ESG News from Leading Brands

Diversity & Inclusion

How to Score a Touchdown: Three Leadership Tips for a Winning Team

Feb 3, 2017 12:55 PM ET

On Sunday, Americans will gather around their televisions to watch the biggest football game of the year. We’ll see teammates forge relationships on the field, work together, and take home the title. At work, we want our teams to succeed, too. We want our entry-level employees to make a big impact just like the rookie on our favorite team did. And we hope our senior executives lead as effectively as the veteran QB does. In fact, by studying leadership on the field, we can learn great strategies for leadership in the workplace.

Responsible Production & Consumption

Soil Health: Critical for Farmers, the Environment and Global Food Security

Feb 3, 2017 12:30 PM ET

Spanning across southern Minnesota from the South Dakota border in the west to the Wisconsin border in the east, Minnesota’s First Congressional District is home to some of the most productive agricultural land in America.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Edison International Employees Volunteer Over 168,000 Hours in 2015

Feb 3, 2017 12:10 PM ET

Edison makes every effort to be an engaged corporate citizen in the communities it serves. Employees take pride in being a part of the fabric that helps strengthen their neighborhoods and eagerly participate in opportunities to give back through their participation in the annual employee giving and volunteer campaigns; memberships in employee resource groups (ERGs); participation in the year-round Matching Gift Program; and employee-led fundraising/donation drives.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Aramark: Building Community for the Big Game

Feb 3, 2017 12:00 PM ET

Students from Neighborhood Center Inc.'s Ripley House Charter School gathered for a Super Bowl-themed healthy tailgate party with Aramark chefs from visiting NFL stadiums (Cleveland, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Houston) who were in town to support the game.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Boston Celtics Forward Kelly Olynyk Visited Students at Winthrop Middle School as part of the Launch of the “JetBlue Rookie Flight Crew”

Feb 3, 2017 10:25 AM ET

Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk, mascot “Lucky” the Leprechaun and JetBlue crewmembers s visited students at Winthrop Middle School as part of the launch of the new aviation program, “JetBlue Rookie Flight Crew.”

Social Impact & Volunteering

Booz Allen’s Girl Scouts Mentor Program Inspires Young Women to Think Big

Feb 3, 2017 10:20 AM ET

Jordan Spite is learning to think of her passions as future career paths. “I now realize that there is a lot more you can do in your life than just one job,” said the middle schooler who recently attended Booz Allen Hamilton’s Make the Connection mentor program in partnership with Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital (GSCNC). The second event of a four-part platform designed to develop smart and capable young women, MTC inspires girls to think about personal and professional growth.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, Institute of International Finance and MetLife Foundation Launch Project to Help Banking Industry Overcome Barriers to Financial Inclusion

Feb 3, 2017 10:20 AM ET

The Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion (CFI), the Institute of International Finance (IIF) and MetLife Foundation, together with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a technical partner, announced today a two-year initiative to help advance the financial services industry’s ability to reach unserved and underserved populations.

Innovation & Technology

Effective and Seamless Wastewater Treatment System Set-up

Feb 3, 2017 9:50 AM ET

Setting up an effective wastewater treatment system makes for a complex and intricate project. Antea Group designed, managed the construction and oversaw the start-up and compliance testing of a wastewater treatment system for a food production company, executing the project in an organized and seamless fashion.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

Seasonal 3D Light and Sound Spectacular on Display at The Venetian Macao for Chinese New Year

Feb 3, 2017 8:30 AM ET

Sands Resorts Macao welcomed the Year of the Rooster by launching the annual “Seasons of Prosperity” show at The Venetian Macao. The 3D Light and Sound Spectacular is the property’s seasonal, family celebration that welcomes Chinese New Year and is one of the world’s biggest light show events this holiday season.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Arrow Charitable: One More Way Arrow Electronics Is Taking Corporate Social Responsibility Companywide

Feb 3, 2017 8:15 AM ET

As a leading global technology company, Arrow Electronics is committed to serving the communities in which its employees live and work. Each year, many Arrow employees partner with local nonprofits around the world, extending the company’s collaborative and innovative culture into the broader community.

Responsible Production & Consumption

42BELOW Recycles Cocktail Waste Into Soap

Feb 3, 2017 8:05 AM ET

Health & Healthcare

Whole Kids Foundation and United Health Foundation Celebrate Innovative Approaches To Engaging Kids in the Meaning of Good Food

Feb 3, 2017 8:00 AM ET

We all know we should eat good food in order to stay health. But what is good food?Helping kids discover the answer is the reason Whole Kids Foundation and United Health Foundation have awarded $200,000 to nine schools and nonprofit organizations through the Healthy Kids Innovation Grant Program.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Best Practice: Winter 2016

Feb 2, 2017 5:15 PM ET

The Winter 2016 issue of Best Practice includes CSR and sustainability case studies from thought leaders across several industries

Responsible Production & Consumption

Discussed Changes to Dodd-Frank Will Not Affect 2017 Conflict Minerals Filing Requirement

Feb 2, 2017 5:10 PM ET

The acting chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the agency would reconsider how to enforce the conflict minerals rule contained within the Dodd-Frank Act, Dodd-Frank Section 1502.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

TD Securities Acts as a Joint Lead Manager for Largest Green Bond Issuance in Canada

Feb 2, 2017 4:30 PM ET

On January 26, 2017, TD Securities acted as a joint lead for the Province of Ontario’s third – and largest – green bond. At $800 million this is the largest issuance of a Canadian dollar green bond to date.

Environment

Birds, Frogs and Turtles Call General Motors’ Wetlands Home

Feb 2, 2017 4:15 PM ET

Wetlands rank right up there with rain forests and coral reefs when it comes to the world’s most productive ecosystems. In recognition of World Wetlands Day, several General Motors sites featuring or supporting wetlands share how they are working to increase biodiversity.

Energy

National Grid Helps Drive Massachusetts Toward a Clean Energy Future

Feb 2, 2017 4:00 PM ET

National Grid today announced plans to help move the Commonwealth of Massachusetts closer to a clean energy future. To assist the state in its growing demand for “green” transportation, the company plans to develop more than 1,200 electric vehicle charging ports at 140 sites over a three-year period.

Education

Shaping the Future

Feb 2, 2017 2:35 PM ET

As part of AT&T’s Aspire initiative – which accelerates the learning revolution and connects it with the young people who need it most – we’ve invested more than $350 million to help ensure all students have access to the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond. We know that in order to truly accomplish this mission, we must look to those “on the ground: ”the teachers and inventors who are creating solutions for our students using the power of technology.

Events, Media & Communications

The Best Intentions of C-Suite on Corporate Sustainability -- Results in are in With Sharing of Bain & Co Survey

Feb 2, 2017 2:25 PM ET

This is not encouraging: the respected management consulting company Bain & Company surveyed the leaders of 300 companies engaged in "sustainability transformation" and conducted interviews with heads of sustainability recognized for outstanding results.

The question: What are the results of instituting sustainability as a top priority? The answer: Alas, not really encouraging for stakeholders, says Bain & Company. There's an important "but" here with tips for CEOs and C-suite on how to overcome the odds of losing forward momentum in corporate sustainability efforts.

Education

Meet Amgen Scholars Alumni Rana Tahir Rasool

Feb 2, 2017 2:15 PM ET

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Guest Post: Timberland Shares Lessons Learned in Sustainability in 2016

Feb 2, 2017 2:00 PM ET

At the start of each year, we take time to reflect upon the prior year to ensure we don’t lose sight of the lessons we learned. From launching innovative product partnerships that benefit society and celebrating milestone environmental achievements, to helping those in need by rallying our employees and sharing our commitment to do more for green spaces, we celebrated progress and overcame challenges in 2016. As we look to 2017, here are three lessons we learned in the past year that we’ll carry with us in our mission to be Earthkeepers in all that we do.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

The Emergence of Natural Capital Consciousness

Feb 2, 2017 1:30 PM ET

Margie Flynn and Mark Miller from Brown Flynn talk about the importance of natural capital in a piece for GreenBiz. The authors use TD Bank Group's natural capital work as an example of how companies can use it to assess the impact of their environmental work—hoping to encourage businesses to embed natural capital valuation into their business decisions.

Sustainable Finance & Socially Responsible Investment

Keybank Provides $54.5 Million for New Affordable Housing Units Near Seattle

Feb 2, 2017 1:00 PM ET

KeyBank’s Community Development Lending & Investing (CDLI) group announced today it has provided $54.5 million to construct 256 4% LIHTC units at Puget Park, a fully affordable multifamily housing development in Everett, WA, 30 miles north of Seattle. The property will serve residents who earn 60% or less of the area median income.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Connecting Personal Values of CEOs to their Commitment to CSR: An Interview with Otgontsetseg Erhemjamts

Feb 2, 2017 12:30 PM ET

Understanding personal values of CEOs informs employees and investors about a company’s commitment to ethics and corporate social responsibility. In a paper titled “Relation between personal values of CEOs and their commitment to corporate social responsibility”, Professor Erhemjamts and her student Sarah Maher examined corporate social responsibility (CSR) ratings of S&P500 companies along with social capital of the states their CEOs grew up in.

Innovation & Technology

Barclays Accelerator Gamechangers: BenBen

Feb 2, 2017 12:15 PM ET