ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Video: GRI – Driving Global Change Since 1997

Sep 26, 2017 10:00 AM ET

GRI is celebrating its first 20 years of helping companies and other organizations take action to create a more sustainable and inclusive global economy. Watch this video to learn more about the impact GRI has had over the past two decades.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Whirlpool Learns to 'Pack Away Hunger'

Sep 26, 2017 9:55 AM ET

Whirlpool Corporation employees used a unique assembly line model to help non-profit organization Pack Away Hunger efficiently assemble thousands of servings of food for families in need.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

2017 Nickterns Spruce Up California Boys & Girls Club

Sep 26, 2017 9:45 AM ET

The summer 2017 Nicktern class united to create a mural at the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank and Greater East Valley. The mural, which is one of their largest to date, covers more than 300 square feet and employs a number of Boys & Girls Club themes.

Sustainable Development Goals

Watch This Woman Turn Design Ideas Into Beautiful Wooden Sculptures and a Successful Business

Sep 26, 2017 9:40 AM ET

In 2015, Zina Ouled Si Ali launched her small business, Arjouan, a computer numerical control (CNC) engraving and cutting workshop that offers customized decoration articles and tailor-made furniture to its customers.

Research, Reports & Publications

The Reporting Exchange Launches Today: The Global Resource for Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Sep 26, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Today, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched the Reporting Exchange - the single most up to date and comprehensive source of information on sustainability reporting requirements and resources currently available.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

A Day of Giving with United Way of New York City

Sep 26, 2017 9:05 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

American Express Aligns Its CSR Efforts Toward Its North Star, Service

Sep 26, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Today, American Express published its latest corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, titled “The Service Effect.” The report describes how service has shaped the company’s efforts to honor and strengthen its commitments to all stakeholders – specifically its people, customers, partners, communities and the environment – in 2016 and 2017.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Nominates Albertsons Companies as Finalist for 2017 Corporate Citizenship Awards

Sep 26, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Albertsons Companies has a long history of helping cities recover from disasters, such as the recent hurricanes that hit Texas and Florida. In recognition of this commitment, Albertsons Companies was nominated as a finalist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Corporate Citizenship Awards for its disaster relief and outreach efforts during Louisiana's devastating floods last year. The Corporate Citizenship winners will be announced in November 2017.

Diversity & Inclusion

Inclusion Remains a Top Priority for Today’s Evolving Workforce, Says New Deloitte – Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative Report

Sep 26, 2017 9:00 AM ET

As today’s workforce continues to evolve, professionals across generations cite inclusion as a key factor in determining whether they join, stay, or leave an organization.

Environment

New TD Bank Group Report Uncovers Canadians’ Perceptions About Community Green Spaces

Sep 26, 2017 8:30 AM ET

According to the new TD GreenSights Report, the majority of Canadians ( 95 per cent) believe that access to community green space will be important to their quality of life in the future. However, there is room for improvement: three-quarters (77 per cent) say the green space closest to their home could be better.

Social Impact & Volunteering

'The Stronger the Language, the Stronger the Culture': Working With the Osage Nation to Preserve Their Heritage

Sep 26, 2017 7:00 AM ET

In 2008, the Osage Nation became the first U.S. Tribal group to partner with TransCanada as we began consultation on the Keystone Pipeline System, which has now safely transported energy for over six years. Since then, we have continued to collaborate with the Osage on initiatives such as the cultural preservation programs.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

SC Johnson Leads by Example with Asia Pacific’s First Major Ingredient Transparency Initiative

Sep 25, 2017 7:00 PM ET

Today, SC Johnson expands its industry-leading global ingredient transparency program across Asia Pacific. Breaking down a barrier between companies and consumers, this expansion gives another 4 billion people unparalleled access to a comprehensive list of product ingredients for such iconic brands as Baygon®, Glade®, Mr Muscle® and Raid®.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

The US Government-in-Exile Has a New President

Sep 25, 2017 5:35 PM ET

The annual Manhattan conference hosted for a decade by the Clinton Global Initiative became a kind of shorthand for what some hated about the Clintons: a mix of worthy and venal motives, a slosh of money and shady rich people around their world, and flashy and enduring relationships with autocrats in the Gulf.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

First Lady of North Carolina Kristin Cooper Joins United Health Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation to Award 22 Garden Grants to North Carolina Schools and YMCAs

Sep 25, 2017 5:00 PM ET

First lady of North Carolina Kristin Cooper joined United Health Foundation and Whole Kids Foundation today to award 22 grants totaling $44,000 to schools and YMCAs statewide.

Environment

Newmont Engages Stakeholders for Improved Watershed Management

Sep 25, 2017 4:35 PM ET

As part of the Newmont water management strategy, regions are completing evaluations of their watershed to develop methodology that are in line with the ICMM guidelines on Catchment based water management for the mining and metals industry. These guidelines were developed to help with examining activities and issues within the entire watershed, taking into account hydrology and land use as well as the broader political, economic, social and ecological dynamics.

Environment

Boeing Reduces Solid Waste Sent to Landfills

Sep 25, 2017 4:25 PM ET

Today’s major manufacturers can be measured by their commitment to optimal management and reduction of solid waste produced by their operations. Boeing is no exception.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Know Your Value Guides Employees Toward Success

Sep 25, 2017 4:05 PM ET

Mika Brzezinski has three simple words for anyone who has ever struggled to move forward personally or professionally: Know your value.

“If you don’t know your value and you can’t communicate it effectively, you’re leaving money on the table — not just at work but in any relationship,” says Mika, co-host of Morning Joe on MSNBC and the author of two best-selling books focused on giving women the tools to advocate for themselves and their financial futures.

Last year, Comcast NBCUniversal’s Global Benefits and Diversity & Inclusion teams built on Mika’s message of empowerment by creating the Know Your Value professional development program, a set of unique resources designed to help all our people achieve their own vision of success.

Environment

Kohler Releases 2016 Sustainability and Stewardship Report

Sep 25, 2017 3:15 PM ET

Kohler Co., the leading manufacturer of kitchen and bath plumbing products in the U.S., has released its first public sustainability and stewardship report.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Re-Quilibrium Podcast: The Next Phase of CSR Requires Better Volunteering

Sep 25, 2017 3:15 PM ET

The nonprofit sector is charged with saving the world, yet it pursues this mission facing constant limits to resources and capacity. While corporate companies often spend 20-35% of their budget on infrastructure--talent and leadership development, technology, innovation--nonprofits have an average of 2-5% to spend on those infrastructure-building functions. Yet the resource disparity between these two paths can be closed through an innovative approach to CSR: skills-based volunteering. Our CEO Danielle Holly explains on this episode of Re-Quilibrium.

Energy

AIDAnova: The Future Is Taking up Speed

Sep 25, 2017 3:00 PM ET

Today, Monday, September 25, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., the first of two AIDAnova modules left the Neptun shipyard in Rostock, which belongs to the Meyer Group, with Papenburg as its destination. The first of two flotation elements is carrying the four dual-fuel engines by Caterpillar and hence the heart of AIDAnova. AIDAnova is the first cruise ship in the world, which, starting in the fall of 2018, will be able to operate both in ports and at sea with the currently most environmentally friendly and lowest-emission fossil fuel thanks to the operation of dual-fuel engines.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Vote Your Main Street

Sep 25, 2017 2:30 PM ET

Partners in Preservation: Main Streets, will award $2 million in grants to Main Street districts in need of preservation support across America, as decided by public vote. Timothy J. McClimon, President of the American Express Foundation explores why main streets continue to matter to cities across the country.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

CSX Promotes Safety Near Railroad Tracks Through ‘Rail Safety Week’

Sep 25, 2017 2:25 PM ET

Safety is CSX’s highest priority, and this week the railroad is partnering with the non-profit Operation Lifesaver, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), other freight railroads, Amtrak, commuter rail-service providers, customers and law enforcement agencies across its 23-state network to raise awareness about how to be safe around railroad tracks.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Congratulations to the 2017 Best Community Improvement Finalists!

Sep 25, 2017 2:00 PM ET

The Best Community Improvement Program Corporate Citizenship Award recognizes strategic work to improve local communities. Read on to learn more about the significant, positive impacts these businesses have had in communities, locally and globally.

Responsible Production & Consumption

The Power of Your Cup on National Coffee Day

Sep 25, 2017 2:00 PM ET

For National Coffee Day on September 29th, choose Just One Cup of Fair Trade Certified coffee to support farmers and farmworkers around the world, most of whom are currently facing extreme challenges that are affecting their livelihoods and threatening their very existence.

Diversity & Inclusion

From Pledge to Action: Diversity & Inclusion in Our Workplace

Sep 25, 2017 1:55 PM ET

From a diversity and inclusion perspective, September is particularly important as Merck and MSD celebrates our second annual Global Diversity & Inclusion Experience month. Throughout September, we create a focal point for our 69,000 colleagues spanning more than 140 countries who represent different cultures, backgrounds and experiences.