ESG News from Leading Brands

Social Impact & Volunteering

Beyond Volunteering: Harnessing the Energy and Optimism of Youth in Advocacy

Jun 26, 2017 7:25 PM ET

Back in 2013, I joined the Alliance to End Hunger after a decade as a corporate lobbyist. As with any major life change, this one had implications on our family routines. One night over dinner, my husband and I talked about my new job with our children — then 8- and 6-years old. That evening at bedtime, my daughter, Sarah, said thoughtfully, “But Mommy, if you end hunger you won’t have a job anymore.” My response to her was “And wouldn’t that be wonderful.”

Green Infrastructure

MGM Resorts International Earns 4 Green Globes Certifications for 26 Properties

Jun 26, 2017 7:00 PM ET

The Green Building Initiative (GBI) is pleased to announce that MGM Resorts International has earned Four Green Globes® certifications for 26 retrofit building projects at various MGM Resorts’ Las Vegas properties. More than 45 million square feet of hotels, casinos, convention centers and resort campus spaces were retrofit to save energy and water, improve the indoor environment for guests and staff, reduce emissions and resource waste, and employ environmental management methods.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Bloomberg’s Next Anti-Washington Move: $200 Million Program for Mayors

Jun 26, 2017 5:15 PM ET

Michael R. Bloomberg will throw his financial might into helping beleaguered American mayors, creating a $200 million philanthropic program aimed at backing inventive policies at the city level and giving mayors a stronger hand in national politics.

Diversity & Inclusion

Viacom Celebrates UK Pride 2017 with First-Ever Cross Brand On-Air and Digital Coming Out Campaign, Out in 60

Jun 26, 2017 4:05 PM ET

Musical stars Will Young and Leona Lewis, TV personality RuPaul, YouTuber Doug Armstrong and Geordie Shore’s Marnie Simpson, are amongst the high profile talent who have agreed to support Out in 60, a new TV and digital media campaign aimed at raising awareness of LGBT issues and celebrating the act of ‘coming out’ in the lead up to the Pride in London Parade on 8th July.

Diversity & Inclusion

Video: 2017 Voya Scholars Winner Daniella Gonzalez

Jun 26, 2017 4:00 PM ET

Daniella is a first-generation college student who moved from Columbia to the United States as a child. Daniella struggled with the English language and could barely communicate with her classmates for several years before she discovered math and science, which were not affected by any language barriers.

Environment

Design Guidance: Best Practices for Recyclable Packaging

Jun 26, 2017 3:05 PM ET

HPRC has developed a guidance document for product designers and users of disposable medical devices. The document articulates design considerations which enhance the recycling potential and value of the final product or packaging. The guidelines may also be of use for waste haulers and recyclers interested in recycling this waste stream.

Environment

Boeing's environment strategy

Jun 26, 2017 2:50 PM ET

Boeing’s commitment to environmental leadership and building a more sustainable future drives a global strategy with three main areas of focus: Inspire Global Collaboration, Design in Environmental Performance, and Innovate for Sustainable Operations.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Indiana University Bloomington's Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale Benefits Community and Environment

Jun 26, 2017 2:00 PM ET

Indiana University Bloomington found a way to turn trash into treasure. At the end of each spring semester, the university’s sustainability office and the City of Bloomington collect items that students left in their apartments for the Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Timberland Kicks Off 25 Days of Service Challenge with Volunteer Fair

Jun 26, 2017 12:30 PM ET

At the Fair, Timberland convened over 20 non-profit organizations from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine to offer employees opportunities to use their service hours during the Challenge time frame and beyond. Employees had their pick of diverse service opportunities including: working with service dogs to support mobility-challenged kids and adults; delivering meals to seniors and families in need; working with a non-partisan organization to inform voters; socializing with seniors; improving the quality of life for kids with cancer; planning climbing opportunities for kids with sick parents; supporting land conservation; and much more.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Second Year of Microsoft Affordable Access Initiative Grants Awarded

Jun 26, 2017 12:20 PM ET

Meet some of the entrepreneurs bringing internet connectivity, access to energy and economic opportunity where they're needed most

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Ceres Launches New Investor Guide to Engage Food Sector on Sustainability Risks

Jun 26, 2017 11:40 AM ET

Ceres has released a new peer-reviewed resource guide to help investors better understand and evaluate the environmental and social impacts that drive financial risk in the food sector. The tool comes as sustainability shareholder resolutions with food companies rise to several dozen filed in 2017, according to an analysis by Ceres.

Environment

Four Steps to Uncovering Enterprise-Level Gaps in EHS Compliance and Culture

Jun 26, 2017 11:25 AM ET

EHS FleX, Antea Group’s low-cost, enterprise-level EHS gap analysis service offering, aims to provide EHS managers with the data and insights they need to make informed choices on where to focus their efforts and spend their resources for maximum impact. In this blog, we outline the 4 steps of EHS FleX that make EHS management so much easier for our clients.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

U.S. Conference of Mayors, Wells Fargo Announce 2017 CommunityWINS Grants

Jun 26, 2017 10:55 AM ET

Presented at the Conference’s 85th annual meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., the awards recognize nonprofits and cities for leadership in driving neighborhood stabilization, economic development and job creation efforts. An independent panel of judges selected recipients of the Wells Fargo-funded grants from 245 applicants representing small, medium and large cities.

Research, Reports & Publications

WBCSD Releases Practitioner Guide to the Circular Economy

Jun 26, 2017 10:25 AM ET

Today at the 2017 US Circular Economy Summit, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) officially launched its Practitioner Guide to the Circular Economy after a three-week beta testing period.

Energy

Unreasonable Impact | Finally, the Turbine We’ve Been Waiting For: Q&A with Semtive

Jun 26, 2017 10:20 AM ET

Semtive, founded in Buenos Aires with an office in Silicon Valley, builds small wind turbines that function both on and off the grid in any weather conditions. These turbines need only a light breeze to activate, and they can work for individual households, businesses, and industrial applications.

Energy

Powered by Partnership: Procter & Gamble and Constellation Complete 50-Megawatt Renewable Energy Plant

Jun 26, 2017 10:20 AM ET

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Final Days to Nominate Environmental Volunteers for Cox and The Trust for Public Land’s 2017 Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Program in Louisiana

Jun 26, 2017 10:00 AM ET

At the beginning of June, Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, launched Louisiana’s 2017 Cox Conserves Heroes program to honor local environmental volunteers.

Nominations for volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces are being accepted at CoxConservesHeroes.com through 5 p.m. EST on June 30. The program is seeking nominations from Acadiana, Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Innovation & Technology

How Innovation Can Unlock System-level Change for Environmental Progress

Jun 26, 2017 10:00 AM ET

Wayne Balta, Vice President of Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety at IBM Corp., describes next horizon in advancing corporate EHS management.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Responsible Labor Initiative Launches to Promote Rights of Workers Vulnerable to Forced Labor

Jun 26, 2017 9:30 AM ET

Responsible Labor Initiative Launches to Promote Rights of Workers Vulnerable to Forced Labor

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

How Can Companies Respond to the Refugee Crisis?

Jun 26, 2017 9:30 AM ET

FSG Managing Director Philippe Sion recently hosted a panel on the role companies can take in accelerating solutions to the refugee crisis, as part of the Everyone a Humanitarian series, hosted by swissnex in San Francisco.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Sands Cares Honored as Corporate Partner of the Year

Jun 26, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Communities in Schools of Nevada (CIS) recently honored Sands Cares, Las Vegas Sands’ corporate giving program, as the Corporate Partners of the Year. Since 2012, Las Vegas Sands and Sands Cares have donated over $270,000 to CIS and in 2017, Sands Cares donated $10,000 to CIS, offsetting the cost of college application fees and post-secondary interests for CIS seniors.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Cargill Installs 1,000-Meter Water Supply Pipeline to Improve Water Access for 1,200 Farming Households in Karnataka’s Bannikodu Village

Jun 26, 2017 9:15 AM ET

Cargill strengthened the water supply network for 1,200 farming households in Bannikodu village, Karnataka, India, by installing a 1,000-meter water supply pipeline. Demonstrating its commitment to strengthen agricultural communities, Cargill linked an existing bore well on the lower side of the village to the water tank on the upper side, making tap water available for nearby homes.

Energy

Consumers Energy Works to Save Michigan’s Water

Jun 26, 2017 9:15 AM ET

The company uses hundreds of billions of gallons of water each year, the vast majority related to producing power at its electric generating plants. But in 2016, Consumers Energy reduced water intensity — gallons used per megawatt-hour of electricity produced — by 17 percent at its electric generating plants. The energy provider is aiming for a 20 percent reduction by 2018. Reaching that goal would save more than 100 million gallons of water per year.

Research, Reports & Publications

VIDEO: HPE Living Progress | A Message from Meg Whitman, President & CEO

Jun 26, 2017 9:10 AM ET

Meg Whitman, President and CEO of HPE, explains how Living Progress is helping build the sustainable business that will come to define our future.

Supply Chain & the Circular Economy

Meet the Team Making Eyewear for America in Brooklyn

Jun 26, 2017 9:10 AM ET

On the fifth floor, M Factory buzzes with the busy energy of an eyewear manufacturer. This type of space is rare to see in the U.S., for a very specific reason: Most eyewear manufacturing is done in Italy or China, and always has been. This is also one of the reasons why what M Factory is doing in Brooklyn is so exciting: Crafting quality, affordable eyewear is not something typically done in the United States.