ESG News from Leading Brands

Environment

Expanding Connected Conservation in 2018

May 11, 2018 9:35 AM ET

Health & Healthcare

Bringing Healthcare to the Fingertips of Pregnant Women and Nursing Mothers in Africa

May 11, 2018 9:30 AM ET

GiftedMom uses mobile phones to provide health advice and eradicate avoidable maternal and infant deaths in Africa.

Sustainable Development Goals

Schneider Electric VIDEO | Leading with a Sustainable Strategy

May 11, 2018 9:15 AM ET

If the world is going to become more sustainable, we all need to know where we stand — how much energy we’re using and how to use energy more intelligently. The convergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) and energy gives us a tremendous opportunity to tap the value of data — especially data in context — to advance sustainability across buildings, data centers, industry, and infrastructure.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

How First Candle is Working to Reduce the Rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Other Sleep-related Infant Deaths

May 10, 2018 6:15 PM ET

For over 35 years, First Candle, has been working to educate parents, caregivers, professionals and community members on ways to reduce the rate of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths while supporting families who have lost a baby through these tragedies as well as stillbirth and miscarriage.

Health & Healthcare

Malaria No More Honors 21st Century Fox and Star India With the Media Leader Award

May 10, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Malaria No More will present 21st Century Fox, one of the world’s leading portfolios of news, sports, and entertainment brands, and its subsidiary Star India, the largest media company in India, with the Media Leader Award at its 12th Annual International Honors event tonight. The companies will be honored for their remarkable legacy and leadership in raising awareness of the urgent need to end malaria, a preventable disease that kills a child every two minutes.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Volunteers Plant Trees in Lynwood, Part of Effort to ‘Green’ South LA

May 10, 2018 4:00 PM ET

A group of volunteers recently gathered on a sunny day in Lynwood, all with the same mission: to help beautify and improve the local environment by planting trees.

Diversity & Inclusion

Tetra Tech AEG Becomes a Certified Military Talent Employer

May 10, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Tetra Tech AEG, a leading provider of consulting and construction services in solid waste and industrial markets, has become a NEOVETS Certified Military Talent Employer (CMTE). Through the CMTE certification, Tetra Tech is supporting military members who have served the United States’ greater interests and sacrificed for our welfare.

Environment

Randy Olson: “Don’t Be Such a Scientist”

May 10, 2018 3:40 PM ET

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what if the picture is a bar graph with a bunch of statistical notations? It may be worth a thousand words, but only to a handful of people. In the context of climate change, that’s clearly not enough. This week’s guest on Sea Change Radio, is Randy Olson, a marine biology professor turned filmmaker and author whose book “Don’t Be Such A Scientist” makes the case that scientists can and should be better communicators, especially to regular (non-scientist) folk. Olson draws what he considers to be an important distinction between narration and storytelling, attempts to explain the mystifying ascendancy of Donald Trump, and gives us examples of what does and does not work in messaging scientific knowledge.

Events, Media & Communications

Advisory: On Monday May 14th US Department of State and the World Environment Center to Host Webinar on ‘Power to Grow’

May 10, 2018 2:00 PM ET

On Monday, May 14, 2018 at 3:30 PM EST, the US Department of State and the World Environment Center will host a webinar and Q&A on ‘Power to Grow.’

Power to Grow is a search to discover and reward non-profit organizations empowering micro-enterprises in Central America. Awardees will receive a prize of up to $43,000 to execute their proposed project, partnership with a member organization of La Red de Innovación e Impacto working towards a shared goal, and a comprehensive training and support package to improve their business skills. Applications are open until 11:59 PM (EST) on May 14, 2018.

Events, Media & Communications

Aviso: Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos, Embajada de los Estados Unidos en El Salvador y World Environment Center harán un webinar sobre ‘El Poder de Crecer’

May 10, 2018 2:00 PM ET

El día lunes 14 de mayo del 2018 a las 3:30 PM EST, el Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos hará un webinar con sesión de preguntas y respuestas sobre ‘El Poder de Crecer’.

El Poder de Crecer busca identificar y premiar a organizaciones sin fines de lucro que están empoderando a micro emprendimientos en Centroamérica. Los ganadores recibirán hasta USD 43,000 para ejecutar su solución propuesta, además de una alianza con una organización miembro de La Red de Innovación e Impacto con el fin de trabajar juntos hacia el mismo objetivo y un paquete completo de asesoría y capacitación para mejorar sus capacidades de negocio. El plazo de las aplicaciones es hasta el 14 de mayo del 2018 a las 11:59 PM (EST).

Research, Reports & Publications

Making Insulin-Producing Cells Unrecognizable

May 10, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Over the past 20 years, JDRF has driven amazing progress in beta cell transplantation for type 1 diabetes (T1D). As we have seen, in a small subpopulation of people living with T1D, transplantation of beta cells can be, literally, a life-saver. Unfortunately, though, they require long-term immunosuppressive treatments, and most of those beta cells will be gone at two years, rendering these people insulin-dependent again. One avenue to overcome this is to produce the beta cells from stem cells, which have been modified to be immune to a cellular attack. In other words, making insulin-producing beta cells unrecognizable to the immune system. That’s what Elad Sintov, Ph.D., is trying to do, with a JDRF postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University.

Events, Media & Communications

Chelsea Handler, Ashley Judd, Chelsea Clinton Talk Cultural Change for Women at the Inaugural Bloomberg Business of Equality Summit

May 10, 2018 12:30 PM ET

Like a lot of women, Chelsea Handler is disheartened that sexism and harassment are still such widespread issues, but she thinks the cultural shift toward doing something about it has a specific source.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Why You Should Be Using Cause Marketing

May 10, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Like other CSR elements, Cause Marketing efforts can directly influence your bottom line. Consumers are asking companies to support social and environmental issues, taking action towards areas that may not be relevant to everyday business operations.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Companies Have to Rethink Their Role in Society

May 10, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Beyond Philanthropy’s benchmarking study on Corporate Citizenship Engagement of the DAX 30 companies shows that German corporations are actively engaged in society beyond their economic activity; nevertheless, they should do more than just reducing their negative impacts on society and environment or contributing cash donations to NGOs.

Sustainable Development Goals

Strategy for Agroforestry Development in Vietnam

May 10, 2018 11:25 AM ET

In Vietnam, agroforestry has been practised for a long time, however, its widespread adoption remains limited owing to a range of factors. Building on previous work to address barriers to adoption, a workshop was held on 5 April 2018 in Hanoi, in which participants agreed that a long-term strategy for the development of agroforestry throughout the country was needed to address national and international commitments.

Environment

No More Pen and Paper: Leak Detection and Repair for the Digital Age

May 10, 2018 11:15 AM ET

How often have you used your phone today? You checked email, watched the news, shared a photo with friends, all while going about your day-to-day life. Mobile technology bridges the gap between the virtual and real worlds, making many tasks flow together.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Timberland’s Global Stewards Convene to Set Strategy for Employee Engagement in Service and Sustainability

May 10, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Timberland’s Global Stewards recently convened in the Dominican Republic for annual training to inspire and equip the team to drive the brand’s service and sustainability agenda worldwide. The team of 28 dedicated and passionate employees from 19 different countries volunteer, above and beyond their regular job responsibilities, for a two-year term to serve as ambassadors of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to their location. The Stewards’ role is to drive service, forward Timberland’s environmental agenda, create business value, ensure accurate reporting, and to pay it forward by leaving detailed notes on best practices and lessons learned for future Stewards who follow in their footsteps.

Energy

“Clean Trillion” Investment Goal in Sight and Achievable, New Ceres Report Says

May 10, 2018 10:45 AM ET

As global clean energy transition takes hold and the market matures, a new Ceres report released today finds that the “Clean Trillion” – the goal of an additional $1 trillion investment in clean energy per year through 2050 needed to keep global temperature rise below 2-degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change – is eminently feasible.

Research, Reports & Publications

HP Inc. Survey Reveals Sustainability Tops List of Incentives for Office Workers

May 10, 2018 10:25 AM ET

In a new survey from HP Inc. focusing on more than 3,000 office employees in Mexico, U.S. and Brazil, sustainability rises to the top as the most important employer offering. HP revealed the results as part of the company’s 2018 Americas Innovation Summit.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Honoring Heroes

May 10, 2018 10:05 AM ET

When Ryan Bennie mentioned that he and his fellow firefighters “need a break,” he was saying a mouthful. Ryan was front and center during the Northern California wildfires that erupted in October 2017, racking up more than $9 billion in damages and taking dozens of lives along the way.

“It’s hopefully my career fire,” he says.

In addition to serving as a California firefighter and training captain for the Napa County Fire Department, Ryan heads up the Napa County Firefighters Association, a nonprofit organization that supports area fire departments with training and other services. On March 26, Ryan was on hand to accept a donation of 2,000 pounds of CytoSport products in honor of the association and the work of Napa Valley firefighters.

Research, Reports & Publications

Smithfield Foods 2017 Sustainability Report: Innovative Prime Fresh Packaging Video

May 10, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Our new Prime Fresh line uses proprietary, minimalist packaging, which uses 31 percent less packaging than the conventional tubs that hold other pre-sliced deli meats. This provides a host of sustainability benefits such as fewer transportation miles (due to more product able to fit on trucks) and less waste sent to landfill.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Merck Named to Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s Annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List

May 10, 2018 9:20 AM ET

Corporate Responsibility Magazine has ranked Merck #22 on its 19th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. The list recognizes the standout environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of public companies across the United States.

Social Impact & Volunteering

The Arbor Day Foundation Partners With TD and Sustainable Brands on Tree Planting to Beautify Vancouver Park

May 10, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The Arbor Day Foundation in collaboration with TDBank Group and Sustainable Brands are planting trees and doing clean-up at Stanley Park, Vancouver's first, largest and most well-known urban park on June 4. The tree planting will be done by volunteers attending the 2018 Sustainable Brands Conference — SB'18 Vancouver — which is being held in Downtown Vancouver June 4-7, 2018. The new trees are part of the City of Vancouver’s commitment to plant 150,000 trees by 2020. To sign up for this event please click here.

Research, Reports & Publications

Strengthening Communities: Vancity Publishes 8th Integrated Annual Report

May 10, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Vancity’s latest integrated Annual Report, Strengthening Communities, shows how Vancity exists solely for the benefit of our members and the communities in which they live and work. It can be viewed at annualreport.vancity.com.

Research, Reports & Publications

Sustainability: L’Oréal Accelerates Its Transformation in 2017

May 10, 2018 5:00 AM ET

Following Earth Day on April 22, L’Oréal publishes the 2017 Progress Report on its sustainability programme Sharing Beauty With All. The report shows significant progress, as much on sustainable innovation as on the company’s commitment to fighting climate change.