ESG News from Leading Brands

Keep up with the latest environmental, social and governance news from companies embracing the triple bottom line, shared via 3BL's distribution platform.

Innovation & Technology

AIDA Cruises Tests Further Biofuels

Carnival Corporation & plc

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Developing Syria's New Humanitarians

“The worst man-made disaster the world has seen since World War II.” That’s how the United Nations human rights chief has described the ongoing conflict in Syria. The response from international NGOs has been swift, providing food, healthcare, and temporary shelter to the millions of Syrians affected by the conflict, but the challenges these aid organizations face getting humanitarian assistance to those in need have grown more extreme.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Partner Insights: Pfizer Global Health Fellows

In 2018, Pfizer celebrated 15 years of the Global Health Fellows (GHF) program, our signature international corporate volunteer initiative that places colleagues on short-term assignments with international development organizations to help improve healthcare systems and build local healthcare capacity in underserved communities. For program partners, it brings much-needed resources, specific technical skills and a fresh mindset.

Diversity & Inclusion

Interview with Tim Singh, Proposal Coordinator, Business Development Support Services

Tim Singh is a proposal coordinator with Tetra Tech based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He helps Tetra Tech teams specializing in water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, and geotechnical engineering pursue and win new business. Tim has a bachelor’s degree in industrial design and a master’s degree in strategic design.

Green Infrastructure

Alliance for Community Trees Groups Improve Communities Through Tree Planting

Local impact happens when community-based tree planting organizations create projects that involve citizens, schools, churches, and government. This is the work of the nearly 130 members of the Alliance for Community Trees program. These passionate nonprofit organizations are the boots on the ground — a grassroots network united in its purpose of improving communities and towns across the country with trees.

Environment

General Mills Works to Decouple Emissions From Business Growth

As our warming climate poses greater and greater uncertainty for the food sector, leading companies are looking to shrink their own contributions to climate change and build resilience for the days to come.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Gildan Opens “Rio Market” for Employees at Their Rio Nance Complex in Honduras

Gildan has launched a new onsite supermarket for its employees, offering non-perishable food, household essentials and personal care items at discounted prices for 8,500 workers located at the complex.

Research, Reports & Publications

Elkay Begins Tracking Their “Honorable Endeavors”

Elkay Manufacturing Company today released their inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, documenting the company’s commitment to their communities, employees, customers, and the planet. The report, named Honorable Endeavors, follows the Global Reporting Initiative G4 model and outlines the company’s focus on promoting social and environmental responsibility while building stronger communities.

Diversity & Inclusion

21CF and U.S. State Department Host Second-Annual #HiddenNoMore Program, Helping Advance Women Around the World in STEAM Fields

In 2017, 21st Century Fox partnered with the U.S Department of State to launch #HiddenNoMore, an all-female STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) leadership development program inspired by the Fox 2000 film Hidden Figures. The initiative marked the first time in history that a Hollywood movie led to the creation of a publicly-funded educational exchange program.

Innovation & Technology

5 Best Practices of Design Thinking Companies Can Use to Ensure Data Privacy

As online security and user experience simultaneously become two of the most important topics for modern companies, GDPR compliance by companies is a must. There is an art to creating a high-quality user experience while also adhering to this new regulation, and it begins with design thinking.

Energy

Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc., Salesforce and Workday Close All-New Renewable Energy Aggregation Deal

Bloomberg, Cox Enterprises, Gap Inc.(NYSE: GPS), Salesforce (NASDAQ: CRM), and Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY), with guidance from LevelTen Energy and its renewable energy procurement platform, closed 42.5 megawatts of a 100 megawatt North Carolina solar project, by global renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler, BayWa r.e. This group of companies, coming together as the Corporate Renewable Energy Aggregation Group, is the first example of companies aggregating similar, relatively small amounts of renewable energy demand to collaboratively enter into a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), collectively acting as the anchor tenant for a large offsite renewable energy project.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

PepsiCo and The Global FoodBanking Network Partnership Delivers More Than 85 Million Servings of Fresh Food to Communities in Need in 2018

PepsiCo, one of the world's leading food and beverage companies, and The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), a nonprofit organization that develops and supports food banks in more than 30 countries, delivered more than 85 million servings of fresh food to communities in need in 2018 as part of their partnership to strengthen food banks around the world.

Sustainable Development Goals

How DSM is Embracing The Sustainable Development Goals

As the world's largest food ingredient supplier and vitamin producer, Netherlands-based DSM has a clear interest in global nutrition. The company long has had an outward-looking approach to the subject, having signed a partnership with the United Nations' World Food Program (WFP) back in 2007 and setting up its own Nutrition Improvement Program.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Schneider Electric Recognized by Bloomberg and Catalyst for Advancing Gender Equality and Inclusion

Schneider Electric, the global leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, has received two significant accolades for its commitment and progress towards gender equality and inclusion across the Group. The company has been awarded as one of the 230 companies included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) and for the first time received the 2019 Catalyst Award that highlight companies for their bold and forward-thinking initiatives that help create safe and inclusive workplaces where women can advance.

Sustainable Development Goals

A Message to Entrepreneurs: This Is About Missing Entire Markets, Not Just Marketing Opportunities

Sahba Sobhani is a Global Programme Advisor-Private Sector in the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS), UN Development Programme (UNDP). He provides programme support and policy advice on private sector development issues and technical oversight for UNDP’s multi-stakeholder initiatives including the Business Call to Action Initiative, the Connecting Business Initiative and the G20 Global Platform on Inclusive Business. Previously, he managed two key UNDP private sector initiatives. He is a graduate of Yale University and the Fletcher School of Diplomacy (USA).

Events, Media & Communications

American Express Backs the Community of Puerto Rico

The company is proud to back global brand ambassador, Lin-Manuel Miranda, as he reprises his role of Alexander Hamilton in a special, limited-run of the award-winning musical Hamilton in San Juan, Puerto Rico, all in support of the arts. Lin-Manuel has committed to donating proceeds from the production and its partnerships to the Flamboyan Arts Fund, in partnership with the Flamboyan Foundation.

Education

Lockheed Martin Announces $50,000 Scholarship for STEM Students in Partnership with Surface Navy Association

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today announced a $50,000 scholarship program for students pursuing a STEM path, in partnership with the Surface Navy Association (SNA). The scholarship will be $10,000 a year for the next five years. Four students across the nation will receive a $2,500 award each year for financial aid. Recipients of the 2019 scholarship will be announced in the spring.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Bloomberg Announces Founding Members of New Climate Finance Leadership Initiative

Today, Michael R. Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, announced the founding members of the Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI), convening six influential financial sector leaders to help facilitate the private financing objectives included in the landmark Paris Agreement. Mary Schapiro, Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman and Vice Chair for Public Policy at Bloomberg LP, will act as Vice Chair of the CFLI.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

MOMS Orange County Names Epsilon as 2019 Champion for Babies & Families

MOMS Orange County presents its Champion for Babies & Families award to Epsilon, a global leader in creating connections between people and brands, and an Alliance Data company.

Events, Media & Communications

GRI’s Membership Program Evolves: Welcome to the GRI Community!

As the field of sustainability reporting continues to evolve and grow, GRI’s membership program evolves with it. In 2019, we are building on years of success for GRI’s global network with the establishment of the new GRI Community. This platform will bring together businesses, organizations and sustainability leaders that are committed to transparency.

Sustainable Development Goals

Commercializing Flare Gas to Reduce Emissions and Develop Economies

Associated gas (AG) is produced from the reservoir during oil production. In this post, Tetra Tech’s John Sachs, director of project finance, and Artur Davtyan, manager of project finance, discuss how AG could be used to fuel power plants, used as bottled gas, serve as a feedstock, exported as liquid natural gas (LNG), or put to other productive use, with contributions by John Beardsworth and William Newton of Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP. All opinions expressed in this post are the authors’ own.

Energy

Sappi Increases Renewable Energy Usage

Energy intensity, or the total energy consumed to produce a set unit of product, is a key focus of our monitoring and improvement work. Operators manage fuel usage in the steam and power generation systems at each of our mills to optimize production and cost effi ciencies and work to achieve our current five-year goal to reduce energy consumption per ton of product by 5 percent. The reported energy profiles of our Westbrook and Somerset mills reflect sales of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).

Environment

Responses to: “The Unholy Marriage Between Crony Capitalism & Sustainability”

There’s been a lot of interest in my recent article, “The Unholy Marriage Between Crony Capitalism and Sustainability”. On LinkedIn there were 8000+ views and on the TSSS website there were another 1000. It was interesting to see how people responded. Usually in 1 of 2 ways.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index: Data for Good

Influential CEOs talk about the rising importance of transparency in data about gender equality.

Social Impact & Volunteering

The 2019 LBG Canada Audit Cycle Has Started

LBG Canada companies reported a total investment of $410 million in community during the 2018 LBG Canada audit cycle. We look forward to seeing the impact created as we enter the 2019 cycle!

Environment

The World’s Biggest Plastic Producers Join Forces to Improve Waste Collection and Recycling

The Alliance to End Plastic Waste is made up of 30 companies including Shell, ExxonMobil, Dow, and Procter & Gamble, along with investment management firm Circulate Capital and New York consultancy SecondMuse. The alliance will invest the fund on waste collection and recycling projects over the next five years.

Latest Campaigns

  1. Truist Foundation
    About Truist FoundationThe Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and...
  2. KeyBank Foundation: Helping Communities Thrive through Education, Workforce Development, and Service
    KeyBank Foundation helps build thriving communities by supporting organizations and programs that foster thriving students and a thriving workforce...
  3. Aflac Stories
    Get a closer look at the people, products and stories that make Aflac the company we know today.
  4. Community
    Albertsons Companies stores are much more than a place to buy groceries. We're part of your neighborhood, and we believe in making each of our...
  5. Purpose 360 Podcast
    Purpose 360 Podcast is a masterclass in unlocking the potential of social purpose to ignite business and social impact. Hosted by Carol Cone, CEO of...
  6. Purpose: Moving for Good and Making a Difference
    Through our global cause initiative, HARMAN Inspired, employees are empowered to participate in meaningful activities that directly impact the...
  7. Technology for Good
    We believe that technology, when thoughtfully and strategically applied, can bring positive, lasting change to people’s lives and communities and...
  8. CARE News & Stories
    CARE News & Stories is where to find out what's happening around the world through vibrant, engaging stories that put humanity at the center. 👉 https...
  9. Technology for Good
    We believe that technology, when thoughtfully and strategically applied, can bring positive, lasting change to people’s lives and communities and...
  10. License to Operate
    Corporate governance, risk management, operational integrity, and regulatory compliance are demanding challenges that companies face in today’s ever...
  11. Sustainability- Carnival Corporation's Way of Doing Business
    Carnival’s approach to sustainability is a full-time commitment; it is not a cost of doing business, it is a way of doing business. We at Carnival...
  12. Principal Financial Group: Global Inclusion
    Principal is committed to fostering a culture that empowers our employees and demands the best of our leadership by attracting and retaining great...
  13. Collaboration and Partnership
    Cascale shares updates on its strategic partnerships with industry stakeholders geared toward shifting the industry into one that gives back more than...
  14. Focus on People
    We are focusing on our people through strengthening our business by embracing our differences, doing the right thing when helping our communities, and...
  15. Cascale Events
    Cascale organizes and participates in a series of events, leveraging its position as a global convener of close to half the sector to bring together...