ESG News from Leading Brands

Green Infrastructure

How Smart Small Businesses Can Make Sustainability Work for Them

May 20, 2019 4:25 PM ET

As climate change and environmental responsibility become increasingly important drivers for consumers, businesses of all sizes are taking notice. In a recent survey, 83 percent of millennial respondents said it’s important for companies to implement programs to improve the environment, and 75 percent said they’d change their purchasing habits to reduce their own impact.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Viacom Partners with Reel Works on Annual Day of Service

May 20, 2019 4:05 PM ET

In 2006, Patricia Henry was a high school senior working through a complicated mix of feelings about sex.

So when her school introduced her to a program called Reel Works—which recruits underserved teenagers and, via after-school, in-school and workforce programs, teaches them the filmmaking skills that can act as a precursor to a career in media—she found a creative outlet through which she could channel her curiosity.

Education

At the Top of Their Game: Messi, Gates & Wooten Not Only Share Great Talent, but Also Opportunity & An Environment That Allowed Their Talent to Thrive

May 20, 2019 3:10 PM ET

You know it when you see it.

Lin-Manuel Miranda transforming a book into something else entirely. Messi moving up the field with a soccer ball that moves along with him. Diamond taking 13,000 years of history – and multiple disciplines – to incredibly show us how and why societies advanced in different ways at different rates.

Innovation & Technology

Arrow Electronics and Posner Center for International Development Collaborate on Innovation in Technology Award

May 20, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Arrow Electronics and The Posner Center for International Development have awarded the 2019 Arrow Innovation in Technology Award to Moving Up the Coffee Chain via Blockchain, a project that will tap technology to connect Honduran coffee farmers with roasters in the United States. A collaboration between iDE and Bext360, the project’s goal is to show how blockchain can be applied to market-based interventions in global development.

Environment

13 Major Companies Call On Congress To Accelerate Climate Legislation. Here’s Why.

May 20, 2019 2:40 PM ET

Corporate America is setting – and meeting – increasingly ambitious climate and clean energy goals. But the hard reality is that individual corporate action, no matter how big, won’t solve this great climate crisis.

In order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need public policies that harness the power of the whole economy to drive down emissions by putting prices and limits on climate pollution.

Responsible Production & Consumption

CNH Industrial Working to Make Manufacturing Even Safer in Brazil

May 20, 2019 2:15 PM ET

CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI /MI: CNHI) achieved a year-on-year reduction of 55% in the total number of incidents causing an absence of one or more days in 2018, at its production facilities in Brazil. These results are testament to the effectiveness of the methodologies the Company adopts in terms of workplace safety.

Innovation & Technology

Announcing the 2019 Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge Winners

May 20, 2019 2:05 PM ET

Today, in our third year of the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge, we are proud to be recognizing a new group of young entrepreneurs who are creating cutting-edge, technology-based solutions capable of solving some of the world’s toughest challenges. With each year, I’m continually impressed by the ideas and solutions developed by these young entrepreneurs and inspired by their drive to make a difference. It’s with much excitement that I introduce you to the winners of this year’s competition.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

More Than Four Thousand North Texans Shred Sensitive Documents at Comerica Bank’s Ninth Annual Shred Day DFW Event

May 20, 2019 1:45 PM ET

Green Infrastructure

SCE Procures 195 Megawatts of New Clean Energy Resources in Ventura, Santa Barbara Areas

May 20, 2019 1:10 PM ET

Southern California Edison announced that it has signed seven contracts for 195 megawatts of battery-based energy storage resources to meet local capacity requirements in the Santa Clara sub-area of its electrical system. Contracts were the result of SCE’s Aliso Canyon Energy Storage 2 Request For Offers and last year’s Local Capacity Requirements Request For Proposals.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Lockheed Martin Chief Ethics and Enterprise Assurance Officer Named to Compliance Week’s 2019 “Top Minds” List

May 20, 2019 12:40 PM ET

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Senior Vice President for Ethics and Enterprise Assurance, Dr. Leo S. Mackay, Jr., was named one of Compliance Week’s 2019 “Top Minds,” an annual recognition of the best and brightest thought leaders in the fields of governance, risk, compliance and ethics.

Environment

Good News and New Tools to Help Companies Fight Against Global Deforestation

May 20, 2019 12:35 PM ET

Health & Healthcare

New Study Shows Researchers May Be One Step Closer to Intercepting Lung Cancer Earlier

May 20, 2019 11:50 AM ET

A team of scientists, including those from Janssen and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, found that biomarkers related to the immune system may be able to aid doctors in identifying high-risk lung cancer patients—and treating them—at the earliest stage of the disease.

Environment

‘The Bobs’ Are Back: 4 Motivational Employee Engagement Lessons for EHS Leaders

May 20, 2019 11:45 AM ET

Get your employees interested in EHS with the help of our blog on four lessons in employee EHS engagement.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

The Future of ESG: A Conversation With GPIF Chief Investment Officer Hiro Mizuno

May 20, 2019 11:40 AM ET

Hiro Mizuno, Executive Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Japan’s $1.4 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), spoke at the recent IMAS-Bloomberg Investment Conference in Singapore. To an audience of 400 asset managers, investment professionals, technologists and industry experts, Mizuno shared his views on ESG investing and the unique approach GPIF adopts as a universal owner and cross-generational investor. GPIF invests $28 billion of its AUM in ESG and signed the Principles of Responsible Investment in 2015.

Energy

Consumers Energy Chief Sees Solar Future in Michigan

May 20, 2019 11:30 AM ET

Patti Poppe likes to joke about the bumper sticker she once stuck on her Chevy Volt electric hybrid car: “I ♥ coal.”
These days, the sticker sits in Poppe’s office at Consumers Energy’s headquarters in her hometown of Jackson. It’s a symbol of her personal evolution on climate change — and the transformation she’s leading at Michigan’s largest natural gas and power provider.

Environment

Major League Baseball and Discovery Education Invite Students and Educators Nationwide to Participate in the Global Sustainability Challenge

May 20, 2019 11:25 AM ET

Major League Baseball® (MLB) and Discovery Education, the leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms, invite all students and educators nationwide to participate in the Global Sustainability Challenge. During this unique no-cost event, participants will explore their impact on the environment and learn about the importance of environmental stewardship through a set of flexible digital resources that can either be integrated by educators into classroom instruction or completed independently by students over the summer as part of an enrichment activity.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

GreenMoney’s Videos Issue on Sustainable Business, Impact Investing and Environmental Sustainability

May 20, 2019 11:10 AM ET

GreenMoney’s annual all-Videos issue (May 19) is now online. Check out the lineup of selected short videos on Sustainable Business, Impact Investing and Environmental Sustainability

Innovation & Technology

Sustainability in Tech: How Tech and Human Ingenuity Can Save Our Future and Our Climate

May 20, 2019 11:05 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Latin American Companies Actively Seek to Deepen Social Impact

May 20, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a common agenda for the public, private, and social sectors in Latin America, and while partnership is recognized as a critical component toward this end, there has been no obvious pathway for cross-sector engagement and collaboration. Nevertheless, the will to take the necessary steps exists, and companies in the region are expressing interest in engaging with nonprofits and governments for social progress. PYXERA Global, in collaboration with the members of the Global Pro Bono Network, is promoting Global Pro Bono as a gateway to purposeful engagement. In late March, the two organizations teamed up to host the first Global Pro Bono Network Summit for Latin America in Mexico City.

Environment

Whole Kids Foundation Unites with Top Chefs and Celebrated Restaurants to Raise $100,000 and Fund 50 New School Beehives

May 20, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Today, World Bee Day, Whole Kids Foundation launched the Give Bees a Chance campaign to showcase the vital role that bees play in our food system, winning support from some of the nation’s most celebrated chefs. The monthlong fundraising effort to support the organization’s Bee Grant Program, which provides educational beehives to schools and nonprofits, will take place during June’s National Pollinator Month. The Give Bees a Chance campaign goal is to raise $100,000 to fund 50 new educational beehives for schools across the nation.

Environment

For the Love of Dirt: General Mills Invests in Soil Health

May 20, 2019 10:30 AM ET

General Mills is committed to advancing regenerative agriculture practices on 1 million acres of farmland by 2030. In partnership with organizations like The Nature Conservancy and Understanding Ag, the company trains farmers to use soil health practices that increase the resiliency of cropland and boost farm profitability.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Life at PNC | Meet Our Employees : Alex

May 20, 2019 10:30 AM ET

"I am proud to work for PNC because it is a company made up of hard-working and ethical employees whose No. 1 priority is our customers. As both an employee and customer myself, I can see the great work that PNC does for its customers, employees and communities."

Green Infrastructure

Water Reuse, Resilience Gain From New Black & Veatch Appointment

May 20, 2019 10:15 AM ET

As climate change carries increasingly varied challenges of both too little and too much water, cities and utilities are renewing their focus on reuse strategies to ensure a safe and resilient supply. Black & Veatch announced today the addition of water reuse expert Jo Ann Jackson as One Water Planning Practice Leader in the global construction, engineering, and consulting company’s Water Planning Group.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Labs Rack up Big Energy Bills and Produce a Ton of Trash. Many Are Trying to Become More Eco-Friendly

May 20, 2019 10:10 AM ET

MilliporeSigma, which manufactures chemicals and other lab supplies, lets customers return plastic foam coolers and chemical containers. MilliporeSigma has also worked to repurpose the more difficult-to-recycle plastic products used in science. After being sterilized, the plastics are turned into plastic lumber that can be used in decking, speed bumps, and park benches.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Bridgestone Launches Consumer Safety Campaign to Reach Drivers During National Tire Safety Week

May 20, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (Bridgestone) is launching a new consumer safety awareness campaign aimed at teaching drivers about the important role tires play in safety. The campaign, which is part of the company’s National Tire Safety Week initiative (May 20-27, 2019), centers on a partnership with lifestyle influencer Landyn Hutchinson, the creator and voice behind the Living with Landyn lifestyle channel.