ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Get to Know Appirio, Finalist for 2016 Employee Volunteer Program of the Year

Oct 13, 2016 8:55 AM ET

Appirio has a commitment to volunteering at all company and team events. They also have 75% remote employees, so they get creative with their virtual volunteerism. In this post, learn how else they engage employees in their award-nominated employee volunteer program.

Environment

National Geographic's Newest Climate Change Documentary 'Extreme Weather' to Hit Theaters on October 15

Oct 13, 2016 8:00 AM ET

National Geographic recently announced that its newest documentary feature Extreme Weather, a big-screen look at how climate change influences natural disasters, will arrive at IMAX theaters and more across North America on Saturday, October 15. The film takes audiences on a nationwide journey, tracking the causes and effects of wildfires in California, tornadoes in the Midwest, and melting glaciers in Alaska. 21st Century Fox expanded its partnership with National Geographic last year to create National Geographic Partners, bringing together all of National Geographic's media properties with 27% of all proceeds going toward the Society's research and grantmaking efforts.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Women in Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Economic Development Program in Rwanda Secure Largest Commercial Deal Yet with The Marriott Hotel

Oct 13, 2016 7:30 AM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Providing Youth in Under-Resourced Communities the Opportunity to Reach Their Full Potential Through Education

Oct 12, 2016 6:30 PM ET

Today, 51% of students in U.S. public schools—over 25 Million children—live in poverty. Many of the impacts of poverty—like access to healthy foods, school attendance, and stability at home—are immediate and stretch across generations.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation Announce $2 Million Towards Hurricane Matthew Relief and Recovery Efforts

Oct 12, 2016 4:25 PM ET

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have made a commitment to provide support through cash and product donations of $2 million to organizations helping with relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Matthew. As a part of this commitment, the Walmart Foundation is allocating $500 thousand specifically toward CARE and Team Rubicon Global for relief efforts in Haiti.

Diversity & Inclusion

The Evolving Role of Latinas in the Workplace

Oct 12, 2016 3:40 PM ET

September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. This is a good opportunity to reflect on the progress Latinas have made in the workplace. Compared to previous generations, today’s Latinas tend to be more educated, empowered, independent and comfortable putting themselves at the center of life decisions.

Green Infrastructure

CBRE Study Finds San Francisco The Nation’s Greenest City

Oct 12, 2016 2:05 PM ET

Institutional owners of office buildings continued to pursue green building certifications in the 30 largest U.S. markets during 2015. Continuing an upward trend over the past decade, green certifications are now held by 11.8 percent of all surveyed buildings, representing 40.2 percent of all office space. Both figures are slightly above last year’s results, according to the third annual Green Building Adoption Index study by CBRE Group, Inc. and Maastricht University. “Green” office buildings in the U.S. are defined as those that hold either an EPA ENERGY STAR label, USGBC LEED certification or both.

Environment

Ask the Plants for Help Adapting to Climate Change

Oct 12, 2016 2:05 PM ET

Last week on CBS News I watched a piece about Dutch farmer Marc van Rijsselberghe, who is running experiments in the Texel Islands, Netherlands, to grow potatoes using in salt-ridden land. As more and more salty water seeps through the Dutch dykes onto its farmland, van Rijsselberghe and others are finding ways to adapt.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Maytag Providing Support for California HomeAid Project

Oct 12, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Republic Services of Arlington Fulfills Bucket List with Tour and Picnic Lunch

Oct 12, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Local Arlington, Texas resident, Mrs. Locke has been fascinated with landfills for years. Her grandson recently contacted Republic Services, explaining that his grandmother had included on her "bucket list" the opportunity to get a tour of the local landfill and have a picnic lunch at the site among all the activity.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

National Diversity Council Partner ADM Ranked No. 1 for Diversity Representation in Chicago

Oct 12, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Archer Daniels Midland Company secured the top spot out of 50 public Chicago companies based on ethnic diversity within the company’s Board of Directors and in its leadership ranks.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Why I Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

Oct 12, 2016 12:30 PM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

As Seen on The Guardian: How Sustainability Can Help Companies Attract and Retain Young Employees

Oct 12, 2016 11:45 AM ET

With the number of millennials in the workplace increasing each year, human resources departments are looking at what it takes to engage them.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Barclays Supporting Entrepreneurs to Tackle Global Challenges

Oct 12, 2016 11:05 AM ET

A new set of Accelerator programmes is being launched by Barclays to support entrepreneurs that focus on solving social and environmental problems. Barclays has joined forces with Unreasonable Group, a leading platform for entrepreneurs solving global challenges with highly-scalable models, to launch a new partnership called Unreasonable Impact.

Diversity & Inclusion

Finding Talent & Entrepreneurs Among 21 Million Global Refugees

Oct 12, 2016 11:05 AM ET

Over the last few months, culminating with last week’s White House Summit on Refugees, several organizations have launched important efforts to humanize the refugee crisis and use capital and technology to help refugees take more control of their own lives. The most ambitious of these efforts seeks to identify entrepreneurs and those with unique skills within refugee camps and communities and connect them with the resources to re-launch their careers or businesses successfully. With over 2 million displaced Syrians, it is a safe bet that many of them are extremely talented and capable.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

JetBlue Focuses on Inspiring Humanity with Huge Results

Oct 12, 2016 11:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

World’s Largest Companies Seeing Financial Performance Aligned with Social Responsibility

Oct 12, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Giving in Numbers, the leading benchmark on corporate giving and employee engagement patterns.

Events, Media & Communications

The Council for Corporate Responsibility Announces 2016 Texas Corporate Responsibility Summit

Oct 12, 2016 11:00 AM ET

The Council for Corporate Responsibility, in partnership with Capgemini, is excited to host the 3rd Annual Texas Corporate Responsibility Summit at AT&T Inc. on November 15, 2016.

Diversity & Inclusion

Meet the Antea Group St Paul Office!

Oct 12, 2016 10:50 AM ET

The St Paul office serves a diverse client base, working within multiple segments and practice areas. Our projects span from traditional UST ELM support to retail health and safety for global high tech companies.

We have a particular depth of experience with petroleum release emergency response, having managed several large pipeline releases, and are well-regarded specialists in litigation support, having helped on diverse cases including brine production facilities, manufactured gas plants and electronics plants. St. Paul is also home to a core group that supports sustainability clients and is home base for two of the organization's segment leaders (food & beverage and healthcare.)

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Domtar Employee Dianne Loewen Nominated as a Domtar Difference Maker

Oct 12, 2016 10:35 AM ET

In the 20 years that Dianne Loewen has lived and worked in Dryden, Ontario, she has seen time and again how the tight-knit community helps others. Loewen uses the words “wonderful,” “warm” and “family-oriented” to describe both her community and the employees of Domtar’s mill in Dryden, Ontario, where she has worked for the past two decades.

Environment

Sono Motors: On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Oct 12, 2016 10:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

What is the Future of Corporate Foundations? Share Your Views in New Survey

Oct 12, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Are corporate foundations relevant in today’s world of sustainable business? What types of innovations are we seeing that could herald a revival of the model based around collaboration, impact and systemic change? Corporate Citizenship, a global management consultancy specialising in sustainability, is conducting research across the globe to gather valuable insight into the future of corporate foundations.

Green Infrastructure

Leading Green Building Consortium Expands on First Anniversary

Oct 12, 2016 9:20 AM ET

Energy

National Grid on Energy Awareness Month: The Transition Blueprint

Oct 12, 2016 9:15 AM ET

Whether you call it a “balanced approach,” These shortages put New Englanders – including an “all-of-the-above strategy” or, as Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker put it, an energy “combo platter,” the bottom line is that New England needs everything: renewable energy, demand reduction, increased natural gas supplies, and electric transmission to connect us to remote resources.

Environment

As France Bans Plastics Demand For Biomaterials Will Increase

Oct 12, 2016 9:05 AM ET