ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

The Walt Disney Company Commits More Than $100 Million to Bring Comfort to Children and Their Families in Hospitals

Mar 13, 2018 8:50 PM ET

Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company, today announced an innovative plan to dedicate more than $100 million in company resources, including cash, products and services, to reinvent the patient and family experience in children’s hospitals across the globe. This initiative will roll out over five years, expanding the Company’s rich legacy of supporting children’s hospitals, which dates back to Walt Disney.

Research, Reports & Publications

Managing for Business and Societal Impacts: Erb Institute and World Environment Center Roundtable (Washington D.C)

Mar 13, 2018 5:45 PM ET

The University of Michigan’s Erb Institute for Sustainability in Business (Erb) and the World Environment Center (WEC) brought together 40 senior-level thought leaders and executives from business, academia, government and nonprofits, as well as selected Erb Institute students, for a roundtable discussion.

Education

Stemming the Leak: 4 Ways to Encourage STEM in Your Middle Schooler

Mar 13, 2018 5:20 PM ET

Maintaining students' interest in science during the middle school years is crucial to increasing the likelihood they'll pursue STEM careers. That's important, since studies show our nation will need to produce an additional one million STEM workers between 2012 and 2022 alone.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Viacom to Support Courageous Youth Activists Who Have Had #Enough of Gun Violence

Mar 13, 2018 5:00 PM ET

In the weeks since a gunman claimed 17 lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, courageous young people have marched and raised their voices to demand action on gun violence in the United States. They have had #enough.

Viacom and its brands have a long history of supporting young people’s movements around the world, and today the company is extending that tradition by leveraging its substantial multi-platform footprint to support these extraordinary individuals and amplify the reach and impact of their activism.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Managing Your Company's Employee Giving Charitable Payroll Contributions

Mar 13, 2018 4:00 PM ET

According to America’s Charities’ Snapshot 2017 report, 87% of companies understand there is an expectation to support causes that are important to employees. So for many employers, giving employees the opportunity to donate to charities through workplace giving is a no-brainer. The big challenge is execution. Are you managing your company's charitable donations as cost-efficiently as you could be?

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Top U.S. Construction Firm Proud of Adoption Benefits

Mar 13, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Each year the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption ranks the nation’s employers based on their adoption benefits. This self-reported list is a way to highlight the organizations in the United States who stand with us in our support of adoption and adoption benefits that allow more and more families to grow through adoption.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Timberland X Thread: Meet Sevenet

Mar 13, 2018 3:45 PM ET

Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland recently released three new Timberland X Thread men’s footwear styles for spring, made with Thread’s recycled Ground to Good™ fabric. Each product made with Thread™ fabric supports a vibrant network of dignified jobs in the developing world - jobs for Haitian entrepreneurs like Sevenet Pierre.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Avery Dennison Ohio Employees Giving Back in a Warm Way

Mar 13, 2018 3:40 PM ET

Our Label and Graphic Materials North America team (LGM-NA) recently worked to make winter warmer for those in need. The LGM-NA Extended Leadership Team partnered with domestic violence shelter Forbes House to provide blankets and backpacks with school supplies to families in the shelter.

Diversity & Inclusion

Women’s History Month – Looking Back to Chart a Path Forward

Mar 13, 2018 2:20 PM ET

March means saying goodbye to winter, turning our clocks ahead, watching the best of college basketball and celebrating Women’s History Month. In 1987, Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month to challenge us to reflect upon and recognize the achievements – great and small – of American women.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Reflections on India

Mar 13, 2018 2:15 PM ET

It was hard to imagine what sort of impact my first trip to India would have on me, a 16 year-old high school student from the United States. I traveled there earlier this year with a team from PYXERA Global, a Washington DC-based nonprofit, to visit development projects in the northern region of the country. Over the course of eight days, we visited the hectic city of Mumbai, rural farms and villages at the height of the dry season near Udaipur, the historic and exotic city of Jaipur, and the country’s bustling capital, New Delhi.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Superheroes Unite to Protect the Future of Children Diagnosed With Cancer

Mar 13, 2018 2:10 PM ET

Superheroes Unite to Protect the Future of Children Diagnosed with Cancer. How Your Business Can be the Ultimate Sidekick to Help CureSearch Make Treatment Possible and Cures Probable for Children with Cancer.

Environment

Huntington Beach Ospreys Get a Home Improvement

Mar 13, 2018 2:00 PM ET

Green Infrastructure

The Ray Receives Additional Funding

Mar 13, 2018 2:00 PM ET

The Ray C. Anderson Foundation will grant an additional $2 million to The Ray over the next two years for research, pilot projects and innovative technologies that have the potential to shape transportation infrastructure. The foundation carries on the legacy of Ray C. Anderson, founder and former chair of Interface Inc., a flooring company committed to sustainability.

Diversity & Inclusion

Bloomberg Hosts 5th Annual Young Women’s Leadership Summit

Mar 13, 2018 11:45 AM ET

On Saturday, March 3, Bloomberg hosted its 5th annual Startup Young Women’s Leadership Summit, convening 500 high school and college-aged girls at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a day of networking and mentoring. More than 200 employees in the Bloomberg Startup program joined together with students from 34 diverse partner organizations, including CUNY’s Macaulay Honor College, the Young Women’s Leadership Network, PENCIL, and our partner school University Heights High School, Girls Who Invest, the Ghetto Film School, and other high schools that participate in our FIRST Robotics programs.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

The Marfan Foundation Helps Baby Andy Progress Through His Journey With Neonatal Marfan Syndrome

Mar 13, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Learning that your child has a disorder is very scary. Read how one family has coped with their sons Neonatal Marfan syndrome diagnoses, and learn how your company and its employees can help today!

Sustainable Development Goals

RMI Deploys New Approaches for Due Diligence

Mar 13, 2018 11:30 AM ET

he Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), formerly the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), a coalition of leading companies dedicated to improving the security and human rights conditions in their minerals supply chains, today announced new tools to enable responsible sourcing from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

Environment

5 Expert Insights Food & Beverage Companies Can Use to Inspire Sustainability Efforts

Mar 13, 2018 11:10 AM ET

Antea Group provides insights to help food and beverage companies gain a fresh perspective and find inspiration for their sustainability strategy.

Environment

Amid Transition to Clean Energy, Utilities Tackle Water Conservation

Mar 13, 2018 11:05 AM ET

Last month, Jackson-based Consumers Energy pledged to save another billion gallons of water over the next five years beyond the savings seen by closing seven coal plants in 2016. While the goal is part of the company’s broader clean energy and environmental pledge over the next two decades, it also highlights an overlooked aspect of the energy sector: The industry is a major consumer of water.

Environment

Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council Begins Mixed Flexibles Recyclability Assessment

Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM ET

HPRC commences a project to determine viable strategies for recycling mixed flexible plastic packaging currently discarded as hospital waste.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

NBCUniversal Leads Sustainable Production at the 2017 EMA Awards

Mar 13, 2018 11:00 AM ET

NBCUniversal was awarded the most Environmental Media Award (EMA) Green Seals of any other producing studio.

NBCUniversal kept its lead in sustainable production by being awarded the most Environmental Media Award (EMA) Green Seals of any other producing studio.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

When Disaster Strikes: Companies Plan for Employee Catastrophic Assistance

Mar 13, 2018 10:55 AM ET

Innovation & Technology

Share INNOVATION 6 Super Sustainable Johnson & Johnson Sites Around the World

Mar 13, 2018 10:50 AM ET

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: Come on Down!

Mar 13, 2018 10:30 AM ET

I want to ask the exact same question of all of us, whether a gameshow contestant or just a normal person – why do so many people want a car? For anyone reading out there, and I’m serious about this, I want to know if you have the same childhood memory. I mean, I can’t be the only one. So please, sound off in the comments if this rings a bell or two.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

INFOGRAPHIC | Domtar's The Paper Trail: Meeting the Market’s Evolving Needs for Supply Chain Transparency

Mar 13, 2018 10:00 AM ET

As global supply chains continue to grow in complexity, it’s getting harder for consumers to know where the products they use every day actually come from, much less the deeper details associated with their manufacture. Domtar’s supply chain transparency tool, The Paper Trail®, presents the environmental, social and economic impacts of its pulp and paper products, providing customer the transparency they deserve.

Media & Communications

Environmental and Engineering Solutions Expands Sustainability Consulting Services

Mar 13, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Environmental and Engineering Solutions, Inc. (EES) announced today that it is expanding its service offerings to include the CurrentState™ Sustainability Audit. EES currently offers sustainable facilities management with environmental, health, and safety consulting. The addition of the audit will deepen their ability to address the strategic sustainability performance of clients.