply did not turn out the way you planned? The New Year signifies new beginnings. This can mean a new beginning to old methods, a new perspective, even a new way of thinking. One program that many employers have adopted in 2016, or should consider adopting, is a strategically focused and effective employee engagement program.

Education

2016 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes Honor Science Books About Animals: In the Field, in Your Backyard, or Back From Extinction

Jan 27, 2016 3:15 PM ET

Octopus researchers, the science of de-extinction, and chickens are the subjects of the winners of 2016 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)/Subaru Science Books & Film Prizes for Excellence in Science Books.

Environment

Roy Scranton’s Arctic Cruise

Jan 27, 2016 2:15 PM ET

When we try to visualize the Arctic, we usually think of ice as far as the eye can see. But, unfortunately, that’s changing.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Loan Broadens Access to Certified Biodynamic Compost

Jan 27, 2016 2:15 PM ET

“There was a total absence of any high-quality soil product,” says Ritchie. “That’s when we decided to enter a market that’s never been there before—biodynamic compost. It’s real. It’s truly organic. It’s living soil.”

On July 8, 2009, the duo founded Malibu Compost, and became the first-ever local producer and distributor of certified biodynamic compost. After years of demonstrating the strength of their business model, the company received a Program Related Investment (PRI) loan from RSF to help it expand.

Environment

Antea Group Case Study: Supporting Best in Class EHS Performance at a Precious Metal Refinery

Jan 27, 2016 2:05 PM ET

A precious metals refiner retained Antea Group to evaluate and improve their EHS programs with the end goal of achieving best in class EHS performance among the industry as a way to differentiate itself and create additional business opportunity. Their New Jersey industrial facility had deteriorating infrastructure and was recognized as a significant source of the client’s marginal EHS performance, and Antea Group was enlisted to assist with the relocation of manufacturing operations and manage the EHS aspects of its’ startup.

Research, Reports & Publications

Novartis Releases 2015 Corporate Responsibility Performance Report

Jan 27, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Novartis has published its 2015 Corporate Responsibility (CR) Performance Report. The report is based on the Global Reporting Initiative G4 guidelines, with disclosure at “comprehensive” level, making it the first comprehensive level-report in the healthcare industry.