ESG News from Leading Brands

Energy

America’s Yellow School Bus Gets an All-Electric Makeover

Jan 14, 2019 10:00 AM ET

The yellow school bus is a familiar sight on America’s roads. As Fontana Unified School District students returned from their holiday break, one familiar thing was missing from two of their buses: black exhaust. These buses are now all-electric and run on batteries. They are not only free of emissions, but much quieter.

Media & Communications

There Were Many Positive Developments for Sustainability Professionals in 2018 and Much Promise for What’s to Come in 2019 – We Are Watching for You

Jan 14, 2019 10:00 AM ET

There were many positive developments and trendlines in 2018 that we believe were encouraging for corporate sustainability & responsibility managers, sustainable investing champions, NGO managers and members, and other stakeholders.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Water and Sanitation Finance in Indonesia

Jan 14, 2019 10:00 AM ET

Back in 2014 when Whole Planet Foundation's partner in Indonesia, KOMIDA, found that 40% of their own clients lacked a toilet, they wanted to address sanitation specifically as part of their social mission.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Sustainable Agriculture Means Sustaining More Young Farmers

Jan 14, 2019 8:00 AM ET

According to some U.S. food industry observers, interest in small farms and sustainable agriculture is on the rise among young people. That’s all well and good, but the overwhelming demographic trend is toward older farm owners — and fewer, larger farms. The financial obstacles to starting a new farm are enormous, and so are the challenges involved in running an existing farm.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The Arbor Day Foundation and Florida Forest Service Celebrate Florida Arbor Day with Tree Plantings and Distributions in Panama City and Marianna

Jan 14, 2019 8:00 AM ET

The Arbor Day Foundation along with the Florida Forest Service, Verizon, FedEx, International Paper and Texas Roadhouse will kick-off Florida’s state Arbor Day with tree planting and distribution events on Friday, January 18 in Panama City and Marianna.

Green Infrastructure

Shane Gerkin, Project Engineer: How His Passions Shaped His Career

Jan 14, 2019 8:00 AM ET

Shane Gerkin is a project engineer with Glumac, A Tetra Tech Company, based in Irvine, California. As part of Tetra Tech’s High Performance Buildings Group, he specializes in sustainable design projects for state and local municipalities, and commercial clients. Shane has a degree in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University. We talked with Shane as part of our #TtInspires campaign celebrating the passion of Tetra Tech employees. Follow #TtInspires on social media for more stories.

Diversity & Inclusion

P&G's Marc Pritchard on How Diversity and Inclusion Drive Company-Wide Success

Jan 11, 2019 4:15 PM ET

CMOs in Conversation is a series created from interviews with today’s marketing leaders to get their perspective on the topics that matter most to the industry—from the importance diversity and inclusion, to the limits of technology, to the process of developing an authentic brand voice.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Forbes Mexico Ranks Bacardi as Example of Environmental Leadership

Jan 11, 2019 3:00 PM ET

Forbes Mexico recently ranked the top 30 companies setting the example for environmental sustainability. The report, “Green companies, climate change: five degrees from the disaster ", ranked Bacardi, the only spirits company to make the list, as number 24. The annual ranking is determined through a Sustainability and Transparency Index by which Forbes qualifies the transparency and availability of information related to the measurements and results of companies in terms of environmental care and reduction of CO2 emissions.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Kings Make Annual Team Visit to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Jan 11, 2019 1:50 PM ET

The LA Kings spent the afternoon at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) visiting patients and families alongside the LA Kings Ice Crew and team mascot Bailey on January 9, 2019.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Waste Not, Want Not: Rubbish Processing Company Creates Jobs While Transforming Waste Into Fuel, Compost and Recycled Goods

Jan 11, 2019 1:30 PM ET

Recognising the substantial environmental impact urban waste has in India, waste processing company Saahas Zero Waste has joined Business Call to Action with a pledge to dramatically reduce the amount of waste destined for landfill by converting 122 tonnes per day into gas, compost and recycled products, while providing work for approximately 800 low income earners, including women, by 2021.

Energy

Global Energy Outlook: Weather Update

Jan 11, 2019 1:20 PM ET

Schneider Electric's Brian Burgin, Risk Manager within Energy & Sustainability Services, shares his expertise on weather and its effect on global energy markets. Burgin shares 4 recommendations to build weather-responsive resilience in your energy strategy.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Truck of Books Event Gives 40,000 Books to Local Teachers

Jan 11, 2019 1:10 PM ET

Domtar joined forces with First Book and Classroom Central for the third annual Truck of Books event. The two-day literacy promotion offered 40,000 free books for teachers to share with students in Charlotte, North Carolina, including nearby York County, South Carolina.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Using Text Analytics to Help Reduce the Risk of Modern Day Slavery

Jan 11, 2019 12:35 PM ET

Building a unique, objective analysis and understanding of the risk is one way to improve business efficiencies and decision-making processes on preventing MDS in expansive supply chains. Earlier this year, we shared our approach of using text analytics to develop a business case for the SDGs. Because a high percent of business information is unstructured and mainly in text form, text analytics is a useful approach as it derives high quality information from text using discernible patterns and trends.

Environment

How the World's Largest Crowdfunder for Creativity is Kickstarting Sustainability

Jan 11, 2019 11:40 AM ET

Where else can you bring creative projects, like a handheld printer that can imprint on any surface or soap that smells like bacon, to life? I’m a big fan of Kickstarter. So when I heard the company was inspiring its creators to make environmentally conscious decisions, I immediately wanted to learn more.

Diversity & Inclusion

An Empowerment Mindset Creates Opportunity at BET Her

Jan 11, 2019 10:35 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

I Thought I’d Never Have Love: Teenager Maci Kean Finds Forever Family

Jan 11, 2019 10:00 AM ET

"Even if I wanted to be adopted, who would adopt a 17-year-old?" Maci had come to terms with being alone. “I was scared. I was lost. I felt hopeless." That all changed when Gigi Kean asked Maci, “Would you be interested in us adopting you?”

Health & Healthcare

Nutrition Labels Get a Makeover: Will It Make a Difference?

Jan 11, 2019 10:00 AM ET

It’s been nearly 25 years since the FDA mandated that all food and beverage packaging carry the Nutrition Facts panel. Now, the ubiquitous label is up for a makeover.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Breakthrough: The Michigan Source Reduction Initiative

Jan 11, 2019 9:50 AM ET

Relationships between environmental groups and businesses were not ‘normal’ when I came to Midland, Michigan in 1988 to start my career at The Dow Chemical Company. At best, there were periods of détente, interrupted by conflict, much of which took place in the courtroom or with the media. Had someone suggested that we could find a way to collaborate with environmentalists for mutual benefit, they would have been laughed from the conference room. ‘Tolerate’ was the best we could imagine then. That changed with the Michigan Source Reduction Initiative (MSRI) that launched Dow into a collaborative approach and opened eyes and minds to both the need and power of business to help the world achieve sustainable development.

Energy

Consumers Energy Program to Support Electric Vehicle Adoption

Jan 11, 2019 9:40 AM ET

Consumers Energy Co. is leading the charge to bring electric-vehicle infrastructure to Michigan.

As automakers look to electricity to fuel future vehicles, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved this week the state's first EV infrastructure pilot program. The three-year, $10 million incentive program would provide rebates for electric vehicle chargers and a special rate for nighttime charging.

Health & Healthcare

J&J Exec: Tuberculosis is a Global Emergency. It's Time to Start Treating it That Way

Jan 11, 2019 9:30 AM ET

Four years ago, a disease that rarely made headlines — Ebola — raged in West Africa. There was no vaccine, treatment or cure. Though the initial response was slow, the international community ultimately mobilized resources, developed scientific innovations and promised to make sure a tragedy on the same scale would never happen again.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Subaru of America Foundation Awards Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey a $95,000 Grant

Jan 11, 2019 9:05 AM ET

Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey announced today that it has been awarded with a $95,000 grant from the Subaru of America (SOA) Foundation to be paid over three years to support Girls Inc.’s work in the Camden Promise Neighborhood.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Healing wings

Jan 11, 2019 9:00 AM ET

Cruising at 8,000 feet, Sandie LeBlanc took in the scenery below en route to Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California, for her lung-function testing. For a moment, the sights freed her mind from the weight of health concerns. “It’s so peaceful,” said LeBlanc, who suffers from lupus and is also a breast cancer survivor, “and I often forget about why I’m flying as I focus on all the beauty around me.” One thing she never forgets, however, is how these trips are possible — thanks to the 1,500 volunteer pilots of Angel Flight West who have flown LeBlanc and more than 30,000 other patients and their families for lifesaving medical care since the nonprofit’s launch in 1983.

Environment

Agriculture: The Missing Piece of the Climate Puzzle

Jan 11, 2019 9:00 AM ET

By 2050, countries around the world must find a way to produce more food than they have in the past 8,000 years to accommodate population growth—all while minimizing the agricultural sector’s contribution to climate change.

Health & Healthcare

How Companies Can Step Up on Safer Food

Jan 11, 2019 8:30 AM ET

Even if you haven’t heard of perchlorate, chances are that you probably have eaten it. Perchlorate is a chemical used in plastic packaging and food handling equipment for dry food like cereal, flour, and spices.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Tetra Tech Developed an Assessment Framework to Support Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries

Jan 11, 2019 8:00 AM ET

In December 2018 Tetra Tech’s Catherine Courtney, along with the University of Connecticut’s Robert Pomeroy and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Stephen Brooks, published a paper in the Marine Policy Journal in which they developed an assessment framework based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines).