ESG News from Leading Brands

Sustainable Development Goals

8 Key Sustainability Trends to Watch Out for This Year

Apr 24, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

CBRE | Who Are We?

Apr 24, 2018 10:05 AM ET

How does CBRE build advantage? It starts with our people, our culture, communities and their ideas.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

PepsiCo Foundation and GENYOUth Partner to Conquer Hunger Among Students by Expanding "Grab-n-Go" School Breakfast Programs

Apr 24, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Today, the PepsiCo Foundation (NASDAQ: PEP) and GENYOUth are increasing access to the national school breakfast program to help conquer hunger in underserved communities. The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the global food and beverage company, will provide "grab-n-go" breakfast carts to be used in 25 schools in 18 states as part of Ready, Step, Move…Give!, an employee step-challenge created in partnership with Healthy Living, PepsiCo's employee well-being program. These carts will provide approximately 2.25 million nutritious school breakfasts to students nationwide over the course of the school year.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Announcing the 2018 Sands Cares Heroes of the Year

Apr 24, 2018 9:50 AM ET

In honor of the 2nd annual Sheldon G. and Dr. Miriam Adelson Citizenship Award, presented by Sands Cares, we are spotlighting our 12 Sands Cares Heroes, finalists for the Adelson Citizenship Award. The winner will be announced Wednesday, April 25.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Gender Equality: With or Without the Federal Government

Apr 24, 2018 9:15 AM ET

A corporation's reputation is a powerful and valuable thing, and a corporation that depends on women at any level — as employees, stockholders, customers, investors — is understandably wary about alienating half of any of those stakeholder groups.

Research, Reports & Publications

Heathrow 2.0: Building a Strategy for Sustainability Leadership

Apr 24, 2018 9:00 AM ET

One year ago, Heathrow launched its plan for sustainable growth. Representing a step-change in approach, Heathrow 2.0 demonstrates leadership, both within the aviation sector and beyond, and goes further than merely reducing negative impacts to delivering real, positive change.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Procter & Gamble Family Care Honored With Arbor Day Foundation’s Friend of the Forest

Apr 24, 2018 9:00 AM ET

The Arbor Day Foundation has announced today that Procter & Gamble Family care has been awarded the Friend of the Forest Award which recognizes a corporation and its leaders for their commitment to using trees and forests to achieve corporate sustainability goals and targets. The award will be presented on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at a Town Hall meeting at Procter & Gamble headquarters in Cincinnati.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Gildan Participates in the #whomademyclothes Campaign

Apr 24, 2018 9:00 AM ET

For the second year, Gildan is participating in the #whomademyclothes campaign from Fashion Revolution, a global movement working to unite people and organisations to change the way our clothes are sourced, produced and consumed. The organisation is committed to enhancing sustainability and social impacts of the industry and elevating transparency in the entire fashion supply chain.

Research, Reports & Publications

SC Johnson Sets a New Standard in Transparency

Apr 24, 2018 5:00 AM ET

SC Johnson has released its 26th annual Sustainability Report, The Science Inside, which shares publicly the criteria inside the company’s Greenlist™ ingredient selection program. The Greenlist™ program helps the company continually improve its products by choosing ingredients to better protect human health and the environment.

Education

Five Elementary School Students Compete in 2018 Sodexo Future Chefs Final Challenge

Apr 23, 2018 11:45 PM ET

Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company committed to improving Quality of Life and student nutrition to nearly 400 school districts throughout the U.S., today announces the five student semi-finalists in the 2018 Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Michael R. Bloomberg Provides Funding for UN Climate Change Secretariat to Ensure U.S. Will Honor Paris Commitment

Apr 23, 2018 6:05 PM ET

Today, Michael R. Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action, announced a contribution to support the operations of the UN Climate Change Secretariat, including its work to help countries implement their commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement. The contribution realizes Bloomberg’s promise from June 2017 to fill a significant funding gap that comes as a result of President Donald Trump’s intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and proposed steep budget cuts for international programs, including those on climate.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

La Cocina VA Is Driving a Remarkable New Model to Support Communities

Apr 23, 2018 5:40 PM ET

It’s hard to imagine a more ideal community partner for Nestlé than La Cocina VA, an Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit that provides culinary arts training to people who are unemployed. By providing skills training and job placement services, La Cocina VA is creating living wage opportunities for the unemployed in our community. And the meals students make as part of the training are donated to families in need — more than 21,000 people already have benefited.

Environment

infocafés: US Supports Cocoa Farmers From El Salvador Through Technical Assistance

Apr 23, 2018 5:30 PM ET

The US Department of State launched a call for proposals to allow micro enterprises or small cooperatives dedicated to cocoa farming to apply to the Power to Grow Challenge, which will provide the awardees with up to $43,000 to promote their business solution. The initiative is promoted by State Department’s La Red de Innovación e Impacto and with the collaboration of World Environment Center (WEC), Le Groupe-Conseil Baastel Itée (Baastel), and RioSlum Studio.

Environment

infocafés: EE.UU. apoyará con asesoría a productores de cacao en El Salvador

Apr 23, 2018 5:30 PM ET

El Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos abrió la convocatoria para que microempresas o pequeñas cooperativas dedicadas al cultivo de cacao puedan inscribirse en el concurso El Poder de Crecer, el cual premiará a los ganadores con acceso a asesoría por un capital de hasta $43,000 para promover una solución de negocios.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Scotiabank Donates $1 Million to the CHU Sainte-Justine Ahead of Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal Race Weekend

Apr 23, 2018 5:00 PM ET

As thousands of runners prepared to take part at the 16th annual Banque Scotia 21k de Montréal, one of Quebec's most important road races and fundraising runs, Scotiabank announced its $1 million donation to Montreal's Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre.

Education

TransCanada Community Scholarships: Creating Value for Community and Business

Apr 23, 2018 4:30 PM ET

In 2017, TransCanada launched a scholarship program for students living near the company's geographical footprint. The initiative is TransCanada's first, internally-administered scholarship program, and was created with the specific intention to reduce barriers to education for communities while also creating value for the business.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Behind the Wheel: Making An Impact In The Community

Apr 23, 2018 3:40 PM ET

Sometimes it’s the small projects that make the biggest impact. In this episode, employees from the Racine plant, Wisconsin, U.S.A. volunteer to work on an initiative dedicated to food poverty awareness: the harvest of fresh produce from the Hunger Task Force Farm in the town of Franklin, Wisconsin which is then delivered to food pantries and homeless shelters.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Forever, No Matter What

Apr 23, 2018 3:05 PM ET

This month's guest blog is about stepping out of your comfort zone in order to be the forever family a young teen deserves. “At that moment, I knew I would be the one human who would be there for her – no matter what. I knew I wanted to hear her call me “mom.” I wanted to help her pick out her prom dress, to teach her to drive, to watch her walk across the graduation stage. Someday, I may be the mother of a bride and the grandmother to her children. No matter what, I will always be her mom.”

Environment

HFAB Spotlight: Medxcel (Ascension Health)

Apr 23, 2018 3:05 PM ET

Learn about Medxcel’s (Ascension Health) sustainability and recycling efforts in a profile of its Environmental Stewardship Manager, Lois Sechrist.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Wells Fargo, NextEra Energy Join to Boost Clean Energy in California, Indiana, Nebraska

Apr 23, 2018 2:30 PM ET

Following Wells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) $200-billion low-carbon commitment announced last week, its Renewable Energy and Environmental Finance unit today announced the completion of $70 million in tax-equity funding for the Pacific Plains wind projects, including facilities in Indiana, Nebraska, and California.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How PayPal is Doing Well by Doing Good

Apr 23, 2018 2:20 PM ET

In a time when technology has transformed people’s lives in so many ways, financial services is one area where the full potential of the Internet era has yet to be realized. We’ve been hearing for decades about how the decline of cash and the rise of the digital economy will revolutionize financial services and usher in more convenient, accessible and affordable transactions. But so far, the traditional financial order remains firmly in place. While change is underway, the way most people move and manage their money hasn’t changed much since credit cards appeared on the scene 50 years ago. And there’s still plenty of friction in the system.

Environment

The Disney Conservation Fund Awards 2018 Conservation Grants

Apr 23, 2018 1:45 PM ET

The Disney Conservation Fund (DCF) is providing grants totaling more than $8 million to support the work of 80 nonprofit organizations this year, The Walt Disney Company announced today. The grants are part of Disney’s “Reverse the Decline” initiative, which pairs the company’s philanthropic dollars with professional expertise from Disney’s Animals, Science, and Environment team and other employees to maximize the impact of conservation efforts to protect wildlife and wild places. Including these new grants, DCF has awarded more than $70 million to date to support conservation efforts around the world.

Environment

Goldenvoice’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival Phases Out Single-use Plastic Straws in Favor of Biodegradable Paper Straws

Apr 23, 2018 1:40 PM ET

Goldenvoice’s Coachella Music and Arts Festival has phased out single-use plastic straws, making it the first festival in the world to align with Lonely Whale’s ‘For A Strawless Ocean,’ an open-source guide to reduce plastic pollution. According to Lonely Whale, across the United States, nearly 500 million plastic straws are used and tossed each day, amounting to approximately 12 million pounds of plastic waste year.

Environment

Preserving Critical Resources

Apr 23, 2018 1:30 PM ET

This Earth Day, we asked Coulter Wood, a senior staff engineer at Hormel Foods who is responsible for the company’s energy management, to share some of his favorite tips — things people can do in their own lives to help preserve the Earth’s resources. Check out his thoughts and learn more about Coulter and his role at the company below!

Green Infrastructure

“Green” Building Certifications on the Rise in Major International Markets

Apr 23, 2018 1:15 PM ET

Major metropolitan office markets across the globe are seeing a significant increase in the adoption of “green” building certification programs, according to the inaugural International Green Building Adoption Index (IGBAI) – a study by CBRE and Maastricht University (Netherlands). The study reports that 18.6 percent of space in 10 markets across Australia, Canada and Europe is now certified “green” versus just 6.4 percent in 2007.