ESG News from Leading Brands

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Nestlé’s Parent Support Spotlight on Leanna: Getting an Opportunity to Balance

Aug 9, 2017 9:45 AM ET

I had my first child, Izzy, on January 6 — one of the first babies born after Nestlé launched our new Parent Support Policy. When I was first pregnant, I didn’t know that the policy was coming yet — when I found out, I was so excited.

Education

PNC Grow Up Great® Helped Teachers at 176 Preschool Centers

Aug 9, 2017 9:35 AM ET

In April, DonorsChoose.org opened to Head Start programs across the country, which provide quality education to children from low-income households. By teaming up with PNC Grow Up Great®, you’ve already helped Head Start teachers in 176 preschool centers so far. The impact across other eligible pre-K classrooms is even larger.

Health & Healthcare

The Face-off Between Cloth and Disposable Wipers

Aug 9, 2017 9:30 AM ET

When the trend-spotting Huffington Post starts to write about shop towels versus industrial wipers, you know something bigger than typical shop talk is going on. One of their articles featured a study1 from Gradient, the environmental research company, exposing just how toxic even freshly cleaned cloth rental shop towels can be. And while the author raised an important workplace safety issue (with just enough sensationalism to attract the eye of trendy “HuffPo” readers), she, and even the study she cites, didn’t give the whole picture. If you take a closer look, you can see just how much the choice between textile towels and disposal wipers truly impacts the businesses, and workers, who use them.

Environment

Saucer Magnolia: A Springtime Spectacular

Aug 9, 2017 9:30 AM ET

Research, Reports & Publications

CBRE Releases Tenth Annual Corporate Responsibility Report

Aug 9, 2017 9:15 AM ET

CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm, has released its tenth annual Corporate Responsibility Report. The 2016 report – themed “Building Connections” – highlights CBRE’s many accomplishments as a leader in responsible business practices within the commercial real estate industry.

Innovation & Technology

Schneider Electric | Active Energy Management E-Book

Aug 9, 2017 9:10 AM ET

Energy and sustainability initiatives are often managed independently due to departmental divisions. These barriers are often fueled by inconsistent data and a lack of visibility and yield missed opportunities. In leading companies, these departments are becoming tightly integrated, working together in support of the company’s core goals and initiatives. We call this Active Energy Management.

Environment

Expert Interview with Tetra Tech's John Sachs, Director of Project Finance

Aug 9, 2017 9:00 AM ET

John Sachs has more than twenty years of experience in executing private equity and debt placements, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, project finance, and PPP transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

LA Galaxy Foundation and Herbalife Nutrition Donate $25,000 to A Place Called Home and Surprise College-Bound Students with Laptops

Aug 9, 2017 9:00 AM ET

AEG’s LA Galaxy Foundation has partnered with Herbalife Nutrition to make a $25,000 donation to purchase laptops in support of A Place Called Home’s (APCH) Shaheen Scholarship Program, which provides free laptops and awards more than $300,000 annually in scholarships and other support to up to 30 freshmen college students from South Central Los Angeles.

Education

STEMpact Invests in Developing STEM-Capable Teachers

Aug 9, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Each summer, St. Louis area companies, in collaboration with Washington University, invite approximately 200 teachers to the campus of Washington University in St.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How to Roll Out a Powerful Global Employee Engagement Program

Aug 9, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Equinix is a US-based company that connects the world’s leading businesses to their customers, employees and partners inside the world’s most connected data centers in 44 markets across five continents. They launched an international giving and volunteering program with Benevity in 2016, and the results have been impressive. Their 2016 one-month annual Impact Month campaign saw donations jump by 50%, while participation grew by 62%, and volunteer hours increased by 72% year-over-year versus 2015 (before they rolled out their international program).

We spoke with Equinix's Director of Corporate Citizenship, Sujata Narayan, about the business and social drivers behind their program, how they made it work, its impact and the value of local champions to an international Goodness program.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Subaru Supports Non-Profit Farm

Aug 9, 2017 9:00 AM ET

Volunteers from Subaru of America Inc., the University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners and Lambs Farm spent the day recently building garden beds, transporting soil, planting and topping the gardens with straw to create Lambs Farm's first sustainable garden.

Research, Reports & Publications

Business Momentum a Boost for Cargill’s Positive Impact with Customers and Communities

Aug 9, 2017 8:45 AM ET

Building on strong earnings in fiscal 2017, Cargill is working to continue growing its business and corporate responsibility impact. The company’s 2017 annual report, launched today, outlines its business growth and community impact.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Amgen Staff Volunteer at an Animal Shelter

Aug 9, 2017 8:40 AM ET

Amgen recognizes the importance of giving back to our local communities. Each year, thousands of Amgen staff generously devote their personal time, energy, talents and funds to a variety of charitable organizations across the globe.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Backing Britain with ‘Crucial Boost’ to Agriculture

Aug 9, 2017 8:40 AM ET

In the year since the UK’s referendum on EU membership, Barclays has prioritised helping UK customers and clients through this period of uncertainty, but also one of potential opportunity.

Energy

NRG Energy | Sustainable Business Solutions

Aug 9, 2017 8:15 AM ET

Our team makes sustainability a reality for organizations by developing customized energy solutions based on their needs. These solutions include demand response, renewables, thermal, commodity sales, energy efficiency and energy management services. Responding to the business goals of ROI- driven companies, our projects span multiple industries and range from 100 MW utility-scale renewable solutions to o -grid power solutions that employ small wind turbines and battery storage.

Sustainable Development Goals

Becoming Water-Smart: Newly Released Report Delves into Scalable Water and Agriculture Solutions in India

Aug 9, 2017 7:50 AM ET

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) newest report, Co-optimizing solutions in water and agriculture: Lessons from India on water security, identifies key enablers for scaling up solutions to water-scarcity in India. The information is designed to be useful for companies worldwide.

Responsible Production & Consumption

SCS Global Services Recognized by Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative as Approved Audit Firm for Conflict-Free Smelter Program

Aug 9, 2017 7:00 AM ET

Leading third-party certifier SCS Global Services (SCS) announced today that it has been formally approved as a Conflict-Free Smelter Program (CFSP) audit firm by the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI).

Social Impact & Volunteering

Keeping the Community Clean in Suriname

Aug 8, 2017 8:35 PM ET

Recently, Newmont employees and members of the local Pamaka government worked together to clean up debris and litter along the shore of the Marowijne River in Langa Tabiki village.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Comcast NBCUniversal Interns Make Change Happen at Food Share Program

Aug 8, 2017 5:50 PM ET

Comcast Cares Day takes place every April, but summer interns wanted to make change happen, too. Many of the nearly 140 interns and co-ops working in Comcast’s Philadelphia headquarters spent a recent afternoon volunteering at Share Food Program, a Philadelphia nonprofit with a mission of providing fresh produce to communities in need.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Innovators Crisscross the U.S. in Eight Week Sprint

Aug 8, 2017 5:35 PM ET

Innovation & Technology

The LAA, LULAC and Cox Enterprises Partner to Bridge the Digital Divide with Unveiling of EHAT Technology Center in Atlanta

Aug 8, 2017 5:30 PM ET

Education

“The Kids Love It:” Fun, Interactive Science Laboratory on Wheels Is Touring Milwaukee

Aug 8, 2017 5:30 PM ET

It's a fun and interactive laboratory on wheels that inspires kids to learn about science. Best of all, it's currently touring Milwaukee. The Curiosity Cube is a mobile science lab made out of an old shipping container.

Education

Felipa Benitez

Aug 8, 2017 4:25 PM ET

Innovation & Technology

Lockheed Martin Will Build New Space Instrument Focused on Vegetation Health and Carbon Monitoring

Aug 8, 2017 2:40 PM ET

Scientists will get a better understanding of our planet’s carbon cycle and vegetation health through a first-of-a-kind NASA instrument built by Lockheed Martin. The Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory (GeoCARB) mission will use an advanced infrared spectrograph hosted on a commercial geosynchronous satellite. The project is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Berrien Moore at the University of Oklahoma.

Health & Healthcare

Harnessing Entrepreneurship to Promote Sustainable Health Solutions

Aug 8, 2017 2:10 PM ET

Pfizer believes a collaborative relationship between the public and private sectors is critical in generating sustainable solutions for global health challenges. To underscore that belief, we are proud that through the Pfizer Foundation we provide catalytic grants to social entrepreneurs and organizations, with the goal of improving access to affordable, quality healthcare care for those in need. We achieve this by providing funding and technical assistance to help scale potential high-impact innovations that aim to improve health systems and infrastructure in low-resource settings.