ESG News from Leading Brands

Green Infrastructure

Mohawk’s Glasgow Showroom Awarded Prestigious LEED® Gold Certification

Mar 30, 2018 9:05 AM ET

Mohawk Industries announced today that it has been awarded LEED® Gold certification for its renovated showroom at the Glasgow, Va. commercial carpet tile manufacturing facility. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building, community and home project types, the rating system provides a framework to create healthy, highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings.

Sustainable Development Goals

Expert Interview with Mark Oven, Energy Sector Development Expert

Mar 30, 2018 9:00 AM ET

Mark Oven’s life’s work has been dedicated to improving energy in developing countries. He has been at the forefront of energy project implementation since 1986. Mr. Oven has provided oversight and quality control on more than 20 major projects for various government agencies and development organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, International Development Bank, and Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

VMware Named an Employer of Choice by the Australian Government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA)

Mar 29, 2018 7:00 PM ET

VMware Australia has been awarded the Australian Government's Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice citation for the fourth year in a row!

Responsible Production & Consumption

Guest Post: Timberland Shares Collaborative Approach at Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Summit

Mar 29, 2018 5:00 PM ET

I recently had the pleasure to attend Ethical Corporation’s 6th Annual Responsible Business Summit in New York City. The event, touted as the premier brand-focused forum on responsible business in the U.S., brought in 90+ speakers over two days with rich dialogue focused on driving transformational change for society and industry.

Education

Trane Joins the Department of Energy’s Race to Zero Student Design Competition

Mar 29, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, will join other industry experts as a sponsor of the fifth annual U.S. Department of Energy Race to Zero Student Design Competition (Race to Zero).

Diversity & Inclusion

Whirlpool Corporation CEO Commits to the Catalyst® CEO Champions For Change Pledge

Mar 29, 2018 4:30 PM ET

Whirlpool Corporation CEO Marc Bitzer has announced plans to become the newest member of the Catalyst® CEO Champions For Change. This public confirmation to increasing Whirlpool Corporation's female representation in executive and senior-level positions helps to ensure accelerated inclusion of women, including women of color, in senior roles during the next five years.

Energy

Tried-And-True Methods for the C-Suite to Cut Energy Costs

Mar 29, 2018 4:20 PM ET

For many executives, the myriad of ways in which to enact energy savings are too varied and not succinct enough to be actionable. Here, we present four different tried-and-true methods for saving on energy expenditures.

Media & Communications

MGM Resorts International Commemorates 50th Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination With Donation to National Civil Rights Museum

Mar 29, 2018 4:00 PM ET

MGM Resorts International, (NYSE: MGM) parent company of Gold Strike Casino Resort, donated $150,000 to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The funds will support the Museum’s programming surrounding the 50th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, which took place at the Lorraine Motel, now the location of the National Civil Rights Museum, as well as enhancements of the museum’s physical plant.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

AEG Teams up With Young Storytellers to Host the “Big Show” at L.A. LIVE’s GRAMMY Museum

Mar 29, 2018 4:00 PM ET

AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company in the world, and Young Storytellers, a nonprofit organization that develops creative learning behaviors through the art of storytelling, recently teamed up to mentor a group of students from Hollenbeck Middle School in Boyle Heights, Calif. through Young Storytellers Script-to-Stage program.

Research, Reports & Publications

French Translation of the GRI Standards Now Available

Mar 29, 2018 3:00 PM ET

Companies whose main working language is French can now access the GRI Standards in French. The translation appears after a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Innovation & Technology

Fostering a Secure Tomorrow (FAST) Launches with Congressional Briefing

Mar 29, 2018 2:45 PM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

HanesBrands Earns 11th United Way Campaign Excellence Honor, Raising $1.97 Million to be Donated In 2018

Mar 29, 2018 2:25 PM ET

HanesBrands announced today that the company and its employees have pledged $1.97 million this year to the United Way of Forsyth County and surrounding communities, earning the United Way’s 11th campaign excellence award.

Energy

Duke Energy Using North Carolina-based Renewable Natural Gas in First-of-its-kind Project

Mar 29, 2018 1:00 PM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 29, 2018 /3BL Media/ -- A Duke Energy power plant is using renewable natural gas from North Carolina-based hog farms to produce electricity – the first application of the technology from in-state farms.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Smithfield Foods and Food Lion Partner to Donate Easter Meals to Families in Need

Mar 29, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Smithfield Foods, Inc., and Food Lion have partnered for the second annual Easter Eats donation, a Food Lion Feeds initiative to provide Easter meals to families facing hunger. Together, Smithfield and Food Lion delivered a total of 300 Easter meal bags each containing a Smithfield ham and an assortment of sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, cornbread stuffing, carrots, brown gravy mix, and more.

Part of Smithfield’s and Food Lion’s shared mission to alleviate hunger and address food insecurity across the country, the Easter Eats donation served families in need at two donation events: one in southeastern Virginia and the second in central West Virginia.

Environment

Domtar's Sustainability Monthly Minute: March 2018

Mar 29, 2018 1:00 PM ET

Domtar’s Sustainability Monthly Minute is a monthly newsletter offering bite-sized updates on Domtar’s latest sustainability efforts and provides practical eco-tips recipients can use in their daily lives.

Research, Reports & Publications

A Year of Achievements for the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Mar 29, 2018 12:00 PM ET

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is excited to share our successes from our 25th anniversary year. Check out our annual report to learn more about the families created through the Wendy's Wonderful Kids program, the adoption recruiters who are so dedicated to our mission and the donors who make their work possible.

Environment

Progressive Race in the Keystone State

Mar 29, 2018 11:55 AM ET

What would US energy policy look like if we had more committed progressives in Congress? Our guest today on Sea Change Radio, Ray Linsenmayer, hopes he can help us find out.

Environment

Why Materiality Matters More Than Ever in Sustainability Reporting

Mar 29, 2018 11:20 AM ET

Antea Group’s delves into why materiality matters so much. Read this and more-- such as steps on how to conduct your own materiality assessment.

Research, Reports & Publications

Partnering for Change

Mar 29, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Mondi, the international packaging and paper Group, today released its 2017 reporting suite including its full online Sustainable development report, its printed sustainability publication Partnering for change, and its Integrated report and financial statements 2017.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Four Trends Indicating a Pivot to Shared Value

Mar 29, 2018 11:00 AM ET

When Michael Porter and Mark Kramer published Creating Shared Value in 2011 in the Harvard Business Review, the concept struck an immediate and resonant chord with business leaders globally. Why? Recall that particular moment in time – trust in the private sector was at an all-time low on the heels of the 2008 global financial meltdown and an ever-expanding list of social and environmental issues seemed beyond the reach of governments driven by partisan divides. Ten years later, the narrative sounds familiar with issues like growing inequality, climate change, and access to medicine for underserved populations proving to be challenges that are too big for any one entity to solve alone.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Purdue Pharma L.P. Names Lisa C. Miller, Pharm.D, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility

Mar 29, 2018 11:00 AM ET

Sustainable Development Goals

Circular Economy: Good for the Planet, Good for Power Distribution

Mar 29, 2018 10:15 AM ET

The world is running out of critical resources. By 2050, demand for important resources like biomass and fossil energy is expected to surpass production by 40 billion tons, leaving companies and consumers at risk from the shortfall. Shifting from the traditional “take, make, consume, and throw away” economic model to a zero-waste, circular economy that focuses on making smarter decisions about resource use, using them to their maximum capacity, and reducing waste combats this global crisis.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Habitat Volunteer Builds Home, Finds Unexpected Friendship

Mar 29, 2018 10:00 AM ET

If it wasn’t for Paul Manyok and his family, Sammie Griffin might not be as heavily involved with Habitat for Humanity as she is today. But, like many of Wells Fargo’s volunteer team members, she found there are certain families whose stories have stayed with her and who inspire her to continue helping others.

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Announces Full Conference Program for SB’18 Vancouver

Mar 29, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Sustainable Brands® recently announced full program details for SB’18 Vancouver, running June 4-7 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference will convene more than 3,000 senior executives, top brand strategists and leading sustainability practitioners to discover how brands can update their products and services to prepare for a changing economy.

Events, Media & Communications

Reporting 3.0 Announces First Round of Stellar Speakers for 5th International Conference: Context for Thriveable Transformation

Mar 29, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Reporting 3.0, a global public good platform leveraging economic system transformation via the fulcrum of disclosure, announces an exciting speaker line-up and program for the 5th International Reporting 3.0 Conference hosted at KPMG in Amsterdam on 12-13 June 2018.