ESG News from Leading Brands

Green Infrastructure

The Ray's Smart Road Dot Named Fast Company 2018 World Changing Ideas Award Finalist

Apr 10, 2018 2:15 PM ET

Fast Company announced the winners of its World Changing Ideas Awards, which honor businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that offer innovative solutions to the issues facing humanity. The Ray’s smart road dot was selected for recognition as a World Changing Ideas finalist.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

GRI and Colombo Stock Exchange in Partnership for Better ESG Reporting

Apr 10, 2018 1:05 PM ET

The Colombia Stock Exchange and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) will work together to provide guidance to listed companies on ESG disclosures in Sri Lanka. GRI will also facilitate regional peer-to-peer learning with other stock exchanges and capacity building for CSE staff through workshops, seminars and training.

Research, Reports & Publications

ClearBridge Impact Report Highlights ESG Integration and Engagement

Apr 10, 2018 12:35 PM ET

ClearBridge Investments, LLC has published its 2017 Impact Report, “Making an Impact through Active Equity Ownership.” ClearBridge has been engaging with public companies to campaign for improvement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for more than three decades. This report outlines the evolution of ESG investing at the firm and how, as active shareholders, ClearBridge measures its impact on the companies it owns across its strategies.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Nestlé Aims at 100% Recyclable or Reusable Packaging by 2025

Apr 10, 2018 12:35 PM ET

Nestlé today announced its ambition to make 100% of its packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025. Its vision is that none of its packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfill or as litter. Nestlé believes that there is an urgent need to minimize the impact of packaging on the environment.

Education

Keep America Beautiful Opens Application for 2018–2019 National Youth Advisory Council

Apr 10, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit, is accepting applications for the 2018-2019 National Youth Advisory Council through June 8. Keep America Beautiful’s National Youth Advisory Council creates a framework for youth engagement, providing a unique opportunity for 10 high school students from diverse backgrounds across the nation to participate in a service-learning and leadership development program.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Teens Changing Driving Behavior: Finalists Announced in National Public Service Announcement Challenge

Apr 10, 2018 12:20 PM ET

A short video message from teens to their peers to encourage safe driving habits might be all that is needed to avoid dangerous driving situations. That is the premise behind the Toyota TeenDrive365 Video Challenge, which drew more than 1,300 entries from students across the country.

Environment

Makerspace Safety in a Nutshell

Apr 10, 2018 11:55 AM ET

A makerspace is a workspace with a variety of tools and machines where people can create and collaborate. Antea Group blogs on makerspace safety.

Green Infrastructure

Ecocentricity Blog: Miles of Opportunity on The Ray

Apr 10, 2018 11:45 AM ET

Even the land itself (called the right-of-way) can multi-task! This year, Georgia will deploy a one-megawatt solar farm in and along the shoulder of The Ray, following successful pilots in Oregon and Massachusetts.

Environment

Q&A: How an Artist Turned a Lifetime of E-Waste Into a Stunning Celebration of Recycling

Apr 10, 2018 11:35 AM ET

At South by Southwest in 2017, photographer Benjamin Von Wong learned that Dell was working with artists to raise awareness of the computer giant’s electronics recycling program, and he decided he wanted to participate.

Environment

Bloomberg: Xi Has a New Signup for China’s Pollution Fight: Walmart

Apr 10, 2018 11:35 AM ET

On Thursday, Walmart Inc. committed to cutting 50 million metric tons of carbon emissions from its Chinese operations.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Carnival Corporation's AIDA Supports Everyday Heroines with 30,000 Euros

Apr 10, 2018 11:30 AM ET

AIDA presented three everyday heroines with a check of 10,000 euros each during three AIDAprima cruises between March 10 to 31, 2018. Bettina Landgrafe, Anja Gehlken and Sylke Hoß were recognized for their voluntary work and courage by Europe’s biggest women’s magazine at a gala held on AIDAprima last year.

Energy

Inside UPS’s Electric Vehicle Strategy

Apr 10, 2018 11:20 AM ET

Passenger electric cars get all the press, especially when someone launches one into space. But something important is going on in the world of commercial vehicles as well - electric vehicles are much better for the break-even proposition and create significant additional value for the business.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Bold Investments Changing the Future of Social Good

Apr 10, 2018 11:15 AM ET

Sustainable Development Goals

Using the Power of Partnerships to Support Global Goal 5: Gender Equality

Apr 10, 2018 11:00 AM ET

At Pfizer, we are proud to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 5: Gender Equality. Equality across genders is fundamental to advancing all 17 of the SDGs, which in turn is connected to advancing global health.

Responsible Production & Consumption

How to Grow a Bamboo Industry

Apr 10, 2018 10:35 AM ET

Despite a significant contribution to the economy, the bamboo industry in Indonesia remains underdeveloped. In terms of policy, bamboo is also often overlooked, with most attention focused on timber.

Social Impact & Volunteering

How Employee Data Can Be Grantmaking's Most Valuable Resource

Apr 10, 2018 10:30 AM ET

When Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) was faced with a time of change and uncertainty, they discovered that an employee-nominated grants program wasapowerful catalyst for boosting morale and forging meaningful connections between the company, its employees and the community. Hear from Kathy Gu, Program Manager, Living Progress, HPE, as she shares how they revolutionized their grantmaking program by leveraging data from their strongest group of potential advocates: their own people.

Innovation & Technology

Taking STEM Outside of the Classroom

Apr 10, 2018 10:15 AM ET

A 7th Grade science teacher at Marshall Simonds Middle School in Boston, MA, Tammy Scelsi took her students out of the classroom and into a giant box. Actually, it's a 22x10-foot shipping container, dubbed the Curiosity Cube. Life science company, MilliporeSigma developed it and makes it available for free to educators. It's a mobile lab packed with hands-on learning opportunities and staffed by experts.

Sustainable Development Goals

Societal Megatrends and Business – Operating, Innovating and Growing in a Turbulent World

Apr 10, 2018 10:05 AM ET

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has a long history of examining risks, opportunities and trends that affect companies’ ability to operate profitably and sustainably.

Responsible Production & Consumption

RMI and GRI Partner to Enhance Reporting on Responsible Minerals Sourcing from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

Apr 10, 2018 10:00 AM ET

The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) today announced a project to help improve companies’ minerals sourcing due diligence and impact reporting by providing reporting resources and tools based on internationally recognized frameworks.

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands and Pixelis Announce Pan-European Conference Partnership

Apr 10, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® recently announced a strategic partnership with Pixelis, a branding agency based in Paris, France committed to design, innovation and sustainability. Sustainable Brands has partnered with Pixelis to produce the pan-European conference, SB’18 Paris, in April of 2019.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Keeping Siblings Together in Foster Care. It Matters…A LOT

Apr 10, 2018 10:00 AM ET

This guest blog was written by Rachel Adler, a Wendy’s Wonderful Kids recruiter in Northwest, Ohio. She works diligently to get to know each child, giving them an opportunity to let their voice be heard throughout the adoption process. It was originally shared in April 2017. We are republishing it in honor of National Siblings Day. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption works on behalf of the children who have waited the longest in foster care for a loving home. We focus on older children, sibling groups and children with special needs. Rachel shares how she fought to keep a pair of brothers together in a system that tried to pull them apart.

Events, Media & Communications

VIDEO | A Sustainable Marathon in Paris

Apr 10, 2018 9:55 AM ET

The streets of Paris turned green on Sunday, 8th April. 55,000 runners took part in the 42nd edition of the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris. For the 6th year in a row, Schneider Electric is the proud sponsor of this race, making the event greener each time.

Diversity & Inclusion

Impacting Diversity - What Does it Take?

Apr 10, 2018 9:40 AM ET

Events, Media & Communications

An Iconic Brand Turns 50

Apr 10, 2018 9:30 AM ET

As part its year-long celebration, Subaru hosted a number of celebratory events, culminating in a series of special edition model vehicles that will debuted not long ago at the Chicago Auto Show. And this past August they announced a donation of 50 vehicles to Meals on Wheels America.

Research, Reports & Publications

Three Quarters of Mid-sized UK Businesses Investing in Green Initiatives Benefit Commercially

Apr 10, 2018 8:40 AM ET

As green issues continue to make big headlines, four fifths (82%) of mid-sized UK businesses have taken action on environmental sustainability. However, less than half (40%) indicated that they expect the amount they will invest in this area to increase over the next five years and only a similar amount (39%) view environmentally responsible programmes as ‘extremely important’.