ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Texas Diversity Magazine Announces the 2018 Houston Power 50 Award

Feb 28, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Texas Diversity Magazine announces the 2018 Houston Power 50 award. The list recognizes women who are shaping the future of their industry with their insight and leadership. These women continue to excel in the workforce and are inspiring and influencing other women to do the same. The power 50 is a definitive list of female executives, influencers and achievers who impact, inspire and influence other women to do the same.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Expanding Career Horizons at Marina Bay Sands

Feb 28, 2018 9:50 AM ET

Always with a smile and the willingness to provide the best service to her guests, Emily Han embraced her transfer from a Chef de Partie in Banquets to Slots Ambassador. She enjoys managing guest expectations and attending to their needs – an entirely different scope from her previous tasks in Banquets.

Sustainable Development Goals

Electrification of Transport at the Convergence of Mobility, Energy for Smarter City Transformations

Feb 28, 2018 9:35 AM ET

CEO of Schneider Electric & Enel in partnership with World Economic Forum provide their thoughts on how businesses can help in solving the challenges of mobility and energy.

Environment

Ecocentricity Blog: After the Storm

Feb 28, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Maria is estimated to have cost $90 billion in damages, which means its impact will be felt for a long time yet to come. Puerto Ricans won’t forget Maria for decades, if ever.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Kings Host and Honor U.S. Gold Medal-Winning Women’s Olympic Hockey Team at STAPLES Center

Feb 28, 2018 9:00 AM ET

AEG’s LA Kings welcomed the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team on Feb. 26 at STAPLES Center with thunderous applause following the team’s historic gold-medal victory at the recent Winter Games in Pyeongchang. As one of the first stops of the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team Promotional Tour, the Kings saluted the gold medalists during the pre-game program on the ice prior to the team, led by Team Captain Meghan Duggan, performing the ceremonial puck drop. The Kings also hosted a special meet-and-greet with players from the LA Lions, the all-girls youth hockey club founded and operated by the Kings.

Research, Reports & Publications

Smarter, Safer Cities: Smart City Thinking Can Improve Public Safety

Feb 28, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Smart cities also can be “Safe Cities” through the integration of smart city and public safety initiatives. An estimated 20 Safe City pilot programs are underway across the United States, in addition to programs on nearly every continent, in cities such as Dubai, Singapore and London.

Sustainable Development Goals

Collaboration: How Business Must Lead to Achieve Sustainable Development

Feb 28, 2018 9:00 AM ET

A new report from BSR and The Rockefeller Foundation offers guidance to business leaders looking to collaborate to achieve the SDGs and realize the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

First Corporate Sustainability Bond in Asia Issued by TLFF for a Natural Rubber Company in Indonesia

Feb 28, 2018 8:05 AM ET

The Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility (TLFF) today announced its inaugural transaction, a landmark US$ 95 million Sustainability Bond to help finance a sustainable natural rubber plantation on heavily degraded land in two provinces in Indonesia. The project incorporates extensive social and environmental objectives and safeguards. Planted areas will serve as a buffer zone to protect a threatened national park from encroachment.

Responsible Production & Consumption

More Efficient Freight Transportation Reduces Environmental Impact

Feb 28, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Trucks filled with dense pulp and paper sometimes struggle with weight restrictions. Lighter personal care products often have the opposite problem, completely filling the trailer despite rules that allow more weight. Learn how Domtar's commitment to sustainability touches every corner of the business, including the open road.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

MilliporeSigma Furthers Scientists’ Research Through Expanded Seeding Labs Partnership

Feb 28, 2018 8:00 AM ET

MilliporeSigma will be the exclusive sponsor of the Boston-based nonprofit’s new TeleScience online platform. Seeding Labs’ flagship program, called Instrumental Access, helps scientists around the world conduct life-changing research by providing them with lab equipment, training and opportunities to collaborate with experts in their field. The TeleScience online platform takes this support to a new level and leverages MilliporeSigma’s expertise to provide a comprehensive online resource, with educational videos created and led by trained MilliporeSigma employees.

Research, Reports & Publications

Companies Show Signs of Progress, but New Ceres Analysis Calls for More Action on Sustainability Commitments

Feb 28, 2018 8:00 AM ET

A new interactive web-based analysis released today by Ceres examines how more than 600 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. are responding to urgent calls to act on climate change and other sustainability threats, such as water pollution and scarcity, and human rights abuses, and positioning themselves for success in a world shaped by these unprecedented environmental and social challenges.

Sustainable Development Goals

USAID Awards Tetra Tech $32 Million Contract to Improve Access to Water and Sanitation Services

Feb 28, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) announced today that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded the Company a $32 million, single-award contract to expand the delivery of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in Uganda. Under the five-year Uganda Sanitation for Health Activity contract, Tetra Tech will provide technical services to increase household access to sanitation and water services and improve health through evidence-based behavior change campaigns in homes, schools, and health facilities.

Events, Media & Communications

Corporate Leaders Meet for Dialogue on Strategies for Advancing Social Progress

Feb 27, 2018 5:00 PM ET

Fifty-two CEOs who are a part of CECP: The CEO Force for Good–a coalition of leading companies that collectively represent $6.2 trillion in annual revenue–met at CECP’s 13th annual Board of Boards to examine critical success factors in building the business for the long-term.

Diversity & Inclusion

Viacom Women On Tech Leadership at Any Level

Feb 27, 2018 3:30 PM ET

With hackathons, futuristic workspaces and mentorship programs, Viacom is a veritable technology trailblazer in the media industry. One of the reasons why the company is excelling? Female leadership.

This was evident at Being a Tech Leader at Any Level, a joint webinar hosted by Viacom and PowerToFly, a gender diversity-and-inclusion-focused recruiting agency that connects Fortune 500 companies and startups with women looking to work as engineers.

Watching the webinar, I saw a diverse group of women engineers and developers, some at entry-level positions and others in management, discuss how they work to overcome adversity and close the gender gap in a male-dominated industry.

Environment

Tomorrow Never Knows: Daniel Kirk-Davidoff

Feb 27, 2018 3:20 PM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

CIT Commits $375,000 To Jumpstart Templo Calvario CDC's New Southern California Financial Empowerment Center

Feb 27, 2018 1:05 PM ET

Sustainable Development Goals

Moving Beyond the Role of Token Women

Feb 27, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Leading up to International Women’s Day, the Brookings Institution partnered with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security and the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council to host a panel on “The New Generation of Afghan Women Leaders,” featuring several members of a delegation from the Afghan government.

Energy

Discovery Green® Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary, 20 Years of Clean Energy With Green Mountain Energy

Feb 27, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Discovery Green is celebrating its first double-digit birthday with a giant green gift for its guests – two decades of pollution-free programming with 100 percent clean energy.

The park, which opened April 2008, is renewing its agreement with Green Mountain Energy Company, in continued collaboration with Infinity Power Partners, through 2028 to provide electricity for all of the facilities’ needs from concerts and movies to installations like the seasonal ice-skating rink, marking a total of 20 years of commitment to renewable energy for the 12-acre park in the heart of downtown Houston.

Diversity & Inclusion

Helping Transgender People Lead Authentic Lives

Feb 27, 2018 12:30 PM ET

From education to employment, healthcare to housing, transgender Americans fight daily for rights many take for granted. “Authentic Lives,” a new documentary from WQED, Pittsburgh’s PBS affiliate, highlights PNC as a company working toward equity and inclusion for the LGBTQ population.

Innovation & Technology

Advancing Sustainable Development Through Disruptive IoT Technologies

Feb 27, 2018 12:20 PM ET

It is evident that the emergence of technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) has disrupted – or will soon disrupt – every sector and every business across the world. We’re seeing a digital transformation that is reshaping markets and transforming how people live and work. Although IoT technology is relatively young, there are countless deployments underway globally that are accelerating the path to economic growth and improved living conditions for millions.

Environment

Carnival Corporation Orders Third New Ship for AIDA Cruises

Feb 27, 2018 12:00 PM ET

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today announced it has signed a shipbuilding contract for a third next-generation cruise ship for its rapidly growing AIDA Cruises brand, the leading cruise line in Germany, which is the largest and fastest-growing cruise market in Europe.

Diversity & Inclusion

Unsung Hero

Feb 27, 2018 11:55 AM ET

Recently I watched the movie “Hidden Figures” for the second time, and was again impressed by the achievements of the extraordinary African- American women featured in the film. Through a combination of brilliance and determination, these women overcame seemingly insurmountable odds and enabled the success of the NASA space program. Being reminded about the contributions of these women, I wondered about the many other unrecognized men and women who might have also faced difficult circumstances and yet forged ahead, making lasting contributions in different spheres of life.

Events, Media & Communications

Academia's Crisis of Relevance - Erb Institute Faculty Member, Andy Hoffman Leads Seminar at Amherst

Feb 27, 2018 10:15 AM ET

In December, the University of Michigan's Andy Hoffman led a panel at Amherst’s Institute for Social Science Research, promising to be “provocative in order to push scientists outside of their comfort zones, and scientific institutions into faster change.” Hoffman, who earned his BA in chemical engineering from UMass Amherst and his PhD in management/civil & environmental engineering from MIT, quickly delivered on that promise, with a review of studies on the “abysmal state” of public perceptions of science.

Research, Reports & Publications

PANDORA | An Ethical Brand with a Big Heart

Feb 27, 2018 10:10 AM ET

PANDORA releases the annual Ethics Report for 2017/18 showcasing the company’s aspirations, efforts and great results that have been achieved as part of PANDORA’s commitment to being an ethical brand with a big heart.

Green Infrastructure

Streets of the Future Could Take Automatic Tire Readings

Feb 27, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Just imagine not having to rely on pre- or post-trip inspections for the condition of your tire tread or tire pressure.