ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

NASCAR and the Arbor Day Foundation Announce New Community Tree Recovery Initiative

Apr 20, 2018 12:00 PM ET

As Earth Day approaches this weekend, NASCAR along with select Official Partners and the Arbor Day Foundation today announced a new initiative that will be responsible for planting and distributing trees to communities devastated by natural disasters across the United States.

Energy

5 Ways Schneider Electric Celebrates Earth Day, Every Day

Apr 20, 2018 11:45 AM ET

What does it mean to consistently be recognized as one of the most sustainable and ethical companies in the world? How can we—through our actions—work to not only continuously reduce our impact, but have a net positive impact on the world? How do we communicate this impact to our employees, our customers, our shareholders? And, importantly, how do we help our clients achieve similar—or even greater—results?

Innovation & Technology

My Special Aflac Duck Featured at CES on the Hill 2018

Apr 20, 2018 11:35 AM ET

Aflac presented My Special Aflac Duck to members of Congress, the media and government at CES on the Hill.

Environment

Purina: Committed to a Healthy Future for People and Pets

Apr 20, 2018 11:30 AM ET

Earth Day challenges individuals and organizations in the U.S. and around the world to think about what they can do to protect and improve the planet. Nestlé Purina, a leader in pet care, is investing in innovative ways to reduce its environmental impact, helping to ensure a healthy future for pets and the people who love them – today and in the future. Over the past decade, Purina has significantly reduced its environmental footprint in the U.S., particularly across manufacturing operations, by working to reduce water usage, greenhouse gas emissions and waste in support of Nestlé's 2020 sustainability commitments.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Dig in, Dine Out for HIV Care April 26

Apr 20, 2018 11:25 AM ET

Dining Out For Life® hosted by Subaru® is a restaurant-based event with a truly fulfilling call to action: Dine at one of the 3,000 participating restaurants in more than 60 cities across North America on Thursday, April 26, 2018 and that restaurant will donate a generous portion of the day’s proceeds to fund HIV/AIDS care, prevention, education, testing, counseling and other essential services in their city.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Merck CEO Ken Frazier Named to the TIME Top 100, Fortune Top 50 Lists

Apr 20, 2018 11:25 AM ET

Ken Frazier’s career has advanced the march of progress. His leadership both inside and outside of our company has earned him a spot on both TIME Magazine’s and Fortune Magazine’s Top Lists this week.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The Business of Goodness

Apr 20, 2018 11:15 AM ET

Companies like TELUS, Canada’s fastest-growing national telecommunications company, have found that weaving giving, volunteering and grantmaking into the fabric of their company culture has far-reaching benefits. Gain insights on how to position your CSR program to be even more core to your company's success and how to create even greater community impact.

Environment

Driving the New Climate Economy: How Companies and Communities Can Thrive in a Changing World

Apr 20, 2018 11:00 AM ET

There are clear signals that the climate has changed over the past century. Around the world, people are beginning to feel the effects, from increased average and extreme temperatures, to changes in rainfall patterns, to more severe and less predictable storms. At Mars, we source key agricultural materials from countries and communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Environment

An Open Letter to President Drew Faust, Harvard University

Apr 20, 2018 11:00 AM ET

In a few months, you will retire from Harvard University and be free to direct your colossal talents wherever you want. I’m writing with an idea of how you could contribute to the climate change mitigation effort in a way no-one else can, and in the process, reverse what I think may be the only blemish on your otherwise outstanding record: forsaking the divestment movement.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods Raises More Than $30,000 for Childhood Cancer Research

Apr 20, 2018 10:30 AM ET

Several kind-hearted employees at Smithfield Foods in Rose Hill, N.C. are rocking the bald look after having their heads shaved for a very good cause. Last Friday, April 13th, Smithfield hosted an event to benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds to help find cures for childhood cancer.

The event, “Pork Chops and Crew Cuts,” took place at Smithfield’s Rose Hill, N.C. office. More than 30 Smithfield employees volunteered – organizing and arranging the details, helping with setup, preparing lunch, and…getting their heads shaved. The goal was to raise $25,000 for the Foundation, which they surpassed by raising more than $30,000.

Sustainable Development Goals

HP Eco-Partners: 6 Nonprofits Helping Global Businesses Go Green

Apr 20, 2018 10:15 AM ET

No company is an island, especially when it comes to the cooperative work of making the world a habitable place for the long haul. HP’s been in the game since our founding, making us a leader in transitioning to a low-carbon economy and the first major tech company to set goals for cutting our supply chain’s greenhouse-gas footprint.

Sustainable Development Goals

Sands ECO360: Meet Barbara Gore, Global Sustainability Manager

Apr 20, 2018 10:15 AM ET

Before stepping into her role at Las Vegas Sands as the global sustainability manager, Barbara Gore studied environmental management at Duke University with a focus on business and sustainability. Now, within Sands ECO360, Las Vegas Sands' global sustainability program, she works on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and helps facilitate engagement of global properties on strategic sustainability initiatives and best practices.

Education

Doing Our Part to Fight Plastic Pollution

Apr 20, 2018 10:10 AM ET

In 2008, Dell started using post-consumer recycled plastics sourced from water bottles and milk jugs in our products. In 2013, we took it a step further and started putting plastics from e-waste recovered via Dell’s recycling programs back into new products. But we felt there were more ways we could contribute.

Green Infrastructure

WELL Building Standard Gaining Momentum In Europe

Apr 20, 2018 10:05 AM ET

As Greenbuild Europe came to a close this week in Berlin, the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) used the occasion to highlight how the WELL Building Standard™ (WELL™) has elevated health and well-being to the forefront of sustainability conversations across Europe.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Wells Fargo Commits $200 Billion Toward Sustainable Financing

Apr 20, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Wells Fargo will provide $200 billion in financing through 2030 to businesses and projects that support the transition to a low-carbon economy, CEO Tim Sloan announced Thursday during his keynote address at a CEO Investor Forum in San Francisco. More than 50 percent of the financing will be focused on companies and projects that directly support the transition to a low-carbon economy, including clean technologies, renewable energy, green bonds, and alternative transportation. The remainder of the financing will support companies and projects focused on sustainable agriculture, recycling, conservation, and other environmentally beneficial activities.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

GRI & RMI to Improve Minerals Sourcing Due Diligence & Reporting

Apr 20, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Global Reporting Initiative and the Responsible Minerals Initiative have kicked off their Corporate Leadership Group on conflict minerals at the OECD 2018 Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. The first meeting brought together a highly accomplished expert group, which aims to provide the reporting community with consolidated reporting guidance based on existing internationally-recognized tools and frameworks.

Health & Healthcare

Lunula Health Awarded Cisco Global Problem Solver Prize at 2018 Rice Business Plan Competition

Apr 20, 2018 9:50 AM ET

Environment

El Capital Financiero: Lanzan concurso que busca promover microemprendimientos en Centroamérica

Apr 20, 2018 9:45 AM ET

El Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos lanzó el concurso ‘El poder de crecer’ impulsado por la llamada Red de Innovación e Impacto, con el fin de apoyar diversos microemprendimientos en Centroamérica. El Departamento de Estado de los Estados Unidos, el World Environment Center (WEC), Le Groupe-conseil baastel Itée (Baastel), y RioSlum Studio anunciaron el lanzamiento del concurso cuyo plazo vence el próximo 27 de abril.

Environment

El Capital Financiero: Challenge Launched to Promote Entrepreneurship in Central America

Apr 20, 2018 9:45 AM ET

The US State Department launched the ‘Power to Grow’ challenge, promoted by La Red de Innovación e Impacto, with the goal to support different micro enterprises in Central America. The US State Department, the World Environment Center (WEC), Le Groupe-conseil baastel Itée (Baastel) and RioSlum Studio announced the launching of the challenge and its application deadline, seto for April 27th.

Environment

eBay and Natural Resources Defense Council Collaborate for Earth Month

Apr 20, 2018 9:25 AM ET

In celebration of Earth Month this April, eBay for Charity has partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit organization that is working to safeguard the earth, on a campaign with an incredible selection of inventory and experiences that will benefit our planet!

Education

VIDEO | Cambridge Community Garden Connects Post-Millennial Children to the Earth

Apr 20, 2018 9:15 AM ET

Over the past eight years, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has helped create 1,000 community gardens across America. We’ve seen firsthand how gardens transform communities, but even more so, people’s lives. Here’s the story of one of those gardens, the Cambridge Community Garden in Cambridge, New York.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

How Barclays Is Increasing Access to Financial Services to Boost Societal Progress

Apr 20, 2018 9:05 AM ET

In 2017 over 4.8m people took action to protect themselves from online fraud as a result of our Digital Safety campaign.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Xylem Guelph Walks for Water

Apr 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Xylem’s site in Guelph, Ontario conducted a Walk for Water on April 10th as part of Xylem Watermark’s Make Your Mark 30 Day Challenge. Volunteers carried 4-liter jugs of water while walking a 5 km route to bring attention to the issues of water scarcity in many countries and to try to understand what millions of people around the world must do to obtain clean water for their families and homes. The walk ended at the Guelph Food Bank, where the volunteers donated their jugs of water.

Environment

Transforming an Oilfield Waste Land Into a Boreal Forest

Apr 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Consulting Engineers of Alberta (CEA) presented Tetra Tech (EBA) with an Environmental Award of Merit at the CEA Showcase Awards Gala, an event attended by more than 500 industry leaders in February 2017. The Showcase Awards recognize excellence in consulting engineering in Alberta and throughout the world. Tetra Tech received the Environmental Award of Merit for its work with Newalta Corporation to design a closure approach for a former oilfield waste land treatment facility south of Drayton Valley, Alberta.

Research, Reports & Publications

Accenture Publishes 2017 Corporate Citizenship Report

Apr 20, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) released its 2017 Corporate Citizenship Report, which details the company’s goals and progress toward helping improve the way the world works and lives.