ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Sands Bethlehem Creates Gardens for Local Community Center

Jul 27, 2017 2:15 PM ET

In an effort to provide the community with accessible horticulture, Sands Cares and Sands ECO360 recently partnered with Penn State Extension, Lehigh and Northampton County 4-H and the Community Action Development Corporation of Bethlehem to build planting beds for the Lynfield Community Center in Bethlehem, PA.

Education

ABCs and 529s: Finance Lessons Offer Hope for College

Jul 27, 2017 2:00 PM ET

A single father now has a financial plan to help his young son attend college — an accomplishment he was never able to achieve himself — thanks to the Focus on College program from United Way and Wells Fargo.

Environment

#ParksAndRecreationMonth: Cox Enterprises’ COO Alex Taylor Shows How “Actions Speak” in Tulsa

Jul 27, 2017 12:30 PM ET

Environment

New CSRHub Bulk Extract Tool Simplifies CSR/ESG Analysis

Jul 27, 2017 12:00 PM ET

The team at CSRHub has just launched the new Bulk Extract Dashboard tool – a powerful Macro-enabled Excel template for quickly comparing large numbers of companies and CSR data.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Former VISTA with Persistent Passion for Service Helps Feed Denver’s Hungry

Jul 27, 2017 11:15 AM ET

Energy

Don’t Start Your Engines! Duke Energy Project Tackles Truck Idling

Jul 27, 2017 11:00 AM ET

A total of 36 electric power outlets will help trucks at the Merchants Distributors, LLC (MDI) distribution center in Hickory cut costs and lower air emissions as part of a Duke Energy $320,000 electrification project.

Environment

Munson Healthcare Receives $120,000 Donation For Traverse City Michigan Kids Creek Restoration Project

Jul 27, 2017 11:00 AM ET

A generous donation was awarded to help phase two of a Munson Medical Center project. Traverse City officials, the Watershed Center and even U.S. senators were at Munson Medical Center Friday morning as they received a $120,000 check from Consumers Energy Foundation for the Kids Creek Restoration.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Driving Innovation in Coffee Capsule Recycling

Jul 27, 2017 11:00 AM ET

As a company that relies on aluminium to protect the freshness and aromas of its highest quality coffee, Nespresso recognises the need for a responsible approach to the use of aluminium and its obligation to preserve natural resources.

Innovation & Technology

How 3-D Technology is Transforming Patient Health

Jul 27, 2017 10:30 AM ET

Holographic Medical Imaging (HMI) demonstrates how doctors can see more of a patient’s body before surgery, and helps pinpoint problems with much greater accuracy than 2-D images allow. Meet Nirav Desai, a Chief Technologist at Booz Allen Hamilton who is leading the firm’s effort to bring HMI to doctors on the go, via portable devices.

Education

Qualcomm Collaborates with Schools, Libraries and Non-Profits to Provide More Students Free, Hands-on STEM Camps this Summer

Jul 27, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Building on three years of successful hands-on STEM camps, this summer the Qualcomm® Thinkabit Lab™ continues to grow, with a total of 10 one-week-long camps in San Diego, the DC Metro Area and China. These programs are designed to introduce, inspire and encourage middle school students’ interest in STEM.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Lowe’s Helps to Keep America Beautiful with Volunteers and More Than $6 Million in Total Contributions

Jul 27, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, today announced the organization has received a $1 million donation from Lowe’s to support more than 35 local community service projects in 2017. Since the partnership began in 2012, Lowe’s has contributed more than $6 million and over 1,800 Lowe’s Heroes volunteers to help Keep America Beautiful improve communities. The donation this year will also support Keep America’s Beautiful’s annual Great American Cleanup, the nation’s largest community improvement program.

Environment

Bringing Decision Science to Sustainability

Jul 27, 2017 10:15 AM ET

Domtar’s pulp mills are, in essence, biorefineries designed to separate and extract the natural chemical building blocks of wood. Cellulose is used to make paper, but the other biochemicals from wood are also valuable as feedstocks for products ranging from fuels to flavors and fragrances.

Environment

TD Bank Group Named One of Canada's Greenest Employers Nine Years in a Row

Jul 27, 2017 10:15 AM ET

For the ninth year in a row, TD Bank Group was recognized as one of Canada's greenest employers by Canada's Top 100 Employers (Mediacorp Canada Inc). The award evaluates the environmental leadership of organizations based on a variety of factors, including the types of green initiatives that were developed and the degree to which employees get involved in reducing their carbon footprint.

Innovation & Technology

Maximizing Smart Grid Deployments Through Communications and Network Infrastructure

Jul 27, 2017 10:00 AM ET

By building communications networks that can more tightly integrate business drivers and goals with the day-to-day load demand for their customers, utilities are taking the initial steps toward integrating the smart grid with smart cities.

Research, Reports & Publications

Aflac Unveils 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

Jul 27, 2017 9:45 AM ET

At Aflac, we try to live by this very simple rule: Everyone has the power to do good. This week, we unveiled Aflac’s 2016 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, where we share with you how Aflac strives to be a good neighbor with good people leading the way. View the report now at Aflac.com/CSRReport. #AflacCSR

Sustainable Development Goals

Advancing Social Goals Together: The Power of Public & Private Partnerships

Jul 27, 2017 9:35 AM ET

At the launch of the first two HP World on Wheels digital inclusion and learning labs in February, Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director of HP India, stood side-by-side with Dr. Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, Common Service Center, India’s Ministry of Communication & Information Technology. The two men cut a symbolic red ribbon strung across the doorway of a learning lab, marking the official start of a journey that is expected to impact more than 15 million people over the next six years.

Energy

NRG Sustainability Commitments Stronger Than Ever

Jul 27, 2017 9:35 AM ET

Environment

How Corporate Gardens Help Grow Employee Wellness

Jul 27, 2017 9:15 AM ET

While corporate gardens are perhaps an unconventional office perk, the potential benefits are obvious enough—fresh air, exercise, team building and, of course, food (for company employees and their communities).

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Nestlé Waters N.A. Awarded First AWS Certificate in North America by SCS Global Services

Jul 27, 2017 9:00 AM ET

SCS Global Services congratulates Nestlé Waters North America, the first facility in North America to earn Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Certification.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

El lado social de la minería - El legado socioeconómico de Marlin

Jul 27, 2017 9:00 AM ET

La segunda entrega de nuestro tributo de cuatro partes al legado de la mina Marlin, nos enfocamos en los beneficios sociales que esta mina le ha proporcionado a la región de San Marcos en Guatemala.

Research, Reports & Publications

WWF, FFAR, and Walmart Foundation Team Up with Producers to Study Food Rescue Opportunities on Farms

Jul 27, 2017 9:00 AM ET

World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the Walmart Foundation today announced a research program to maximize crop utilization and edible food recovery. With two grants from FFAR and the Walmart Foundation totaling $1.3 million, WWF will work with research teams across the country including University of California, Davis and the Global Cold Chain Alliance to identify practical opportunities for producers to increase the proportion of crops that are harvested and delivered to the highest value destinations.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Helping Reduce Food Waste in Canada

Jul 27, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Tetra Tech’s evaluation of the potential of food waste reduction strategies in Canada was highlighted in Recycling Product News in June 2017. For a National Zero Waste Council-commissioned study, Tetra Tech and Boston Consulting identified that adopting proven actions and technologies could reduce approximately four million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated in Canada annually. Tetra Tech’s team is Leading with Science to examine prevention and sustainable management practices for addressing the vast amount of food waste.

Health & Healthcare

Potential Health Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption

Jul 27, 2017 8:00 AM ET

Social Impact & Volunteering

Republic Services Participates in Corvallis Community’s ‘Couch Patrol’

Jul 26, 2017 5:30 PM ET

The City of Corvallis, Republic Services and other local partners teamed up for what is locally referred to as Couch Patrol. The idea came out of a Rental Property Managers Group meeting at the Corvallis Elks Lodge last May, and has turned into a successful initiative. Local property managers and landlords, the City of Corvallis and Oregon State University are also involved in this effort to reduce the clutter on the streets and other livability issues that stem from the spring move-out (in the spring) or move-in (in the fall) of OSU students.

Environment

Prairifire Flowering Crabapple: Rose of the Tree World

Jul 26, 2017 4:30 PM ET

Not only do Prairifire flowers hold their attractive color rather than fading like some flowering trees, the bloom is also long-lasting. This is because flowers are produced both on branch spurs and from axillary buds at the base of leaves.