ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Duke Energy in Top 15% of Newsweek's 2017 Green Rankings

Dec 21, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Duke Energy has ranked in the top 25% of Newsweek's 2017 Green Rankings. One of the most recognized environmental performance assessments of the world's largest publically traded companies, the Green Rankings rate the top 500 U.S. companies, top 500 Global, and best in industry.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Cutting Through the Haze of Business and Human Rights in India

Dec 21, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Arriving in Delhi by night doesn’t give you a true sense of the city’s vastness. The low hum of hundreds of taxis whizzing around the airport terminal and the dirt kicked up from the wheels of 11:00 p.m. traffic blur the senses. But when morning came, and I saw the prim, gleaming hotels and office buildings of Gurgaon rise from a sprawling landscape of poverty and poke through the hazy, brown-grey horizon line, a clearer picture of India emerged.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Arrow Electronics Employees Cycle for a Good Cause

Dec 21, 2017 12:50 PM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Timberland Employees Across the Country Engage in Holiday Giving

Dec 21, 2017 11:30 AM ET

This holiday season, global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland is focused not only on equipping shoppers with the latest in cold weather gear, but also with serving those in the community who are less fortunate. With the message “Made to Give” appearing in stores across the U.S., the brand engaged both employees and consumers in a variety of efforts to support communities in need.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Consumers Energy Named “Business Customer Champion” by Market Strategies International

Dec 21, 2017 10:05 AM ET

Market Strategies International recognized Consumers Energy as one of 18 energy providers in its Utility Trusted Brand & Customer Engagement™: Business, a Cogent Reports™ study.

Environment

Advancing Water Security: 5 Tips to Help Food & Beverage Companies Power Up

Dec 21, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Antea Group provides 5 tips on how food and beverage companies can move from water stewardship to water security to strengthen their business.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Families Impacted by California Wildfires Get Help for the Holidays

Dec 21, 2017 9:50 AM ET

A nurse and ten families affected by the recent California Wildfires received a special Christmas surprise, thanks to Walmart and the Today Show.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Supplemental Safety Net: An Innovative Model Paves the Way for Inclusive Insurance in China

Dec 21, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Despite rapid economic growth that has benefited many, hundreds of millions of people in China still remain outside the formal financial system without access to safe and affordable financial products. One of the biggest unmet financial needs is insurance.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

CBRE Group, Inc. Named to 2018 Military Friendly® Employers List for Seventh Consecutive Year

Dec 21, 2017 9:00 AM ET

CBRE Group, Inc. has earned the 2018 Military Friendly® Employer designation by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs® and Military Spouse. This is the seventh year in a row CBRE has been recognized by Victory Media for its military friendly practices.

CBRE earned a bronze status from Military Friendly. The bronze designation is given to companies that have programs that score among the top-ranked institutions.

Sustainable Development Goals

Dole Pineapple Workers Open Community Center Thanks to Fair Trade

Dec 21, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Dole Food Company and Fair Trade USA jointly announced today the inauguration of two new community centers near Dole’s Muelle and Bosque Farms in Costa Rica, made possible by Fair Trade purchases made at Whole Foods Market stores, which drive additional money to pineapple farmworkers to invest in projects of their choosing.

Energy

How Individuals Move the Needle by Buying on Voluntary Carbon Markets

Dec 21, 2017 8:15 AM ET

Global carbon dioxide emissions are projected to reach record highs in 2017 and again in 2018, according to estimates by the Global Carbon Project. This comes after a three-year period where emissions remained flat, which many scientists had hoped signaled a peak in climate warming emissions.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

“Share the Love” for Our National Parks

Dec 21, 2017 8:00 AM ET

In the past, around this time of year, we’ve encouraged the community to share their favorite national park road trip memories. That’s because for the past three holiday seasons the National Park Foundation has been honored to participate in Subaru of America’s annual Share the Love event.

Research, Reports & Publications

CAT® D6T Fuel Efficiency

Dec 21, 2017 8:00 AM ET

One of our most versatile dozers, the new fully automatic D6T, continues to drive customer value through dramatically improved fuel efficiency and ease of use.

Sustainable Development Goals

Verizon Makes 250,000 Tree Commitment With the Arbor Day Foundation to Restore Hurricane Destroyed Tree Canopies in Forests and Communities

Dec 21, 2017 7:00 AM ET

The Arbor Day Foundation announced today an expanded partnership with Verizon as part of its newly launched Hurricane Tree Recovery Campaign. Verizon has committed 250,000 trees as part of the tree restoration efforts in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Wells Fargo to Raise Minimum Hourly Pay Rate to $15, Target $400 Million in 2018 Philanthropic Contributions, Including Expanded Support for Small Businesses and Homeownership

Dec 20, 2017 6:30 PM ET

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced an expansion of its ongoing investments in team members, communities, small businesses, and homeownership, pledging the following actions once tax reform is signed into law

Energy

Addressing the Cost of Home Heating for Working Families

Dec 20, 2017 5:00 PM ET

For more than a third of American earners, paying monthly bills is a challenge. For some – nearly a fifth of American residents – that struggle can include choosing which essential commodity to go without during peak usage periods: Food, medications or the electricity to power and heat their homes.

Education

Meet Tiger Tech: Verizon Innovative Learning Students

Dec 20, 2017 4:55 PM ET

A group of 24 students, the Tiger Tech team keeps the school’s technology running smoothly. To see them at work, it’s hard to imagine the team is only four years old, but until 2014, Armstrong had little technology and no access to Wi-Fi. The school was transformed thanks to a Verizon Innovative Learning initiative that provides free tablets, two-year data plans and teacher training to select underserved schools across the country.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Social Impact in a Network World

Dec 20, 2017 4:35 PM ET

Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google all have three things in common – they are simple to use, effective and fun. They have revolutionized the way that we interact with each other, shop, watch TV and gather information.

Environment

World Agroforestry Centre Publishes a Climate Change Atlas for Central America

Dec 20, 2017 4:25 PM ET

The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in collaboration with Bioversity International and The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) today published an Atlas titled ‘Suitability of key Central American agroforestry species under future climates’. The Atlas presents current and future suitability maps for 54 species that are commonly used as shade in agroforestry systems in Central America.

Education

I’ll Be Home for Christmas

Dec 20, 2017 4:10 PM ET

Since 2015, 50 students have benefited from this joint scholarship between TransCanada and local communities from Mexico. The opportunity involves overcoming new challenges and barriers such as the language and weather, but every applicant has had the same goal of becoming a better professional in the energy industry.

Diversity & Inclusion

Ganjapreneurs: Andy Greenberg & Sharon Krinsky

Dec 20, 2017 4:00 PM ET

This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to two women who are working to change all that. Andy Greenberg and Sharon Krinsky, are the founders of Society Jane, a cannabis business that targets women customers. We discuss the game-changing medicinal benefits of a relatively new cannabonoid derivative, CBD, how it appeals to a female market, and the challenges this burgeoning industry faces while prohibition is still technically the law of the land.

Research, Reports & Publications

Behavioral Decision-Making and Environmental Consequences - Erb Institute | Business for Sustainability

Dec 20, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Events, Media & Communications

Israelis Redefine Business Sustainability

Dec 20, 2017 3:10 PM ET

The essence of CSR today should be about the way businesses are bettering life of employees, customers and society at large.

Diversity & Inclusion

VIDEO | eBay Everyday Heroes: A Bear's Tale

Dec 20, 2017 3:00 PM ET

As a young child, Peter Krohn experienced the horrors of the Holocaust. During an inspection, Nazis suspected his favorite teddy bear was being used to smuggle money and destroyed it. Nearly 80 years later, he found a replica of the same toy on eBay. Learn how it's enabling him to share his family’s story of survival with others, and in the process helping teach acceptance and love to younger generations.

Education

How to Keep Girls Passionate About STEM? Lead by Example

Dec 20, 2017 2:10 PM ET

What better way to keep girls interested in STEM than by showing them what a future career could look like? On November 19, 100 Washington, D.C. area Girl Scouts experienced a day in the life of a microbiologist, a civil engineer, an industrial designer, and a computer programmer at Booz Allen Hamilton’s Make the Connection (MTC) mentor program event, held in partnership with Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.