ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

MLK Day Employee Volunteer Spotlight: Stephanie Burgess

Jan 11, 2018 11:15 AM ET

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s commitment to service, we are spotlighting an incredible story from Stephanie Burgess, one of our outstanding skills-based volunteers from Charles Schwab. Thank you, Stephanie, for sharing your heartfelt story with us and for allowing us to see the true impact that skills-based volunteering can have, both for the volunteer and the nonprofit organization.

Environment

Timberland Europe and The King Baudouin Foundation Announce Winners of Urban Greening Grant My PlayGreen

Jan 11, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland has a longstanding commitment to protect and restore the outdoors. For Timberland, the outdoors encompass backcountry trails as well as well-worn paths in city parks, community gardens and other urban green spaces where employees and consumers live, work, and explore. Today, 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 66% by 2050.

Research, Reports & Publications

When Does It Pay for Companies to Signal That They Are “Green?” – Research by Tom Lyon, Erb Institute Faculty

Jan 11, 2018 10:05 AM ET

The prevailing wisdom says that it pays to be green. However, some research has demonstrated negative market consequences to companies’ voluntary emissions reductions. Why is this? One answer may lie in “regulator discretion.”

Education

Discovery Education and 3M Recruit America’s Next Top Young Scientist in Annual Middle School Competition

Jan 11, 2018 10:05 AM ET

3M (@3M), a leader in Materials Science, and Discovery Education (@DiscoveryEd), the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms across the country, today announced the opening of the annual Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge.

Research, Reports & Publications

Caterpillar Supports the Removal of Landmines

Jan 11, 2018 10:00 AM ET

About 110 million land mines are still in the ground as a result of past or current conflict or wars. Landmines restrict the movement of people and humanitarian aid, make land unsuitable for cultivation, and deny citizens access to water, food, care and trade.

Environment

Practitioner Spotlight - Peter Penning

Jan 11, 2018 9:55 AM ET

Antea Group spotlights Peter Penning, its Water Stewardship Solution Leader who is based in Europe and whose career spans continents. Peter is enthusiastic and hopeful about the future of water sustainability: “It’s the one sustainability challenge I believe can be tackled in my lifetime.”

Innovation & Technology

Robot Duck Comforts Kids With Cancer

Jan 11, 2018 9:35 AM ET

A plush, robotic duck may soon become a fixture in the world of children who have cancer.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Domtar Recognized by Newsweek for Sustainability

Jan 11, 2018 9:30 AM ET

Domtar is named a top 50 company for its sustainability work on the Newsweek Green Rankings 2017 list.

Research, Reports & Publications

GRI Standards Now Available in German

Jan 11, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The German translation of the GRI Standards is now available to download in time, just in time for the reporting season at hand. As a public good, GRI Standards downloads are all free of change.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Community Impact Investing

Jan 11, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Community impact investments focus on positive criteria for inclusion in a portfolio and can include a wide range of intentions such as affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and small business development. These types of investments provide capital to help finance affordable homeownership, loans to start or improve small businesses, loans to rehabilitate affordable rental housing properties and healthcare facilities, and improvements to communities nationwide such as green technology, revitalization activities, rural community development, and more.

Energy

SCS Global Services Accredited for Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) Certification

Jan 11, 2018 9:00 AM ET

SCS Global Services (SCS) has become the third Certification Body to be accredited by Accreditation Services International (ASI) for SBP certification services. ASI, the appointed accreditation body for the SBP certification system, has undertaken a thorough assessment of the processes and procedures in place at SCS and is satisfied that the accreditation requirements for the SBP certification system have been met.

Sustainable Development Goals

VIDEO | See How Texas Trees Foundation and Alliance Data Are Working to Reverse Dallas’ Rising Temps

Jan 11, 2018 8:35 AM ET

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Our Global E-Waste Challenge and the Need for Leadership

Jan 11, 2018 8:20 AM ET

Trisa Thompson, Senior Vice President and Chief Responsibility Officer at Dell, shares in her article on thecirculars.org the growing challenge we face in dealing with the global rise of e-waste. Thompson shares some of the key barriers to innovation as well as provides insight into the work Dell is doing to lead the change.

Environment

VIDEO: TD Helps Advance Prosperous Low-Carbon Economy With New Set of Environmental Initiatives

Jan 11, 2018 8:00 AM ET

TD recently announced a set of initiatives to advance the low-carbon economy of the future. As we look to target CDN$100 billion by 2030, through low-carbon lending, financing, asset management and other programs, TD is demonstrating the crucial role that financial institutions can and should play in supporting economic prosperity and transformational technology.

Innovation & Technology

Sodexo Launches Upgraded User Experience for Universities Digital Platform

Jan 11, 2018 8:00 AM ET

Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Life Services, today announced the upgrade of SodexoMyWay, a digital platform enabling customer-driven e-commerce dining websites with dynamic content that will predict content for the user, enhancing their digital experience. The upgrade to the website platform includes an upgraded mobile-first technology for ease of access across multiple devices. Using the newly-released SDL/Tridion (Web 8.5) content management system, this upgrade across Sodexo’s 700-site ecosystem marks the largest deployment of Web 8.5 in the world to date.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Boeing Donates $10 Million to the Bush Institute’s Military Service Initiative

Jan 10, 2018 5:05 PM ET

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has awarded $10 million to the George W. Bush Institute’s Military Service Initiative in support of veterans’ programs and services. The company’s donation is part of a $30 million, multi-year investment aimed at veterans' recovery and rehabilitation programs and military transition services. In 2018 alone, Boeing grant dollars will assist more than 100 veterans’ nonprofits, worldwide.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Humana Among Top 10 Military Friendly Gold Employers

Jan 10, 2018 4:05 PM ET

Humana was recently named a Top 10 Gold-level Military Friendly ® Employer by Victory Media. The 2018 list of Military Friendly Employers distinguishes elite companies who boast the strongest job opportunities, hiring practices and retention programs for transitioning service members seeking civilian employment. Humana placed 4th overall of 200 companies in the prestigious list. View the entire list. This is the seventh time Humana has made the list.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

In Time of Need, Tonya Dirkse Found Warmth, Peace

Jan 10, 2018 4:00 PM ET

Tonya Dirkse was, in her own words, at her breaking point. Recently divorced with no job, she was having trouble making ends meet and was hesitant to ask for help. Then her sister mentioned that she might qualify for social services assistance, saying that it would be “a hand-up not a hand-out.”

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Booz Allen’s Kurt Scherer: Engaging & Empowering Employees Paves the Way for Innovation

Jan 10, 2018 3:45 PM ET

It’s never been more important for companies to continually innovate. But for too many organizations, how to go about sparking creativity remains a mystery. Kurt Scherer, director of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Innovation Center, spoke with Tom Popomaronis of Inc. magazine about how to set the stage for employee innovation:

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Newsweek Recognizes Mohawk in 2017 Green Rankings For Reducing Its Environmental Impact

Jan 10, 2018 3:30 PM ET

For the eighth consecutive year, Mohawk Industries has earned recognition as one of Newsweek magazine’s 500 greenest companies in the United States, and once again it is the only flooring manufacturer to make this influential list. The company ranked 265 in Newsweek’s 2017 Green Ranking program, which uses key indicators to measure environmental performance of large publicly traded companies that are delivering solid business results while minimizing their environmental impact.

Education

Calling Teen Filmmakers: Toyota and Discovery Launch Safe Driving PSA Challenge

Jan 10, 2018 3:05 PM ET

Now in its sixth year, Toyota and Discovery Education have kicked off the 2018 TeenDrive365 Video Challenge, inviting 9-12 grade students to submit an original 30-60 second Public Service Announcement for teens about safe driving habits.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

LIVARI: How 3 Women are Leading the New Sustainable Fashion Movement

Jan 10, 2018 2:20 PM ET

How many pairs of jeans do you own? How many t-shirts? How many pairs of shoes? A $3 trillion dollar industry employing roughly 60 million people, the fashion industry accounts for 2 percent of the world’s GDP and supports many adjacent industries, including agriculture, petroleum, mining and construction. It’s also an industry that historically hasn’t been very earth friendly. Boston Consulting Group estimates that the fashion industry is the fifth most polluting industry in the world. LIVARI, a new zero-waste, women-led, women-designed label has entered the fashion scene and is looking to change this one tonne of carbon pollution at a time.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sodexo Announces Its Mindful Soup-er Hero! Winner From Portland, OR, Receives Free Lunch for One Year

Jan 10, 2018 2:10 PM ET

Sodexo, world leader of quality-of-life services, is thrilled to announce that Shawn Daley is the winner of Make It Mindful. Shawn, an administrator at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, created a delicious and healthy 3 Cs (Chicken, Cabbage & Chickpea) Soup that will be featured in Sodexo cafés across the country today through February 4. In addition to seeing his winning soup on the menu, Shawn will receive free lunch for one year.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

National Grid Earns Emergency Response Awards From Edison Electric Institute

Jan 10, 2018 2:00 PM ET

National Grid has received Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Assistance and Emergency Recovery awards for its response to damaging thunderstorms and tornadoes that struck the upstate New York region in May and July 2017.

Environment

Jeremy Lent: Human History and the Climate

Jan 10, 2018 1:15 PM ET