ESG News from Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Gives Kids a Head Start in the Garden

May 2, 2019 3:10 PM ET

Ten Head Start programs across the country will soon be growing something greater this spring thanks to a grant from The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and National Head Start Association. These ten Head Start programs were awarded monetary funds, product donations and garden kits, along with garden training and curriculum, to build or expand garden programs for their preschool students.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Nike, Bridgestone and a Dozen Others Join Businesses Pushing Back on Controversial Tennessee Bills

May 2, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Locally, the Nashville LGBT Chamber distributed its own letter that was signed by seven of its major corporate members, including Bridgestone Americas Inc., Dell Technologies, Salesforce.com Inc. and Postmates. AllianceBernstein, Curb Records and Warner Music Group also signed on to the chamber's letter, after previously speaking out individually on the bills. Joe Woolley, the chamber's CEO, said in an email that 20 small businesses have also endorsed the letter.

Research, Reports & Publications

Verizon (NYSE:VZ) 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report Reveals New Goal to Source Renewable Energy Equivalent to 50 Percent of Total Electricity Usage

May 2, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Verizon’s 2018 Corporate Responsibility Report reveals an ambitious new goal to source renewable energy equivalent to 50 percent of its total electricity usage by 2025, a significant undertaking for a company of Verizon’s size. This is one of several goals Verizon has set to minimize its environmental footprint.

Environment

Cisco Connects to the Conservation Cause

May 2, 2019 2:45 PM ET

In partnership with Dimension Data, Cisco launched Connected Conservation, our joint initiative, in 2015. This was the first solution of its kind to proactively protect rhinos while leaving them to roam freely. While we also look to explore and implement other solutions that track the animal in conjunction with a rich ecosystem of partners, Connected Conservation eliminates human interference.

Health & Healthcare

IWBI Membership Continues to Grow

May 2, 2019 2:30 PM ET

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

CIT and Operation HOPE Celebrate National Small Business Week and Introduce Launch and Grow

May 2, 2019 2:00 PM ET

CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), in partnership with the nonprofit Operation HOPE, today introduced the next facet of its Launch and Grow initiative, a 12-week HOPE Inside program aimed at empowering women small business owners in New York City and Los Angeles.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Bridgestone Group Awards 2019 Recognizes the Best Global Projects

May 2, 2019 1:30 PM ET

Bridgestone Corporation announced the winners of the "Bridgestone Group Awards 2019" at a ceremony held on March 27, 2019. The Bridgestone Group Awards began in 2008 as an annual recognition program open to all employees and organizations of the Bridgestone Group. This recognition program confers the Bridgestone Group’s highest level of awards to promote greater employee awareness and engagement incorporate activities based on the Bridgestone Essence.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Diversity and Inclusion is a Winning Strategy for EHS and Sustainability Teams

May 2, 2019 1:20 PM ET

Diversity and inclusion strategies are the best way to build high-performance teams, improve employee retention and prepare the EHS&S function for a wave of leadership succession, according to a new report published today by NAEM.

NAEM is the National Association for Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability (EHS&S) Management.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

FedEx Road Safety Award Celebrates NGO Role Models

May 2, 2019 1:10 PM ET

This year’s awards celebrate three organizations that have significantly grown their capacity to achieve national and international significance, influencing national policies and public perceptions of road safety. Their impacts and approaches make them role models for other NGOs.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Academy on the Go Gets a New Set of Wheels

May 2, 2019 12:55 PM ET

Subaru of America, Inc. is helping the Academy bring its unique museum experience to schools and community centers throughout the greater Philadelphia, South Jersey, Delaware region.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

How to Achieve Agile Social Impact Around the World: Global Optimization

May 2, 2019 12:50 PM ET

As more and more of our clients expand their markets overseas, we see a steady incremental increase in global philanthropy as well. Our observations align with industry research. Take a look at CECP’s Giving in Numbers reports over the past six years.

Environment

Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe Join Consortium Founded by Carbios and L’Oréal to Support the World’s First Enzymatic Technology for the Recycling of Plastics

May 2, 2019 12:30 PM ET

On behalf of the Consortium, Carbios, (Euronext Growth Paris: ALCRB), a company pioneering new, bio-industrial solutions to reinvent the lifecycle of plastic and textile polymers,and L’Oréal, worldwide beauty leader, are pleased to announce a major partnership with Nestlé Waters, PepsiCo and Suntory Beverage & Food Europe. Carbios has developed a unique and sustainable technology using highly specific enzymes that can recycle much broader PET plastics and polyester fibers feedstock than other recycling technologies.

Events, Media & Communications

BIER Launches New Website, Showcasing Beverage Industry Sustainability

May 2, 2019 12:00 PM ET

The Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) is excited to raise a glass in celebration of the release of their new website, bieroundtable.com.

Through responsive and mobile-friendly design, enhanced search capabilities, and a new publication library, among other enhancements, the new BIER website makes it easier for visitors to learn more about sustainability leadership and best practices in the beverage industry, to browse BIER work products, and to find out how to become a BIER member.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

CASE Construction Equipment Awards Chapin, South Carolina with the 2019 Dire States Grant for East Chapin Sewer Force Main Project

May 2, 2019 12:00 PM ET

CASE Construction Equipment, a brand of CNH Industrial, has awarded the $25,000 Dire States Equipment Grant to Chapin, South Carolina for the East Chapin Sewer Force Main Project. The project will install a new parallel force main to relieve pressures in the service area on the existing sewer force main and pump stations. The additional force main will provide capacity to reroute sewer flow to significantly reduce the likelihood of future overflows that may affect the drinking water of approximately 130,000 drinking water customers in area.

Environment

How (And Why) Emergency Response Planning Applies to Low-Risk Facilities

May 2, 2019 11:55 AM ET

This blog examines why low-risk facilities need the same emergency response planning and consideration that is given to large manufacturing sites.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

EarthChoice Ambassadors - Better Employees. Stronger Communities

May 2, 2019 11:35 AM ET

EarthChoice Ambassadors (ECAs) are Domtar employees who volunteer their time and energy to promote sustainable practices that focus on our customers, employees, company and community. By identifying and sharing innovative manufacturing methods, educating and encouraging sustainable habits, and leading by example, ECAs embody our sustainability message throughout the organization.

Social Impact & Volunteering

When Policy Gets Personal: Postmates Takes a Stand for Immigrants' Rights

May 2, 2019 11:00 AM ET

While celebrating the country’s storied history of embracing “the diversity cultivated through immigration,” he noted that upholding these values is more than just the right thing to do. For companies like Postmates, it’s also good business. “We choose not to discriminate [against] individuals based on where they are from,” Lehmann wrote, “and it has suited us well as we have been able to hire and employ the most talented people from around the world.”

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

PayPal Celebrates the Big Impact of Small Loans During Small Business Month

May 2, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Thinking Like the Consumer: Kimberly-Clark Leverages Brand Insights to Elevate Compliance Programs

May 2, 2019 10:50 AM ET

Great brands like Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, and Kotex take deep consumer insights and apply them to every aspect of a product’s design, packaging, and marketing. It’s a continuous cycle that repeats itself in order for these essential brands to stand out with consumers.

Recently, Kimberly-Clark and its global compliance team decided to borrow a few pages out of its brand playbooks and apply them to its core product – the Code of Conduct. Like most large companies, Kimberly-Clark maintains a significant number of policies, procedures, and instructions to guide daily business decisions for its 41,000 employees around the world.

Innovation & Technology

A Closer Look at MilliporeSigma's Greener Solvent, Cyrene™

May 2, 2019 10:45 AM ET

In response to the need for solvents to meet stricter regulation requirements for employee safety and environmental sustainability, MilliporeSigma introduced Cyrene™—a sustainable dipolar aprotic solvent, produced in two steps from a renewable cellulose source. Learn more about how MilliporeSigma is taking giant steps toward smaller footprints.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Teaching Job Skills to Rural Alaskan Teens

May 2, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Nome is one of the last signs of city life in Alaska before everything becomes rural. Alaska Natives have lived in remote communities throughout the Bering Straits region for at least 10,000 years, sustaining themselves with a subsistence lifestyle of Arctic and sub-Arctic animals and plants. But those same communities, with an average population of 425, lack the resources to train young Alaskans with the job and life skills they need to keep their communities strong. Go to Wells Fargo Stories to watch the video: https://stories.wf.com/teaching-job-skills-rural-alaskan-teens

Events, Media & Communications

Companies Laying Groundwork for Global Circular Economy

May 2, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Key Updates on the Progress toward Circular Business Models at SB’19 Detroit, June 3-6. A growing number of companies across multiple industries are finding business opportunities in eliminating waste from their operations and keeping products and materials in use. Finding new life for existing products, implementing extended producer responsibility initiatives and redesigning products to virtually eliminate waste from the onset are giving innovative companies the edge.

Innovation & Technology

CLP Strives to Harness the Power of Technology

May 1, 2019 8:45 PM ET

The CLP Group has shared in its new Sustainability Report how it embraces the opportunities inherent within the digital revolution, and continually refreshes its operations, products, and services to capture the latest in innovation, efficiency, and customer convenience.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Be Your Best: Our Keys to a Safer, Healthier and Happier Schneider Electric

May 1, 2019 5:20 PM ET

At Schneider, safety is everyone’s responsibility. Nurturing a safe, clean and orderly work environment is both our collective responsibility and a function of every Schneider employee, partner, and affiliate. Our story encompasses generations of people who have transformed our company, and the world, for almost two centuries. Today, our heritage has empowered us to innovate at every level, enabling us to become leaders in digital transformation.

Environment

John Stoehr: Let’s Impeach the President

May 1, 2019 5:00 PM ET

We have our hands full at Sea Change Radio just trying to cover important stories relating to the environment and social justice. But we also recognize that what’s happening in the broader political landscape has a profound ripple effect on environmental and social policies.