ESG News from Leading Brands

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Tax Reform: A Real Cohn Job

Dec 19, 2017 11:30 PM ET

How tax reform has fallen victim to the culture that can subsume decent men on Wall Street, where everything—a deal, a job, a house, even a marriage in some cases—gets reduced to and commodified as a “trade”.

Diversity & Inclusion

VIDEO | Walmart Helps Wreaths Across America Lay 100,000 Wreaths at Cemeteries Nationwide to Honor Veterans This December

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Every year, as part of its long commitment to support our nation’s military communities, Walmart helps Wreaths Across America (WAA) recognize the sacrifices of our nation’s veterans and their families through wreath laying ceremonies around the nation. Coordinated and led by local volunteers, this annual event seeks to further the WAA’s mission — Remember, Honor, Teach — ensuring that the memory of those who served our country endures.

Education

Meet Tiger Tech: How an Elite Group of Middle Schoolers Became the Tech Teachers

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

A group of 24 students at Armstrong Middle School, the Tiger Tech team keeps the school’s technology running smoothly.

Education

AT&T Aspire Accelerator: Where Are They Now?

Dec 19, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Feb. 17, 2017 will forever be burned into my mind. The Bitsbox team had that date circled in red on the calendar for months prior. It’s the day some of us sweat through our shirts and others found comfort in raiding the snack cabinet. Feb. 17 was the day our pitch to Shark Tank investors aired on TV.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Your Gift Gives Children the Stability They Deserve

Dec 19, 2017 3:00 PM ET

Laverne Moore-Jenkins and her husband Terry have been fostering children for almost 30 years. They have always enjoyed working with teens to help them get the skills they need to transition out of the foster care system as well as provide them a place to visit.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Rebels with a Cause: Promoting Goodness

Dec 19, 2017 2:40 PM ET

Mamadou-Abou Sarr was a long jumper and triple jumper as a teen in the suburbs of Paris—good enough to compete on a national level at 14. He gave up the sport because his father insisted he focus on his studies, but in many ways the eldest son of immigrants to France from Senegal and Benin hasn’t stopped jumping.

Diversity & Inclusion

Let's Crowd Source This: How to Get From Today’s Scandals to Workplace Parity?

Dec 19, 2017 2:00 PM ET

Reflecting on her interview with Robert Reiss, host of the CEO Forum, Lorna Donatone, CEO, Geographic Regions and Region Chair North America, Sodexo, addresses the need for workplace parity and how men and women in corporate America and beyond can advocate for gender equality in the workplace.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Citi Earns Perfect Score on LGBT Workplace Equality Scorecard

Dec 19, 2017 2:00 PM ET

For the 14th consecutive year, Citi received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2018 Corporate Equality Index (CEI). The national survey benchmarks corporate policies and practices for LGBT workplace equality.

Sustainable Development Goals

WBCSD Sustain Newsletter | Our New CEO Guide and Your Last Chance for Factor10

Dec 19, 2017 1:20 PM ET

To fulfil the ambitions of the Paris Agreement we need a much wider view of the economy, one which incorporates environmental, social and governance-related factors and rewards companies that do so. To help CEOs to achieve this, we have published the CEO Guide to climate-related financial disclosures. T

Green Infrastructure

The Clean Power and Electrification Pathway

Dec 19, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Environment

Student Team from India wins Xylem Water Prize

Dec 19, 2017 1:00 PM ET

Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology company dedicated to solving the world’s most challenging water issues, congratulates the national team of India, winners of the Xylem Water Prize 2017, awarded at the 14th annual International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO). The theme of this year’s IJSO was “Water and Sustainability” and the competition took place on December 4-11, 2017, in The Netherlands, where more than 300 students aged 15 years or younger from 50 different countries tested their scientific knowledge and skills.

As a sponsor of the IJSO, Xylem launched the first Xylem Water Prize, which invited participating students to produce a video answering the question, “How do you solve water?”

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Whirlpool Employees Raise $400K for Darke Co. United Way

Dec 19, 2017 12:45 PM ET

Whirlpool Corporation employees raised more than $400,000 for United Way agencies in Ohio. The money will go toward education initiatives, health initiatives, and income stability initiatives that the service organization will support in 2018.

Green Infrastructure

Infrastructure Opportunity on The Ray: Solar Noise Barriers

Dec 19, 2017 12:30 PM ET

The Ray is proud to release groundbreaking research on solar noise barriers in conjunction with Innovia Technology, a UK based innovation consultancy. The Ray’s research was conducted in parallel with the U.S. Department of Transportation Volpe Center.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How Businesses in Puerto Rico are Recovering After Maria

Dec 19, 2017 12:15 PM ET

The Bacardi rum plant was back up and running less than two weeks after Maria. Good news for the place that produces 80 percent of Bacardi's rum and employs 300 people. The company has paid its employees throughout hurricane recovery.

Environment

Changing Consumers Ignite Food Revolution

Dec 19, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Elke Richards drives two hours to Maple Grove every month to shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, both of which offer more organic groceries or minimally processed food than she can find near her home in Alexandria. In the summer, she goes to farmers markets for locally grown produce. For meat, she visits a local family farm that raises sheep and cattle using environmentally friendly land management practices.

Sustainable Development Goals

Quality Management: Assuring the Integrity of Third-Party Certification

Dec 19, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Third-party certification is widely recognized as playing an integral role in helping companies demonstrate their environmental, sustainability, and safety achievements to their customers and stakeholders. As a certification body, the question we are most frequently asked is what qualifies us to do this work. SCS’ Quality Assurance Team assures that our operations run uninterrupted by supporting multiple accreditations in good standing and ensuring that our clients receive the most scientifically rigorous, impartial, efficient, and high-quality assessments from our auditors.

Events, Media & Communications

AccountAbility Event – A Discussion on Sustainability Impact

Dec 19, 2017 11:50 AM ET

On October 31st, AccountAbility hosted an event for business executives and professionals to discuss sustainability impact.

Research, Reports & Publications

Case Study: Reporting as a Means to an End – Sustainable Development

Dec 19, 2017 10:00 AM ET

What kind of reporting challenges does a conglomerate face when planning and executing a sustainability report? We interviewed Mark Harper, Sustainable Development Manager at Swire Pacific, about the challenges and benefits a conglomerate faces with their reporting process.​

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Lehigh Valley County Animal Response Team (LVCART) Receives Donation from Purina to Boost Animal Emergency Life-Saving Efforts

Dec 19, 2017 10:00 AM ET

LVCART handles any 911 call involving animals, including technical rescue or for temporary emergency sheltering. Each county-based team keeps a variety of equipment on hand to aid in their response, such as large crates, leashes, cleaning supplies, pet oxygen masks, trailers and pet emergency kits, but LVCART has never had a permanent, efficient place to store them – until now. Purina recently donated $7,000 to LVCART to fund the purchase of a permanent storage unit.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Drink, Dance, Donate: How Viacom Gave Back and Got Down for the 8th Year in a Row

Dec 19, 2017 9:45 AM ET

Each year, Give Back and Get Down focuses its attention on one or two specific causes—last year, we gave back to individuals and families affected by domestic violence, and partnered with Safe Horizon and Sanctuary for Families.

This year’s focus: transforming the lives of underserved youth.

Environment

Kenyan Farmers Reap Economic, Environmental Gains from ABCDs of Agroforestry

Dec 19, 2017 9:40 AM ET

Less than a decade ago, the hills of Tuiyobei village in Kenya’s Rift Valley were nearly bare, with few trees or shrubs beyond the coffee plantations that yielded very little. The rain was sporadic, temperatures were rising, and crop yields and livelihoods were deteriorating. High deforestation triggered by increasing demand for firewood, lumber and charcoal had degraded the ecosystem.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Video: Smithfield Foods: Food Safety and Quality

Dec 19, 2017 9:35 AM ET

Consumers put their trust in Smithfield every time they eat one of our products. That’s why the safety and quality of our foods is fundamental to our success as a company, underscoring our mission to provide “Good food. Responsibly.®”

Energy

UPS Pre-Orders 125 Tesla Electric Trucks

Dec 19, 2017 9:35 AM ET

UPS today announced it has placed a reservation for 125 of Tesla’s new fully-electric Semi tractors. The new tractors will join UPS’s extensive alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle fleet, comprised of trucks and tractors propelled by electricity, natural gas, propane and other non-traditional fuels.

Social Impact & Volunteering

FCA Foundation Announces $500,000 Grant in Support of United Way for Southeastern Michigan’s Innovative Solutions to Ending Childhood Hunger

Dec 19, 2017 9:30 AM ET

The FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of North American automaker FCA US LLC, today announced a $500,000 grant to United Way for Southeastern Michigan. The grant will help United Way implement two primary strategies to ensure that more children have access to and participate in child nutrition programs throughout the school year and during the summer.

Innovation & Technology

What’s Next on a Random Walk Down Facebook Lane

Dec 19, 2017 9:10 AM ET

What is Facebook thinking? We live in a values laden society. To presume that those values can be discounted and ignored and factored out of the algorithmic equation ignores the current reality of our society and world. It is still people who are using the platform and people are imperfect.