ESG News from Leading Brands

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Stephen Curry’s Custom 'Moon Landing' Shoes Help Raise $58,100 on eBay to Bring STEM Initiatives to San Francisco Bay Area Schools

Jan 16, 2019 3:00 PM ET

A pair of $58,100 shoes are helping bring new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education resources to Bay Area teachers today. The Stephen and Ayesha Curry Family Foundation and DonorsChoose.org hosted a special charitable campaign on eBay this January, auctioning off a pair of custom, game-worn “Moon Landing” Under Armour Curry 6 basketball shoes.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Cisco Named to 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index

Jan 16, 2019 2:50 PM ET

As part of Cisco’s continuing commitment to gender equality, we are proud to announce our inclusion in the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for 2019! The 230 member firms in this year’s index are leading the way in how they advance women in their workplaces, their products, and their communities.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index Doubles in Size, Recognizing 230 Companies Committed to Advancing Women in the Workplace

Jan 16, 2019 2:45 PM ET

Bloomberg announced the launch of its 2019 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which this year selected 230 companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality in the workplace. The index more than doubled in size from 2018 and includes firms from 10 sectors headquartered across 36 countries and regions.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Tacos with a Side of Purpose – Taco Bell® Unveils New 2019 U.S. Commitments

Jan 16, 2019 2:25 PM ET

This New Year, millions of Americans have once again committed to a fresh batch of resolutions, though it is statistically proven that most will not stick for more than a couple of weeks. While that fall-off is currently beginning for many, Taco Bell is announcing its set of New Year’s “commitments” that the brand will follow through on in 2019, and beyond. “We decided to scratch the idea of New Year’s resolutions and instead make New Year’s commitments,” said Julie Masino, President of North America at Taco Bell. “From simplifying our ingredients while improving food quality, to creating more new jobs, to improving our recycling efforts, these are just some of our promises to keep doing even better and being even better, and they are promises that we know we will keep.”

Diversity & Inclusion

How Scotiabank is Taking Action on Gender Equality

Jan 16, 2019 2:00 PM ET

Scotiabank has been named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index. The GEI is the world’s only comprehensive investment-quality data source on gender equality, which recognizes internal company statistics, employee policies, external community support and engagement.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Scrap Culture: Sustainable Design Practices in a World of Waste

Jan 16, 2019 1:50 PM ET

Welcome to SCRAP CULTURE, a new CEU where we explore sustainable design practices in a world consumed with waste. Today we live in a world that creates more waste than it does reduce, reuse or recycle. Designers in all disciplines are trying to address this through the exploration of new materials and production processes, creating a new design language and landscape that moves beyond industry or craft.

Want to attend a CEU? Connect with your local Mohawk Group rep to get started!

Environment

Procter & Gamble is Proud to be a Founding Member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste

Jan 16, 2019 1:35 PM ET

Plastics have changed the world. However, the rapid growth of middle-class and industrial economies has drastically increased the world's plastic consumption in recent decades – and infrastructure development has not kept pace. The result is a dramatic increase in plastic waste.

Responsible Production & Consumption

From Field to Fork: Tyson Harnesses ag Tech for Sustainable Food Production

Jan 16, 2019 1:20 PM ET

Nearly one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions comes from agriculture and deforestation, but if we continue with business as usual agriculture could become the world’s largest contributor to climate change. That’s because feeding a growing population takes a toll on the earth, including outsized impacts on our soil, water and climate.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

General Motors Selected for 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Recognizing Commitment to Advancing Women in Workplace

Jan 16, 2019 1:00 PM ET

GM has been selected for the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality.

Media & Communications

World Environment Center Partners With Better World Leadership to Advance Nonprofit Board Service: Preparing Business Leaders to Implement Sustainability

Jan 16, 2019 12:30 PM ET

The World Environment Center (WEC) is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Better World Leadership (BWL) to prepare business leaders to implement sustainability. BWL studies provide evidence that nonprofit board service is an effective pathway for companies seeking to grow shareholder value by advancing diversity and inclusion, developing human capital for innovation, and helping to achieve global goals for sustainability.

Energy

Black & Veatch-Designed Microgrid Actively Powering Shell Technology Center in Houston

Jan 16, 2019 12:00 PM ET

A Black & Veatch-designed microgrid at Shell’s Technology Center in Houston, Texas, is actively powering part of the campus while serving as a critical research tool for Shell International Exploration & Production Company, Inc.’s work to explore the next generation of clean power and distributed energy technologies.

Education

A Journey From West Philadelphia to Cambridge in Pursuit of Understanding the Human Brain

Jan 16, 2019 11:30 AM ET

Ask Ivan Simpson-Kent who his early idols were and he would give a surprising response: criminals. This is despite growing up in a dangerous neighborhood in West Philadelphia, where he lived across from drug dealers, often heard gunshots at night, and nearly daily stories of people, mostly youth, getting murdered. “I perceived these criminals as invincible outlaws going against the limits society had placed upon them,” he says.

Health & Healthcare

Do Heart Disease, Diabetes or Prostate Cancer Run in Your Family Tree? Experts Share How You Can Help Reduce Your Risk

Jan 16, 2019 11:30 AM ET

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Webinar | Join UPS, Optoro, and Sustainable Brands TODAY for “How Circular Thinking is Transforming Sustainable E-Commerce”

Jan 16, 2019 11:25 AM ET

Today you can join UPS, Optoro and Sustainable Brands for the “How Circular Thinking is Transforming Sustainable E-Commerce” webinar

Responsible Production & Consumption

Preventing Wood Fiber Loss Improves Efficiency — and the Bottom Line

Jan 16, 2019 11:15 AM ET

Most New Year’s resolutions are meant to improve some aspect of life. Here at Domtar, we’re making resolutions to improve our manufacturing operations. Two of our pulp and paper mills are actively working to reduce wood fiber loss and increase efficiency in 2019. Beyond the immediate costs of lost production, wood fiber loss causes additional issues at a mill’s effluent treatment plant, where the mill has to spend even more time and money to process the additional fiber and produce sludge that is provided to local farmers as a soil amendment.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Empowering West African Women Through Ethical Manufacturing

Jan 16, 2019 11:15 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

5 Corporate Social Responsibility Trends to Watch in 2019

Jan 16, 2019 11:15 AM ET

2018 proved to be an active year in Corporate Social Responsibility with issues related to sustainability, globalization, advocacy on social issues and multiple natural disasters in the forefront.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Alliance Data Selected for 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Recognizing Commitment to Advancing Women in the Workplace

Jan 16, 2019 11:10 AM ET

Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS), a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, today announced that it is one of 230 companies selected for the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI) which distinguishes companies committed to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Aflore and Whole Planet Foundation Help Small Businesses Blossom in Colombia

Jan 16, 2019 11:00 AM ET

Whole Planet Foundation was created to support communities worldwide where Whole Foods Market sources products. Flowers for Whole Foods Market stores across the US, Canada, and the UK, are sourced in large quantities from Colombia — so while it’s perhaps a bit of a happy coincidence, it seems quite fitting that Whole Planet Foundation’s newest microfinance partner in Colombia is called Aflore, the name of which comes from the Spanish word flor, for ‘flower.’

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

PNC Selected for 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Recognizing Commitment to Advancing Women in the Workplace

Jan 16, 2019 10:20 AM ET

The 2019 Gender-Equality Index highlights 230 firms that are trailblazers in their commitment to transparency in workplace gender reporting

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land

Jan 16, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Politics aside, as many carry on daily activities in the wake of the government shutdown, many generous folks are out there being stewards of America's treasures on behalf of all of us. It hasn’t been a pretty job, and they're not being paid a dime to do it. They're doing it to preserve America's treasures for current generations and for tommorrow's generations as well.

Diversity & Inclusion

USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education Join Forces to Empower Students to Counter Hate Offering $10,000 in Scholarships and Prizes With ‘Stronger Than Hate Challenge’

Jan 16, 2019 9:30 AM ET

In an effort to spark a social movement against hatred in all forms, USC Shoah Foundation and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the Stronger Than Hate Challenge as part of Teaching with Testimony. The Stronger Than Hate Challenge provides an actionable way to promote equality, challenge bias, discuss tolerance and engage students in a service-learning project that inspires action.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Xylem Employees Install Solar Power and Water Filtration Systems in Ten Homes Near Pune, India

Jan 16, 2019 9:30 AM ET

On January 3, 2019, Xylem employee volunteers in Pune and Thane completed the installation of ten AquaHomes into households in the villages of Mugoan and Masaad, India. The volunteers spent four days installing the AquaHomes, which provide the households with solar power and clean water for the first time. Prior to this project, the families were using kerosene lamps as their only source of light in their homes. Additionally, the families collected water from contaminated wells in the community, causing many illnesses and diseases among villagers. Xylem is proud to help families and communities through this powerful project in partnership with Planet Water Foundation.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Capital H – a Human Capital Podcast Series: Episode 1: Where Performance Meets Purpose

Jan 16, 2019 9:10 AM ET

When is it right for companies to take a public stand on social issues? We explore what it means to be a social enterprise, one whose mission combines revenue growth and profitmaking with respect and support for a broader community of stakeholders.

Sustainable Development Goals

The Time for Business to Act is Now

Jan 16, 2019 9:05 AM ET

On the 25th September 2015 in New York a document entitled Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was endorsed by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. The Agenda set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets covering a range of issues facing humanity including action on ending poverty, combating hunger, universally improving health and education, making our cities more sustainable, tackling climate change, and protecting our oceans and forests.