ESG News from Leading Brands

Research, Reports & Publications

Microsoft Works to Empower People, Strengthen Communities, and Protect Our Planet

Oct 24, 2018 3:00 PM ET

As Microsoft pursues its mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more, there is great opportunity for their customers, partners and company.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Path to Affordable Homeownership

Oct 24, 2018 2:30 PM ET

In Washington, D.C., available real estate is a rare commodity, and this is especially true in areas east of the Anacostia River. Wards 7 and 8 are considered “the last real estate to develop,” said Bill Winston, chief performance officer of MANNA, Inc., a local nonprofit developer of quality, affordable housing in Washington, D.C. As a result, the area has become more desirable to for-profit developers — and a big concern for the residents living there, he said.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Duke Energy Helps Strengthen North Carolina Nonprofits With Over $800,000 in Grants

Oct 24, 2018 1:40 PM ET

Duke Energy is strengthening nonprofit capacity building efforts and supporting other strategic community initiatives by investing $849,000 in 23 organizations across North Carolina.

Environment

Washington Post’s Greg Sargent on the American “Uncivil War”

Oct 24, 2018 1:30 PM ET

It’s election season. To say that the political atmosphere is polarized understates the wormhole into which the US has fallen. We have a president who tells easily disprovable lies without compunction, and a party of elected officials who line up behind him, drafting off his autocratic slipstream.

Environment

INFOGRAPHIC | American Forest Foundation Partnership Extends Conservation Efforts

Oct 24, 2018 12:50 PM ET

Domtar products are part of everyday living for people around the world, and the forests where our products originate are home to a wide range of wildlife. That’s why protecting both habitats and resources is so important to us. Our conservation efforts are a foundational part of our sustainability philosophy of responsibility, efficiency and engagement.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

CEO Dan Amos Awarded Key to the City in Columbia, South Carolina, for Aflac's Work With Pediatric Cancer Patients

Oct 24, 2018 12:20 PM ET

After a successful delivery of My Special Aflac Duck™ to pediatric cancer patients at Palmetto Health Children's Hospital, Aflac CEO Dan Amos was awarded the Key to the City of Columbia, South Carolina, by Mayor Steve Benjamin. He was recognized for his work leading corporate responsibility efforts in Columbia and across the country.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Follow the Kit: The Builds

Oct 24, 2018 11:35 AM ET

Las Vegas Sands and long-time partner, Clean the World, have hosted hygiene kit builds every year since 2014. The first year, the large volunteer effort brought in a total of 100,000 hygiene kits for populations in need. The kit builds have expanded into a global event in the US, Macao, and Singapore and support the company’s active approach on community relief and disaster preparedness efforts through Sands Cares, the company’s global corporate giving and community engagement program.

Innovation & Technology

From Summer Games Intern to Cybersecurity Pro: Meet Booz Allen’s Katie D’Hondt

Oct 24, 2018 11:35 AM ET

During Cybersecurity Awareness Month, October 2018, Booz Allen is spotlighting women in cybersecurity. This piece profiles Katie D’Hondt, a 2015 Summer Games intern who now supports the firm’s work with the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to joining Booz Allen, Katie worked at the Partnership for Public Service. She is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School and the University of Michigan.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Humana Foundation Invests More Than $2.5 Million in Baton Rouge and San Antonio Initiatives

Oct 24, 2018 11:20 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Top International Surfers Support Amnesty International in Charity Auction

Oct 24, 2018 11:20 AM ET

16 of the best national and international surfers joined Amnesty International’s BRAVE campaign and autographed a shortboard that is being auctioned at eSolidar. The amount raised will help the human rights’ organization to make the world fairer and freer.

Events, Media & Communications

Breakthrough Impact Measurement Tools Revealing at New Metrics ‘18

Oct 24, 2018 11:05 AM ET

Members of the Sustainable Brands® community will gather next week for the 8th annual New Metrics conference, taking place October 29-31 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel in Philadelphia, PA. More than 300 executives and global thought-leaders will reveal new methodologies, toolkits and case studies for demonstrating the ROI of Sustainable Business.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

GRI Podcast October: Going Digital

Oct 24, 2018 11:05 AM ET

This GRI podcast episode focuses on the challenges and opportunities of digitalization in sustainability reporting. The guests include John Revess, Head of Sustainability at ABB; Michel Washer, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer at Solvay; and Alyson Slater, Chief Network Engagement Officer at GRI.

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: Selachimorpha Tank

Oct 24, 2018 11:00 AM ET

While not technically engaged in venture capital, my fellow judges and I did award $100,000 to the winning team, along with smaller prize money to the other teams. It definitely scratches the itch.

Education

Lockheed Martin Donates “Mars Experience” to National Air and Space Museum

Oct 24, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Diversity & Inclusion

The Industry With the Most Female CEOs Isn’t What You’d Expect

Oct 24, 2018 10:55 AM ET

Patricia Poppe, an industrial engineer who is chief executive of CMS Energy Corp. CMS -0.39%in Michigan, now knows the power business inside and out.

Diversity & Inclusion

Arrow Electronics Expands Opportunities for Disabled at 2018 No Barriers Summit

Oct 24, 2018 10:35 AM ET

Arrow Electronics sponsored the 2018 No Barriers Summit in New York City, a two-day event that unites people from all walks of life and inspires them to reach their full potential.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Nonprofit Opportunity

Oct 24, 2018 10:30 AM ET

What motivates nonprofits and volunteers to engage in skills-based volunteering? Nonprofits use skills-based volunteering to strengthen their infrastructure in ways that better equip them to solve our communities’ challenges. Many volunteers give their skills to help solve a challenge for an organization addressing an issue they care about or to feel connected to the community. In this SNCR 2020 article, Taproot Foundation and Team4Tech partnered to further the social sector’s understanding of the leadership development benefits of skills-based volunteering—focusing exclusively on the nonprofit’s outcomes of such initiatives.

Events, Media & Communications

Brands Taking Stands | Looking Back, Moving Forward

Oct 24, 2018 10:25 AM ET

Our instinct to point the conference in this direction was on target. On the first day of last year’s “business” gathering, the major topics included immigration policy, gun control, and the opioid crisis—and that was before the lunch break. The event was definitely not a business as usual gathering.

Environment

Subaru Life Owner Spotlight: Buddy System

Oct 24, 2018 10:25 AM ET

“We spend a lot of time rearing babies, waking up at all hours of the night to bottle-feed them,” says Theodora Flory, a nature enthusiast who goes by Teddy, of the job she’s held for the last four years. Flory, who spends most of her days with a blind screech owl named Marbles by her side, is a wildlife rehabilitation specialist at Tri County Wildlife Care (TCWC), a nonprofit wildlife rescue organization based at the Sierra Nevada Foothills in California. The babies she feeds are, of course, baby animals.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Moody’s Selects Partners for Reshape Tomorrow, Aiming to Help Small Businesses Thrive

Oct 24, 2018 10:05 AM ET

Moody’s Corporation (NYSE:MCO) today announced the selection of its inaugural list of partners for Reshape TomorrowTM, its innovative, global program to help owners of small and growing business overcome the challenges of expanding their enterprises.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

New Program to Revitalize Washington, D.C. Neighborhoods

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Wells Fargo announced today it will invest more than $1.6 billion in lending and philanthropy in Washington, D.C., as part of a new, five-year commitment.

Research, Reports & Publications

Energy Storage Evolution Electrifies the Future of Renewables

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Bolstered by decreasing costs and strengthening regulatory support, demand for renewable energy is increasing as wind and solar photovoltaics continue to become more prominent contributors to utilities’ generation and revenue mix. As enthusiasm for renewable energy grows, wind and solar remain hampered by how much energy can be stored when generated to be used subsequently when energy is needed.

Events, Media & Communications

David Schwimmer, David Gelles, Asher Jay, and More to Speak at BSR18

Oct 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

BSR has announced a new set of keynote speakers and other new program information for the BSR Conference 2018, taking place November 6-8 in New York

Education

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation Announce Nearly $4 Million in Grants to Create Innovative Pathways for Lifelong Learning and Training

Oct 24, 2018 9:25 AM ET

Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have announced nearly $4 million in grants for three organizations working to provide innovative pathways to learning and training to help create mobility for workers: The Foundation for California Community Colleges (the Foundation), Code for America Labs, Inc. and edX.org.

Sustainable Development Goals

UN Global Compact Bulletin (October 2018)

Oct 24, 2018 9:20 AM ET

Explore the new UN Global Compact Academy platform — designed to give you the knowledge and skills you need to meet your sustainability objectives.