ESG News from Leading Brands

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

GM Earns Keystone Leadership Award for its Partnership with the Wildlife Habitat Council

Jun 9, 2016 5:05 PM ET

General Motors earned a Keystone Leadership Award for its efforts to expand wildlife habitats, support pollinator health and enhance biodiversity at manufacturing locations around the world. The award honors exemplary leaders who embody Keystone’s belief that lasting results are crafted by considering diverse perspectives and building consensus.

Responsible Business & Employee Engagement

Innovation within Corporate Shared Value

Jun 9, 2016 4:40 PM ET

Traditional corporate philanthropy’s methodology of simply giving funds to worthy causes is increasingly seen as unsustainable and fading into the past. Companies are now moving beyond their bottom lines to make a measurable difference in their communities by connecting CSR efforts with their core mission, products and branding shared value.

Events, Media & Communications

Meet the VM Summit 16 Keynote Speakers

Jun 9, 2016 3:25 PM ET

VolunteerMatch’s annual conference — VM Summit 16 — brings together nonprofits and companies to work toward a common goal: More impactful partnerships. For more information, check out this press release which announces the upcoming event.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

YUM! Named to Newsweek’s 2016 Green Rankings

Jun 9, 2016 3:10 PM ET

Yum! has been named to Newsweek’s 2016 Green Rankings, one of the world’s most recognized assessments of corporate environmental performance.

Education

Global Alliance Institute Unveils Its Girls Truth Seekers Education Project For Syrian Refugee Girls

Jun 9, 2016 3:10 PM ET

Global Alliance Institute, in partnership with the Girl Scouts Nation's Capital, today announced a special project to help young Syrian refugee girls. With support from AMIDEAST and HP, The Girls Truth Seekers Education Project will connect Girl Scouts in the greater Washington area with young Syrian refugee girls currently living in the countries bordering Syria.

Awards, Ratings & Rankings

General Mills Honored with Keystone Founders Award

Jun 9, 2016 2:00 PM ET

Last night, the Keystone Policy Center hosted its 23rd annual awards dinner in Washington, D.C. The event honors leaders in government, business and civil society who exemplify Keystone’s mission “to inspire leaders to rise above entrenched positions to reach common higher ground.”

Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion are Key to Authentic Sustainability Leadership

Jun 9, 2016 1:30 PM ET

As our talent pool ages, Millennials will comprise 75% of the global workforce by 2025. They want to work for organizations that make a positive contribution to society by addressing global challenges of resource scarcity, climate change, and income equality. Millennials also want to work for companies on the forefront of change, yet a lack of diversity and inclusion remains one of the largest barriers to innovation.

Events, Media & Communications

To Thrive in Tomorrow’s Economy, Businesses Must Engage Gen Z Now

Jun 9, 2016 1:15 PM ET

For a long time the primary focus of marketers has been on reaching Millennials. But, to get ahead of current trends, companies need to turn their attention to the next generation on the horizon—Generation Z (Gen Z). Although Gen Z is relatively young – Demographers place its beginning anywhere from the early ’90s to the mid-2000s according to a 2015 article in the New York Times, they already have nearly $44 billion in spending power and make up over a quarter of the U.S.’s population. This new wave of tech savvy, responsible and authentic individuals calls for a different style of marketing to catch their attention.

Innovation & Technology

Expanding Access to Energy Through Innovation

Jun 9, 2016 12:20 PM ET

Boond, a social enterprise that strives to bring “energy to all” through renewable solutions, joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to install 4,000 solar micro-grids across rural India by 2022, reaching 1 million underserved people in rural areas with its inclusive clean-energy initiative.

Social Impact & Volunteering

KitchenAid Volunteers Clean Up Benton Harbor

Jun 9, 2016 12:00 PM ET

BENTON HARBOR — Union Park was flooded with people Tuesday.

There wasn’t a pickup game or a picnic. Instead more than 30 volunteers from KitchenAid and Kinexus’ YouthBuild program were out cleaning and maintaining the Benton Harbor park.

Research, Reports & Publications

2016 Global Food Security Index Released

Jun 9, 2016 12:00 PM ET

On June 9th, 2016 the Economist Intelligence Unit released its 2016 Global Food Security Index (GFSI). The GFSI, sponsored by DuPont, is an annual benchmarking index that provides a common framework for understanding the root causes of food insecurity by examining the dynamics of food systems around the world. Through this framework, the GFSI has created a unique country-level food-security measurement tool that addresses the issues of affordability, availability and utilization in 113 countries.

Environment

Zero-Waste Part of Sustainability Journey at Trane Facility in Waco, Texas

Jun 9, 2016 11:30 AM ET

In 2008, the team at Ingersoll Rand’s Trane facility in Waco, Texas, committed to the goals of zero waste by 2016 and grid neutrality by 2020, as well as a significant reduction in water usage. The facility, which manufactures the Ingersoll Rand water source heat pump product portfolio, is well on its way toward achieving these targets.

Education

CITGO Awards Scholarships to Corpus Christi Students Poised to Become First-Generation College Graduates

Jun 9, 2016 11:20 AM ET

Fifteen college-bound students attending high schools in the Corpus Christi Independent School District (CCISD) were awarded the CITGO First in Family Scholarship, thanks to support from CITGO Petroleum Corporation and the Corpus Christi Education Fund (CCEF).

Social Impact & Volunteering

Day in the Life of a Comcast Cares Day Volunteer

Jun 9, 2016 11:10 AM ET

He is one of tens of thousands of Comcast NBCUniversal employees who roll up their sleeves each year to give back during one of our company’s greatest traditions, Comcast Cares Day. Watch as Julian shares his experience volunteering at Camp Hope, a Houston facility operated by the PTSD Foundation of America that provides veterans and their families a place to find healing, help and hope.

Social Impact & Volunteering

Facts About Global Poverty and Empowerment

Jun 9, 2016 11:05 AM ET

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Holland America Line Celebrates Grand Opening of Denali Square Complex in Alaska with $20,000 Donation to Local School District

Jun 9, 2016 11:00 AM ET

Guests on Holland America Line’s award-winning Alaska Land+Sea Journeys can now experience new dining, entertainment and amenities at the Denali Square complex located in the heart of the company’s McKinley Chalet Resort at the gates of Denali National Park.

Research, Reports & Publications

Hershey Shares Progress on Social Responsibility Commitments

Jun 9, 2016 10:45 AM ET

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) today issued its latest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report – titled “Shared Goodness” – showcasing progress made in 2015 against a variety of priority issues.

Diversity & Inclusion

Olive Garden Helps Lift Team Members from Homelessness

Jun 9, 2016 10:40 AM ET

Two formerly homeless Orlando men now have good jobs at Olive Garden and roofs over their heads, and they could not be more grateful.

Philanthropy & Cause Initiatives

Frostys (and Your Phone!) for a Cause

Jun 9, 2016 10:30 AM ET

Free Wendy’s® Frostys® are adding up to a half a million dollar donation to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and we couldn’t be more grateful. From June through December, T-Mobile customers who download the company’s app will receive T-Mobile alerts each week, which includes a coupon for a free Wendy’s Frosty.

Events, Media & Communications

The U.S. Government Celebrates Partnerships that Advance Diplomacy and Development

Jun 9, 2016 10:25 AM ET

In my office’s public-private partnerships trainings, we often open with an ice-breaker in which we challenge groups of participants to complete a puzzle as a team, without the box top as a guide. As the groups attempt to finish the puzzle, they eventually realize that they are missing one crucial puzzle piece—and have an extra piece that doesn’t fit. Entrepreneurial team members are able to figure out that one puzzle piece has been switched with another group’s puzzle, and it’s only by trading those pieces that each puzzle can be completed.

Events, Media & Communications

Global Pro Bono Takes Center Stage at the 22nd Annual Leadership Development Conference

Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Redefine “learning by doing” with proven methodologies to accelerate leadership development and do real work in the field. Learning and Leading By Doing Real Work in the Field, at The Conference Board’s 22nd Annual Leadership Development Conference, will bring together companies that are pioneering new talent development models to retain talent longer and increase employee engagement.

Research, Reports & Publications

Video – What Will We Build Today?

Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM ET

Environment

National Geographic Recognizes Young Scientists, Engineers and Educators as 2016 Emerging Explorers

Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM ET

The National Geographic Society has announced this year's class of Emerging Explorers, a group of scientists, conservationists and educators still early in their careers whose work is already pushing the boundaries of their chosen fields.

Events, Media & Communications

Sustainable Brands Community and Flagship Conference Heading to Detroit in 2017

Jun 9, 2016 10:00 AM ET

The largest global peer community of brand leaders and sustainability practitioners focused on advancing brand value creation through sustainability-led innovation is heading to Detroit, Michigan in 2017. Sustainable Brands® announces the next gathering point for its flagship event in the U.S. will be at the Cobo Center, May 22-25, 2017.

Research, Reports & Publications

Walmart | Priorities, Programs and Initiatives

Jun 9, 2016 9:00 AM ET

As a large global retailer, Walmart is working with others to use our strengths – our jobs, our purchase orders, our company voice, the convening power of our brand and our philanthropic investments – to create a more inclusive economic system that increases workforce mobility and economic growth in countries around the world.