CSRwire Press Releases, Events and Reports

HACR CEO Issues Statement on Racism in Law Enforcement Amid Recent Murders of African Americans

06.03.2020 - 03:00PM

The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), the nation’s leading nonprofit focused on advancing Hispanic inclusion in Corporate America, released a statement by President & CEO, Cid Wilson, on the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, as well as the issues of systemic racism by police and law enforcement against African Americans, Latinos, and other people of color.

Our hearts and prayers are with the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor. Their horrific murders and the racial injustice by the police in those instances are yet another example of the long and sad history of discrimination, police brutality, and murder against people of color. The system that perpetuates racism in law enforcement must change.

By raising our voices, assembling peacefully, and exercising our voting rights, we can force needed change in the justice system that for too long has treated African Americans, Latinos, immigrants, and people of color as second-class citizens.

HACR is pleased that many companies have made public statements addressing the crisis of equality in our country. We call on companies, large and small, to join with their employees and communities around the country, to demand the transformation of a law enforcement system plagued by racism and prejudice.

Companies cannot assume that their only responsibility to diversity and inclusion is within their workplaces, they must be a part of the solution to make external changes to our country’s policing and justice system nationwide.

HACR encourages companies to leverage our coalition of 14 national Hispanic organizations that are organizing community and educational initiatives on the topics of race, civil rights, human rights, diversity, and inclusion. You can learn more by visiting our website at https://www.hacr.org/coalition-members/.

Additionally, HACR encourages companies whose CEOs have not yet signed on to the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ to do so. HACR has been a member since its inception four years ago and endorses the initiative. Corporate leadership during challenging times starts with the CEO and board of directors. You can learn more at www.ceoaction.com.

About HACR
Founded in 1986, the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) is the nation’s leading corporate advocacy organization representing 14 national Hispanic organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico. Its mission is to advance the inclusion of Hispanics in Corporate America in the areas of Employment, Procurement, Philanthropy, and Governance. Through our corporate leadership advancement programs, Symposium best practice conferences, research initiatives, and public communications, HACR is illuminating The Power of Hispanic Inclusion™ throughout Corporate America.

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A Message from Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky About Recent Events in the United States

06.03.2020 - 02:15PM

By Alex Gorsky, Chairman & CEO

As protests spurred by the violent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery escalated over the weekend, the Executive Committee sent out a communication to U.S. employees affirming our company’s commitment to justice and equality. But as the turmoil in our streets continues, I think it’s important to address this issue again with all members of the Johnson & Johnson family worldwide.

As the CEO of the world’s largest healthcare company, I must state unequivocally that racism in any form is unacceptable, and that black lives matter. And as a white man, I also need to acknowledge the limits of my own life experience and listen to those who have faced systemic injustice since the day they were born.

I spent the weekend reaching out to black colleagues and friends, and their stories—like the father who drives behind his teenage daughter anytime she goes jogging because he fears for her safety—landed like a punch to the gut. There will always be a multitude of reasons for parents to worry about their children, but racist violence should not be one of them.

As much as we at Johnson & Johnson pride ourselves on our accomplishments in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, we must do more. And we must do it now. Our company is committing $10 million to fighting racism and injustice in America—a pledge that will span the next three years. We will kick it off by extending our support of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and its initiatives, such as the "Talking About Race” program. This new online offering is a valuable resource that reflects our belief in the transformative power of dialogue and education when it comes to unearthing and confronting the root causes of racism.

In the coming months, we will continue to identify and announce other partnerships that we believe will make the biggest difference in advancing social justice. One important area of focus: the urgent need to address the inequities in medical care that have long plagued minority communities—gaps that have recently been both highlighted and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been working through a major initiative that will help address issues including underrepresentation in clinical trials, equipping community health workers, and strengthening existing community medical systems. I look forward to sharing more details with you about this soon.

Of course, change ultimately begins at home. Johnson & Johnson must create a safe, open space for us to connect as a company and learn from one another’s unique experiences and capabilities. We are organizing a series of listening tours and events that will serve as an opportunity for dialogue with leaders and fellow employees—conversations that may not be easy, but are more important now than ever before. They will shape an action plan for what we need to do within our company to live up to our commitment to equality. And because we are able to use our size and scale for good, we will also ensure this action plan is understood and upheld by our suppliers and other business partners so that the effects are as far-reaching as possible.

Most immediately, to our black colleagues: Please know we see the extra burden that is weighing on you during this already difficult time. Please take the time you need to process, stand up for your beliefs, and do whatever you need to do to take care of your families, communities and yourselves.

To every member of the Johnson & Johnson family: Please be mindful of what your fellow employees may be going through in these turbulent times, even if they seem “fine.” Take a moment to reach out to coworkers and let them know you care about what is happening to people of color in America. If recent events have been a revelation to you, let that serve as a challenge to step up and do more as peaceful and determined agents of change—a challenge I myself am determined to embrace.

Since this pandemic began, we have spoken a lot about uniting as one Johnson & Johnson. At a time when the deep fractures in society are impossible to ignore, this unity is more essential than ever before.

Our Responsibility for Inclusion, Diversity and Equality

06.03.2020 - 10:35AM

Let me be perfectly clear: at Fifth Third, racism and discrimination in any form is not tolerated.

These last few months have been difficult for our customers, difficult for us personally and professionally, and difficult for our community members. Like many of you, I’ve been disturbed and deeply saddened by the inequities that have been highlighted during the pandemic and in recent incidents across the country. Let me be perfectly clear: at Fifth Third, racism and discrimination in any form is not tolerated.

Our actions, not just our words, must continue to prioritize our commitment to inclusion, diversity and equality so that we can inspire positive change within our workplace and in our communities. For years, our employees have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to serving and uplifting diverse individuals, families and communities who have faced long-standing challenges. However, we can and must do more.

As Fifth Third employees and as individuals, it is our responsibility, today and every day, to demonstrate respect, kindness and empathy to all. It is our responsibility to be intentional in our behavior, and to oppose racism and discrimination wherever and whenever we encounter it. Now, more than ever, our core values must shine through.

I call upon all employees to do everything in their power to treat every individual fairly and equally and help us stamp out racism and discrimination in this country. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we can drive change.

Free Webinar | Returning to Your Workplace: What to Consider

06.03.2020 - 10:30AM

Presented by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID)

As a return to the office after COVID-19 comes into view, how can employers and employees prepare themselves?

Learn how designers can safely and successfully reenter the workplace and how employers can best support their staff through the transition. A panel representing various areas of the interior design community provides insight on the best strategies to create a smart rebound from home to work. The program references guidelines from health and workplace thought leaders and discusses key considerations to implement into practice.

This is a recording of a webinar presented on April 27, 2020.

What You Will Learn

Recommend effective strategies to empower staff returning to the “new” workplace.
Identify healthy and resilient practices to adapt in the workplace.
Describe guidelines to revise cleaning protocols, seating, and overall functionality.
Explain how designers can support the physical and psychological needs of staff (and clients).

Continuing Education Approvals

1 IDCEC CEU | HSW | CC-111352
- Your CEU will be reported to IDCEC on your behalf.

Access Period: One year from registration date.

Click here to register and watch!

Fossil-free Energy Sector Holds the Key to Unlocking Denmark’s Climate-neutral Future: Report

06.03.2020 - 10:00AM

Denmark, along with most countries in Europe, wants to be climate neutral by 2050 to help limit global warming below 1.5°C. As a stepping stone the Danish government set a stretch target to reduce carbon emissions by 70% below 1990 levels, by 2030. Denmark will have to cut 26 million tons of carbon emissions in the next decade, or about as many tons as it has cut the past 30 years.

The Danish government sees a big role for the private sector in reducing emissions. It has formed 13 climate partnerships with businesses to develop sectoral roadmaps for reducing emissions in specific industrial sectors, as well as contributing to reductions in other sectors and internationally. The energy and utilities sector stands out with a roadmap to be virtually fossil free by 2030, and that could inspire other countries to decarbonise their energy and utilities sectors.

“It has never been clearer that a green future based on 100% renewable energy is within reach. A radical green transformation is achievable – without having to compromise our fundamental prosperity and society as we know it,” says Henrik Poulsen, CEO of renewable energy company Ørsted and Chairman of the Climate Partnership for the Energy and Utilities sector. “Over the next decade, this transformation will make green energy the catalyst of Denmark’s future growth and prosperity, strengthening the competitiveness of Danish businesses,” he adds, in Powering Denmark’s Green Transition, the sector’s roadmap report.

Nearly carbon neutral energy sector
The Danish energy and utilities sector is a pioneer in wind energy, bioenergy and energy efficiency, and has cut emissions by 58% since 1990. Through innovation and large-scale deployment of renewable energy infrastructure it has driven down the cost of green energy and displaces fossil fuels in the grid.

Today the sector contributes about 13 million tons - around half - of Denmark’s carbon emissions. The sector’s roadmap proposes reducing these emissions to 1 million tonnes by 2030. It aims to do so mainly by phasing out coal in power plants, natural gas for district heating, and oil for individual heating systems.

It also proposes to cut use of natural gas for mining fossil energy in the North Sea, establish carbon capture at large-point sites, and limit use of plastic for waste-to-energy systems. These measures would make the sector nearly carbon neutral and bring Denmark about halfway to the 70% decarbonisation target by 2030.

Replacing fossil fuels with green energy
Denmark would need to ramp up renewable energy production, mainly from offshore and onshore wind, solar and biogas, to replace fossil fuels in the energy and utilities sector, as well as in other carbon-intensive sectors such as transport and heavy-manufacturing sectors.

Offshore wind is poised to play an especially important role in meeting this escalating demand for renewable energy. At least 5GW additional capacity will be needed by 2030, up from 2.6GW today. To that end the Danish government recently announced development of two ‘energy islands’ with offshore wind in the North and Baltic seas to help meet the 2030 decarbonisation target. With a build-out potential of at least 40GW offshore wind, Denmark could also export offshore wind energy to neighboring countries and help speed up decarbonisation in Europe.

Proven technologies deployed at scale, such as solar PV and wind energy, energy efficiency and electric vehicles, will help reduce most of Denmark’s emissions towards 2030. But immature technologies such as renewable hydrogen and sustainable fuels will also need to be scaled up to achieve the 70% reductions target. To help do that, a consortium of Danish companies including Ørsted are partnering to develop an industrial-scale production facility to produce sustainable fuels for road, maritime and air transport in Copenhagen, the Danish capital.

Read the energy and utility sector’s roadmap: Powering Denmark’s Green Transition

About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. The company develops, constructs and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants, and provides energy products to its customers. Ørsted will be carbon neutral by 2025 and targets net-zero emissions across the entire carbon footprint by 2040. The company generated 86% of its energy from renewable sources in 2019 and had reduced carbon emissions by 86%, as compared with 2006. Ørsted ranks #1 in Corporate Knights' 2020 Global 100 index of most sustainable corporations in the world and is recognised on CDP’s Climate change A List as a global leader on climate action.

JBS USA Beats Water and Electricity Use Goals Early in 2019 Sustainability Report

06.03.2020 - 08:00AM

Hershey Releases 2019 Annual Sustainability Report Celebrating 125 Years of Shared Goodness

06.02.2020 - 02:18PM

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) today released its 2019 Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s commitment to shared goodness as Hershey celebrated a milestone of 125 years. The report reflects increasing transparency on its sustainability work and showcases Hershey’s progress to date in key areas of focus, such as sustainable cocoa, responsible sourcing, climate change and human rights.

Hershey’s Shared Goodness Promise continues to be a key driver in its sustainability strategy—with a focus on business, planet, communities and youth. In 2019, Hershey made significant progress in these key focus areas, including commitments to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to set a science-based carbon reduction goal; and a push to resolve some of the most pressing issues in its cocoa supply chain such as child labor.

“As we celebrated our 125th anniversary, we succeeded in honoring our founder by addressing key challenges facing our communities and our consumers, from 100% certified sustainable cocoa to addressing human rights across our entire value chain,” said Michele Buck, Chairman, President and CEO of The Hershey Company. “Today, as we collectively face an unprecedented time, our purpose is more important than ever—and we will continue our commitment to create more moments of goodness for all.”

Notable milestones highlighted in the report include:

Investing in a More Sustainable Supply Chain: Hershey is committed to ensuring the ingredients and raw materials it purchases are responsibly sourced. It has established programs and policies to positively contribute to the sustainability and livelihoods of the communities it depends on to source its ingredients for its products while taking the necessary steps to safeguard human rights and protect the people and ecosystems behind the ingredients that make Hershey’s iconic products. In early 2019, Hershey published its first Human Rights Policy, after conducting an in-depth assessment of the company’s most salient human rights issues. Today, Hershey integrates human rights training into the new employee orientation process and makes it a requirement for all global procurement professionals. Additionally, Hershey is well on-track to meet several 2020 responsible sourcing commitments and has already achieved its goals to source 100% certified and sustainable cocoa (a goal Hershey has achieved in early 2020), 100% RSPO-certified mass balance palm oil, and 100% third-party certified sustainable virgin fiber pulp and paper products in the U.S. and Canada.
Eliminating Child Labor Within Cocoa Communities: Hershey does not tolerate child labor within its supply chain and is working to eliminate it from occurring within cocoa communities. Hershey recognizes child labor as a symptom of poverty and has developed a comprehensive strategy called Cocoa For Good, which seeks to disrupt the cycle of poverty while also addressing its many symptoms head-on. Under Cocoa For Good, Hershey has adopted the industry-leading Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) to detect, report and remediate any cases of child labor within its supply chain. Hershey more than doubled its CLMRS coverage from 2018 to 2019, and has since committed to expanding CLMRS to 100% of its cocoa sourcing in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, its highest risk sourcing areas. Hershey has also trained more than 29,700 farmers and 330 supplier personnel on child labor issues to help build community-level capacity to combat the issue. To date, Hershey’s CLMRS work has found zero instances of forced labor within the segment of the Hershey cocoa supply chain assessed.
Supporting Cocoa Communities: Hershey’s Cocoa For Good works to increase the profitability of cocoa farming as well as diversify household incomes, educate families on the power of savings, foster women’s leadership and improve the quality of education to disrupt the cycle of poverty in cocoa growing communities. In 2019, the company directly supported 51,009 farmers (12% female) in improving the quality and yield of cocoa and 21,194 farmers (16% female) in crop diversification; trained 12,952 farmers in business skills; facilitated 6,771 individuals’ (83% female) access to savings and loans from Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs); and helped institute quality education interventions that benefited 84,284 primary school children. Hershey also promotes proper nutrition and school feeding programs to Energize Learning. Since 2015, Hershey has distributed ViVi – a peanut-based, fortified snack – to school children in Ghana daily. Between 2014 and 2019, the company produced more than 56 million sachets of ViVi and distributed it to more than 265,000 children in Ghana. In 2019, 100% of peanuts used in ViVi were locally sourced and roasted, benefiting local farmers.
Reducing Our Environmental Impact: Hershey is committed to preserving ecosystems, reducing its impact on the climate and conserving natural resources. In 2019, the company launched its first enterprise-wide environmental policy. To date, the company has reduced 23.6 million pounds of packaging since 2015 and reduced its greenhouse gas intensity of products by 13% since 2015. In 2019, Hershey committed to the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to set a science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions goal by 2021. The company is on track to announce that target in early 2021 and in the meantime continues to pursue its 25 by 25 commitments set in 2015 to reduce water usage, waste and emissions by 25% by 2025.
Championing Diversity and Inclusion and Building Careers: Hershey is committed to creating a workplace that reflects the society that it serves and strengthening a culture where people can build their careers. Six out of nine Hershey executive committee members have built their careers at Hershey. In 2019, Hershey ranked 25th on the DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity List. The company also has nearly closed the gender pay gap with women earning $0.99 for every $1 that men earned compared to an average of about $0.82 across the United States. Women also made up 45 percent of professional U.S. experienced hires and 53 percent of campus hires in 2019. Twenty-five percent of the major Hershey retail accounts are led by women in the United States. In addition, the company’s ethnic diversity continues to grow with people of color representing 31% of U.S. hires in 2019.
Helping Kids Build Meaningful Connections: The Hershey Company has remained committed to Milton Hershey’s legacy of helping children succeed and reach their full potential. In 2019, the company introduced the Heartwarming Project Action Grants program, which provide microgrants to teens to advance connection, empathy and inclusion in their own schools and communities. More than 500 teens and school groups across the U.S. applied and nearly 300 received a $250 microgrant to advance their project. Through Hershey’s Heartwarming Project, more than 775,000 youth have benefited and over 12,400 youth have taken part in Heartwarming actions to improve their communities.

For more information on Hershey’s Shared Goodness Promise, read our 2019 Sustainability Report. This is Hershey’s second sustainability report prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards: Comprehensive option. Accompanying the main report, Hershey, as part of its initiatives to increase transparency, has also provided a Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) index and UN Sustainable Development Goals footprint.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company is headquartered in Hershey, Pa., and is an industry-leading snacks company known for bringing goodness to the world through its iconic brands, remarkable people and enduring commitment to help children succeed. Hershey has approximately 16,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company has more than 80 brands around the world that drive $8 billion in annual revenues, including such iconic brand names as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kit Kat, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Pirate’s Booty.

For more than 125 years, Hershey has been committed to operating fairly, ethically and sustainably. Hershey founder, Milton Hershey, created the Milton Hershey School in 1909 and since then the company has focused on helping children succeed.

To learn more visit www.thehersheycompany.com

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ZLI's Beached Campaign to Combat Bigotry in Wildlife Conservation

06.02.2020 - 02:15PM

The Zoological Lighting Institute™ (ZLI) has announced ZLI’s Beached Campaign to overcome the structural and cultural bigotries that hinder animal sciences. Formed as an initiative to provide photobiology grants for researchers and animal keepers studying whales and dolphins, ZLI’s Beached Campaign recognizes the challenges that racial, cultural and economic bias pose for viable scientific communication and dialogue. Grant applications for aid are due to ZLI by 1 August 2020, with an online monthly lecture and symposium series set to begin on 9 September, 2020.

Wildlife conservation has not been immune to the challenges of bigotry, no more so than other areas of life. Bias takes root at least three levels across the environmentally necessary sciences of light and life; by influencing the sciences directly and changing the questions researchers ask, in limiting participation of who gets to ask questions, and also by limiting the desire to apply the knowledge of science inclusively. ZLI’s Beached Campaign began by mobilizing stakeholder offense at anti-asian racism prevalent in media such as Whale Wars and The Cove, but the challenges that bias and bigotry present for science in general have root in a much wider and deeper history that continues to harm us today.

“Structural bias and racism in environmentalism and the sciences has to be confronted… it cannot be left to chance or simply ignored as a ‘reflection of our times’” remarked ZLI Executive Director Dr. James Karl Fischer PhD. ‘ZLI had chosen whales, specifically the deep diving Black Baird’s Beaked Whale identified in Japan in 2019, as an icon of an animal capable of creating vision in an incredible range of environmental circumstances. Whales too, are so important to so many people around the globe, identified in histories and cultures sporting figures as diverse as Paikea, Ahab, Bake-kujira, Willie, Pinocchio’s Monstro and with a sleight of hand, Jonah. This diversity of appreciation and engagement are a vital aspect of civil human life, and it is far different than bias and bigotry which seeks to unify understanding under intractable one-sided violence. Engagement, not division, remains the touchstone of this campaign….”

ZLI’s Beached Campaign is set to fund research in the form of grants, scholarships and pending additional funding, a potential post-doctoral position within the Institute itself. The Awards Committee will consider projects studying cetaceans of all species, including a distinct PhotoDiversity Award for the encouragement of diversity in science as has been the case in years past. ZLI’s PhotoSciences Research funds exploration in photo-physiology, sensory ecology and light based community interactions (integrative photo-biology). Candidates for the initial grant distribution will be selected on 1 August 2020.

ZLI perpetually seeks candidates for ZLI’s Beached Campaign lecture series and symposium with letters of inquiry sent to beached@zoolighting.org also due by 1 August for the fall season. ZLI’s Beached Campaign also will feature an upcoming documentary ‘Beached’, to begin shooting in New Bedford (USA), New Zealand and Japan in conjunction with PhotoDiversity Films, as soon as investments and sponsorships are secured.

For more information about ZLI’s Beached Campaign, and to learn how to sponsor or donate to help whales while encouraging diversity and engagement, please do visit << www.zoolighting.org >>. For an immediate response contact ZLI directly at beached@zoolighting.org, and ask to speak with one of ZLI’s Beached Campaign Committee Leaders.

Click here to view PDF

Letter From Frederick W. Smith and Raj Subramaniam to All FedEx Team Members and Global Leadership

06.02.2020 - 01:39PM

Team,

This is an extraordinarily difficult time in the United States as we grapple with tragedy and unrest in our communities. There is absolutely no place for racism or unequal treatment anywhere, and we must unequivocally speak out and reject it when we see it. That’s why we are writing to you today.

The recent killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and many others are devastating. The unrest across the nation and the grieving in our local communities are a reminder that we all must keep doing more to create meaningful change and healing.

At FedEx, our workforce is as diverse as the world we serve, and we believe that everyone deserves respect. Embracing diversity is not just the right thing to do; we also have proven that it fosters innovation and makes us a more competitive company. It’s also about fostering acceptance, promoting anti-biases, and encouraging a more inclusive society. These values are core to who we are and how we operate.

As a company and as individuals, we must understand the power of our words and thinking. We should demonstrate empathy and kindness in all our actions and be willing to address these topics in and outside of the workplace. The conversation about treating people with respect, dignity, and acceptance is one that is necessary and one we must keep going. And now, more than ever, it is a priority.

We are proud of our long-standing history of supporting and fostering relationships with organizations that are working to make our society more equitable and just. We will continue working with the leaders of those organizations to see what more we can do together.

You have our commitment that at FedEx, we won’t rest in our pursuit of a world where everyone is treated equally and given the respect they deserve.

Frederick W. Smith

Chairman & CEO

FedEx Corporation

Raj Subramaniam

President & COO

FedEx Corporation

Making It Count: Digital Transformation in the Face of a Crisis

06.02.2020 - 12:30PM

Originally published by Adobe

Every ten years, the Federal Government tackles a monumental challenge: the U.S. Census. Dating back to 1790, the Census’ goal is to count the entire population to help determine how billions of dollars in federal funding will flow into states and communities. This includes, but is not limited to, the forecasting and planning for schools, hospitals, roads, emergency services.

Ten years ago, while a digital campaign that leaned into advertising kicked off, the majority of responses were still collected by mail. To make up for the 26% of the population who did not respond, 634,000 census takers then walked door to door to count households that failed to respond, a massive operation that took excess manpower and money.

In trying to reduce barriers to participation, the U.S. Census has spent the past decade modernizing its operation. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and like many organizations, the Census Bureau had to adapt.

The first digital decennial

The strategy for 2020 was always focused on digital adoption and making it easy for people to self-respond with the first online census. Not only would this give people the ability to complete the questionnaire anywhere and anytime. It would also save the government significant time and labor. In its first year, more than half of U.S. households have already responded online. The Census Bureau could save at least $55 million for each 1% increase in digital census responses, compared with paper-based survey responses and door-to door recording.

COVID-19 turned the Census’ digital strategy into a necessity, with millions across the country ordered to shelter in place, and door-to-door counts put on hold.

Stephen Buckner, the Assistant Director of Communications at the Census Bureau, believes that the current COVID-19 pandemic has shined light on the important role digital technology plays in our everyday personal and work-related lives.

“No one anticipated a scenario quite like COVID-19, but we purposely planned the 2020 Census to be flexible and resilient,” Buckner said. “But having the ability to get people to respond online has really helped insulate us more than we could have possibly hoped.”

The Bureau has a goal of getting 180 million people (55% of the population) to respond online this year—and early results are already outperforming expectations. Overall, more than 56% of U.S. households have responded.

Greater intelligence with Adobe

While seemingly every brand relies on data to inform decision-making, the Census Bureau takes on the latest data-gathering exercise each decade. Separate from a portal to filling out the census, census.gov is also leveraged by other government bodies, businesses, schools, policy makers and many others to obtain important data.

In partnership with Adobe, the Census Bureau has accelerated its modern, data-driven, and customer service-focused goals, by receiving stronger analysis about who is coming to their website, which areas of the site are most trafficked, and delivering personalized content in real-time.

The Bureau started with a research-based approach, implementing Adobe Analytics to define who its web visitors were, where they were coming from, and using that as a roadmap to redesign and transform census.gov into an innovative website that allows people to find information much more easily. The Bureau also selected Adobe Experience Manager as a Managed Service to serve as the backbone for publishing its high volume of content and information quickly to census.gov. The outreach campaign is available in 13 different languages, and the website offers personalized content and landing pages in 59 languages. The site is also mobile optimized; today more than 35% of the Census Bureau’s traffic comes from mobile.

Using Adobe Target, to personalize experiences and increase online participation in its decennial count through AB testing, has given the Bureau a better understanding of these various personas and the type of information they are looking for.

We use the real-time clickthroughs and other metrics to help us find out whether or not an ad or other product is reaching the right audience,” Buckner says. “And then does it actually convert into a survey response? The ability to monitor that in real-time has been a real game-changer.

Necessity Really Is the Mother of Invention: Meet Two Nurses Working on Clever Innovations to Keep Moms and Babies Healthy

06.02.2020 - 11:00AM

You’ve likely heard the phrase “necessity is the mother of invention.”

At Johnson & Johnson, we take that message to heart—especially when it comes to supporting nurses, whom we believe are some of healthcare’s greatest innovators.

It's why Johnson & Johnson launched the Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge series in 2018, with the sole purpose of helping bring nurses’ bright ideas for how to improve healthcare to life through mentorship and funding.

The latest one, the Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Maternal and Newborn Health—held in partnership with the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses—was focused on finding innovative solutions for improving neonatal care, obstetrics and women’s health.

“With 2020 designated by the World Health Organization as International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we were very excited to launch the Johnson & Johnson Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Maternal and Newborn Health," says Lynda Benton, Senior Director, Global Corporate Equity at Johnson & Johnson. "We knew that nurses and midwives were innovating in this space every day, that it was an area with many needs, and hoped that this challenge would help to inspire more nurses and midwives to bring their great ideas forward. We continue to be blown away by the quality and depth of the submissions for each challenge we have launched, and our two awardees for this challenge are equally impressive.”

In time for Mother's Day and National Nurses Week, we sat down with both of the winners—each of whom will receive $50,000 in grant funding and mentorship from experts at the Johnson & Johnson family of companies—to learn about their work, the impact they're already having on the health of moms and babies, and their plans for making that impact even bigger.

“I Want All Pregnant Women and New Moms to Feel Prepared—and Supported”

You’d think Sigi Marmorstein, who was working as a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse when she was pregnant with her first child, would have felt ready for labor, delivery and becoming a mother.

Yet when her son was born with facial paralysis, and she experienced hemorrhaging afterward, she felt lost.

“I’m a nurse! I know things about babies,” Marmorstein says. “But I didn’t feel like I knew what was happening with me, or that my healthcare providers were really supporting my pregnancy and post-partum journey.”

So in 2014, when Marmorstein became the director of a telehealth services company, she knew exactly what she wanted to do to help other women feeling the same way.

“I wanted to figure out a way to keep an eye and ear on mom and baby throughout her pregnancy and those potentially tough post-partum days,” she says. “I wanted us to be able to go home with them, in a way.”

Enter BabyLiveAdvice, a digital platform designed to support, educate and empower mothers and parents so they feel confident and knowledgeable about pregnancy, delivery, breastfeeding, infant care and more. It features both video and chat components so moms can easily get help online from a healthcare provider, midwife, nurse, mental health practitioner and even a peer if something concerning is going on.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, BabyLiveAdvice has seen a surge in users.

“Like everyone, new moms are at home more now, and unfortunately that’s increasing everything from anxiety to depression,” Marmorstein says. “Our ability to connect with new moms who may be struggling in a number of ways is so helpful right now.”

Marmorstein’s ultimate goal is to reach 1 million moms around the world, and she’s hopeful that being an awardee in the Nurses Innovate QuickFire Challenge in Maternal and Newborn Health will help her do just that.

“One of our big goals is to keep the membership cost down so everyone can access BabyLiveAdvice,” she says. “We’d also love to provide even more educational services for free, so more women feel more prepared to become mothers.”

“We Created the World’s First Low-Cost, All-in-One Neonatal Intensive Care Incubator”

Wisam Breegi was working in clinical research in Baghdad, Iraq, when his son was born a couple of weeks early during the height of the Gulf War. Breegi rushed his wife to the hospital, but due to frequent bombings, the electricity was out—which meant the incubator his newborn needed wasn’t working.

“Our infant son was so cold he was blue,” Breegi says. “We had to leave the hospital well before we should have so we could sit in the car with him, because at least we could get heat there.”

Years later, that experience inspired Breegi to create a battery- and solar-powered neonatal intensive care incubator (NICI). Imagine a little tent that combines heat and humidity control, photo therapy (to help treat jaundice) and even WiFi and artificial intelligence to help care optimally for a baby.

It’s every bit as high-tech as the incubators you'll find in a hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit—with one difference. The NICI is disposable—meaning it's sterile—and affordable, costing about $2,000, compared to $100,000 for the average hospital incubator. Plus, it can be used at home as well as in the hospital.

But before Breegi could move forward with his invention, he knew he’d also need input from a nurse.

“Nurses are the most essential piece in the development of a good, practical medical device,” he says. “They understand what works best for patients, and what they need when using the equipment so they can best help those patients.”

So Breegi tapped Nicole Lincoln, senior manager of nursing innovation at Boston Medical Center, to help analyze his initial designs. The 25-year nursing veteran gave a lot of feedback, suggested tweaks and, as new design iterations and prototypes became available, grew more and more excited about what a medical device like this could mean for new moms and their babies. For example, she says, parents might use the NICI at home to treat something like jaundice, where in most cases a baby is stable but needs a certain number of hours of photo therapy a day.

And according to Breegi, Lincoln and her team have been quick to respond to the current pandemic by adapting their NICI technology to potentially help babies born to mothers who test positive for Covid-19.

“We see an average of two to three women give birth each week who test positive for the novel coronavirus,” Lincoln says. “The NICI could keep those babies safely contained, helping free up a hospital bed so that mom and baby can go home but remain isolated. It could also reduce the risk of hospital staff contracting the virus because it doesn’t need to be cleaned—it can be thrown out.”

While the NICI isn’t on the market yet, Breegi and Lincoln hope the grant they’ve just been awarded from Johnson & Johnson will make a big difference in helping make that happen.

“I want to help other parents avoid the situation my wife and I found ourselves in,” Breegi says. “We could’ve lost our baby because of a lack of equipment. No parent should have to face that.”

Have a Smart Idea for Helping Make Childbirth Safer?

Johnson & Johnson is awarding up to $200,000 in grant funding, plus mentoring from company experts, to big thinkers with potential solutions for improving pregnancy, birth and postpartum care in the United States.

Learn more

Top Tips for Getting a Job in Impact Investment

06.02.2020 - 10:18AM

Impact investment is the fastest growing sector of the financial industry. In a 2019 deal that signalled the scale and potential of the sector’s future, the British asset manager, Schroders (with over $400 billion of assets under management) acquired a majority stake in BlueOrchard. Schroders’ CEO, Peter Harrison, commented that impact investment is a “mega-trend”.

The time will come when impact investing is the norm. Considering this is the future, many people are seeking out roles in the sector. Continuing our series of articles about impact investment, we offer a few tips for getting a job in collaboration with Ian Povey-Hall, Consultant at Acre, who specialises in recruiting professionals in impact investment, ESG, and sustainability. Ian’s tips are as follows:

Know your specialist skills - although it’s tempting to see job hunting through your own eyes, it’s important that you consider what employers may be looking for in candidates. As a result, consider what specialist skills you have and how these may be useful for your next employer.

What can you offer to your next firm that they don’t already have? In the impact investment space, we are seeing the worlds of traditional investment converge with broader industry sectors, such as sustainability, climate science, and policy. Asset owners and asset managers will be looking for candidates that can bring unique skills to an organisation to give them the competitive edge in the marketplace. This could be educational qualifications or experience in impact or mission-driven businesses.
Knowledge of the investment market - if you are looking to get into the impact investment space and have not previously worked in the financial services sector, a vital point to consider is to gain a thorough understanding of the investment market and how it works. Whilst you may be interviewing for a role that is not investment-based or client-facing, your potential employer will still want you to understand the nuances of the industry.
Clarity of desired workplace - knowing what type of job you want is, of course, very important. What is also imperative, however, is where you want that job. As with any industry, impact investment has a diverse array of workplaces and they vary significantly by size, scope, and intention.

There are the large, multi-national established investment houses that are busily building their impact practices running alongside the smaller, boutique firms that focus on impact investment and that alone. By having clarity over what environment best suits your skillset and experience will enable you to make the correct long-term decision.
Purpose and values alignment - the last tip is straightforward: find a company that matches what you stand for and what you believe in. By truly understanding your purpose in life and what values remain important to you will guide you in your job search. Organisations that align to your way of thinking are likely to have working environments, fellow colleagues, and management teams that will be complimentary to your view of the world. Seek them out as this workplace harmony will pay dividends in the short, medium, and long term.

There you have it: four quick tips for seeking a role in the impact investment sector. If you want to learn more about impact investing, then the following sources are a good place to start to grow your knowledge and exposure: The Impact Investing Institute (https://www.impactinvest.org.uk), and the Global Impact Investing Network (https://thegiin.org) both offer abundant resources.

If you want to find out what type of roles are available in the sector and how to apply, please speak to Ian Povey-Hall and his impact investment team by clicking here.

This blog was originally written by Ethical Compass, an independent engagement agency working exclusively with corporate pension schemes, with advice from Head of Impact Investment at Acre, Ian Povey-Hall.

Rostam Zafari Joins Cornerstone Capital Group Board of Directors

06.02.2020 - 08:00AM

Cornerstone Capital Group (“Cornerstone”) today announced the appointment of Rostam Zafari to its Board of Directors. Zafari is a humanitarian who is passionate about providing access to affordable healthcare, economic opportunity, quality education, and healthy food for underserved communities through impact investing and philanthropy.

“We are delighted to have Rostam join our Board of Directors. As a well-known thought leader and proven expert in designing impactful solutions in the fields of healthcare and education, Rostam’s input will be invaluable to our board,” said Erika Karp, Founder and CEO of Cornerstone.

Zafari has received substantial recognition for his humanitarian efforts. He founded Rapid Ebola Detection Strips (REDS), which identified Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in record time and reduced the cost of testing from $50,000 to less than $50. His work with REDS earned him a 2015 Cyrus Prize and an invitation to the White House by Michelle Obama. Rostam also helped build and serves as a board member of The New School, a high school based on the principles of community-engaged learning and social entrepreneurship.

“I am honored to serve as a board member at such a purpose-driven firm,” added Zafari. “Cornerstone’s commitment to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by providing access to healthcare and quality education through investments resonates with me. Erika taught me that every investment is an impact investment because the way we move money has a tangible impact on the world- whether we choose to see it or not. I look forward to working with Erika and her team as they usher in the next generation of investing to build a more prosperous, equitable, and beautiful world.”

Zafari currently serves as the Managing Partner at World Within Labs, a venture firm dedicated to building impactful companies that assist underserved communities. Prior to joining World Within Labs, Rostam was the Chief Investment Officer for Sage Hill Capital Partners, where he managed more than fifty investments in companies with purpose-driven founders and with fund managers across the US, Europe, India, and Africa.

About Cornerstone Capital Group

Cornerstone Capital Group seeks to align our clients’ investments with the issues that matter most to them, without sacrificing financial performance. The firm works with families and individuals, foundations and endowments, multifamily offices and other registered investment advisors to develop and manage customized investment strategies to achieve bespoke financial and impact objectives. Cornerstone also offers a long-only global equity mutual fund, the Cornerstone Capital Access Impact Fund (CCIIX), designed to provide liquid access to global impact.

### 

Contact:

Betsy Emerson  
Cornerstone Capital Group 
646-930-4257  
Betsy.emerson@cornerstonecapinc.com

Jay Morakis 
M Group Strategic Communications  
646-859-5951 
jmorakis@mgroupsc.com

Teva Showcases Global Impact in 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance Progress Report

06.02.2020 - 08:00AM

Tetra Tech Develops Microseismic Technology to Mitigate Tailings Dam Breaches

06.02.2020 - 08:00AM

Technology Solutions

Tetra Tech is a leader in developing solutions to support the operational safety of geotechnical and natural structures. On a global scale, tailings dam breaches are increasing in frequency, causing significant damage to the environment and even loss of life. To mitigate these catastrophic events in the future, Tetra Tech developed microseismic technology that can monitor the structural stability of tailings dams and identify parameters that may cause a failure.

Tetra Tech’s microseismic technology uses ambient seismic noise to detect internal changes in a tailings dam, observing velocity changes in the whole structure. This indirect technique measures the rigidity variation of the dam, and by continuously monitoring the change in wave velocity of the structure, identifies sources that may cause a failure. This method also identifies any anomalous behavior, creating real-time data for Tetra Tech’s geotechnical engineers to make decisions with confidence.

Tetra Tech has recently implemented microseismic technology to monitor tailings dams in Brazil, commissioning more than 20 tailings dams and installing more than 180 geophones connected to 50 seismic stations. These systems are processing data collected continuously to support the safety of miners and dams in varying locations and ground conditions. The systems provide an extensive flow of data to identify early warnings about the integrity of tailings dams and allow our geotechnical engineers to remotely monitor each dam’s structural stability and mitigate breaches.

By Leading with Science®, Tetra Tech continues to provide our clients with the technology, tools, and innovative solutions to address the dangers of tailings dam breaches, helping meet standards, regulations, and demands in the mining industry.

Setting the Stage for Gender Equality in Canadian Banking and Financial Services

06.01.2020 - 12:27PM

Canada has witnessed some exciting gender equality wins over the last few years, both symbolic and concrete. Senate passed a bill to make the national anthem gender neutral1. The government rolled out an expanded parental leave policy, helping to alleviate the burden on new mothers2. The City of Montréal hosted the first-ever meeting of female foreign ministers3.

But as the COVID-19 virus makes its mark worldwide, it threatens to undo the progress made in Canada and abroad. And as we face a recession predicted to shrink Canada’s GDP by 6.2%, women will bear the brunt of the downturn since they make up the bulk of the sectors most affected – restaurants, travel and hospitality4. On top of being at higher risk for losing their jobs, they’re also most likely to be working alongside the virus each day, as women make up 75% of health practitioners5.

Pandemic aside, here in Canada’s financial services industry, we’ve had work to do all along. Within our six largest banks, women make up 58% of the total workforce, but only 38% of senior management positions6.

While one industry may not determine the policy direction the government takes to promote gender equality, Canadian banking and financial services leaders do have the power to promote change in our own organizations and the industry at large, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. So where to begin?

Taking Action

Attaining a truly inclusive environment and culture of equality requires an “all hands on deck” approach and mindset from employees at all levels of an organization. While everyone has a responsibility to uphold gender equality efforts, senior leadership holds particular responsibility to make change in an organization. If those at the top of the pyramid are not on board and willing to implement programs, set targets or engage other leaders, those below will lack motivation and hope for change.

To see real, measurable change in their organizations, those leaders must take action on several key initiatives. As we push through the COVID-19 pandemic, we are offered a rare opportunity to put these measures to work.

Pay – Negating the gender pay gap is perhaps the most obvious step to promoting gender equality, and no one can deny its importance. In Canada, women earn $0.87 for every dollar that men earn, or $4.13 less than men per hour7, showing that we still have work to do. And with an impending global recession thanks to the pandemic, women are predicted to be hit harder than men since they make up a greater percentage of the workforce in service-related jobs such as those in the hospitality sector8. As a result, we may see slower progress over the next few years in creating equal pay. Within the financial services industry and as a sector that will be spared the worst of this economic downturn, we have a duty to focus on taking down the pay gap wherever possible.

Hiring and Promotions – Diverse organizations – especially those with a diverse leadership suite – outperform homogenous ones. In times of crisis, as we find ourselves now, when a leadership suite brings greater perspectives due to a variety of identities, organizations are stronger for it. To set your organization on the right track to building a strong pool of female employees and employees of colour ripe for leadership positions, consider implementing a mentorship program. While female leaders can serve as helpful mentors to other women looking to climb the ranks, pairing male leaders with female associates is just as important so that leadership across the board may be able to look beyond their own unconscious biases to see the organization’s leader talent pool for what it is.

Parental Leave and Childcare – Over the decades, women may have been set back in the workplace due to outright discrimination in some cases, but societal parenting roles play a huge part in gender imbalance. Sixty percent of women say it’s a challenge to balance work and family compared to 52% of men – indicating that women lose time focusing on their work because societal parental roles obligate them to shoulder more of the childrearing9. Favourable parental leave for both men and women, with comparable lengths of time and benefits, is an important step in overcoming this barrier. Providing employees with affordable childcare options, such as an on-site daycare centre or a pre-tax childcare spending account, also helps alleviate the burden on both mothers and fathers in your organization and lets them focus on their careers.

Work Flexibility – As women still carry the larger burden of childcare, flexible work arrangements, such as the ability to work from home or to work flexible hours, are particularly important for retaining and promoting female employees. According to a study from the University of British Columbia, “When companies allow work to be organized in a flexible way, they're less worried about hiring mothers… Not only does flexibility make it easier for mothers to do well in their jobs, but it also alleviates concern from the employer that they'll be able to10.” The broader importance of flexibility, not just for parents, but for all employees, is clearly important for working through times of crisis, such as now. Employers who already enabled flexible arrangements experienced less disruption transitioning to the new normal of quarantining. The setup especially supports parents suddenly burdened with full-time childcare on top of their jobs. Organizations that have robust flexible work programs should realize the benefits during this pandemic crisis, where working from home has been a critical component to quickly mobilize a response for business activities.

Diversity Training – To make sure all employees in the organization receive the message of how gender equality is treated within the organization, the importance of diversity should be part of the employee training process for all employees. Just as you require employees to participate in quarterly or annual cybersecurity training, diversity training should recur in their required training queue to keep the issue fresh on employees’ minds.

D&I – More than just giving women a seat at the leadership table within the financial services and banking space, we need to create a welcoming, diverse environment. Establishing a diversity and inclusion (D&I) committee and other similar interest group committees reinforces the idea of inclusivity for not only women, but also people of colour, LGBTQ professionals and other underrepresented groups, and provides important spaces and resources for these professionals. Seventy percent of Canadian organizations say they focus on improving D&I, versus 81% of organizations globally11.

Tracking Metrics – Quantitative tracking of furthered gender equality means so much more than anecdotal evidence of progress. Every organization’s HR team should track demographics to help the company understand its D&I progress. Sixty-five percent of Canadian organizations do so already, compared to 64% of organizations globally12. Ideally this number will be 100% in the near future. This should go beyond just tracking the number of women within the organization in leadership roles. It should also look at aspects like tenure, pay, and sense of belonging via employee engagement surveys. Diving deeper into such numbers can provide helpful direction into where problems may lie.

Seeing progress firsthand

As the leader of the Canadian division of Northern Trust with more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, I’ve witnessed the gender balance come a long way. Do I still occasionally find myself as one of few women in the room, and sometimes the only woman in the room? At times, yes.

However, while we all still have work to do, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m very proud of the strides I’ve witnessed at Northern Trust over the course of my career. With a robust D&I program, an impressive gender ratio of leaders, and built-in training surrounding diversity and gender equality, we’ve been recognized by programs like the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index for our progress. At the same time, we, like so many others in our industry, recognize we can’t claim victory yet in our efforts to reach true gender equality.

I am confident that we and our industry peers will continue to rise to the occasion of promoting gender equality and in particular, leveraging lessons from this current crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic should serve as a catalyst for change. It has revealed the world’s economic inequity with stark contrasts. We must show we care by being committed to fair pay, transparent compensation principles, and diverse and inclusive workplaces.

1 CNN, Canada moves to make its national anthem gender-neutral, June 15 2018
2 HuffPost, Canadian Dads Can Take 5 Weeks Of Shared Parental Leave. Here's Why They Should, March 25 2019
3 Foreign Policy, One Small Step for Feminist Foreign Policy, September 20 2018
4 The New York Times, Why This Economic Crisis Differs From the Last One for Women, March 31 2020
5 World Health Organization, Spotlight on Statistics, February 2008
6 Canadian Bankers Association, Representation of Women at Banks in Canada, January 14 2020
7 Statistics Canada, The gender wage gap in Canada: 1998 to 2018, October 7 2019
8 ibid.
9 Pew Research Center, For many working dads, balancing work and family is a challenge, June 12 2019
10 ScienceDaily, Flexible work arrangements reduce wage gap for mothers, May 10 2018
11 Mercer, Let’s Get Real About Equality, 2020
12 ibid.

Racism Is Another Virus to Eradicate

06.01.2020 - 11:40AM

The following message was sent by VF’s CEO, Steve Rendle, to all VF employees globally on May 30.

To All VF Associates Worldwide –

This week the world witnessed the tragic death of George Floyd, an African American man whose life was needlessly taken by a Minneapolis police officer who pinned him to the ground and held a knee on his neck.

The stomach-churning images and videos of this horrible incident have dominated the news and social media feeds in the U.S. and beyond in recent days. And now these images include the immediate aftermath of this situation: protestors clashing with police, buildings on fire, people hurting – and pundits on television talking about how this can never happen again.

This should never have happened, period, much less again. But, if we’re honest, we know it likely will. We know this story all too well because it’s repeated with frustrating regularity, not only in the U.S. but all over the world. It’s heartbreaking. And it’s unacceptable.

As I’ve thought about this situation, I can’t help but draw comparisons between it and the global pandemic we’re currently facing. Why? Because both have been caused by a virus. The virus behind our global shutdown has a formal name: COVID-19. The virus that caused the death of George Floyd and many other people of color also has a formal name. It’s called racism. Unfortunately, our world only seems interested in finding a cure for one of these diseases.

Let’s be clear, racism isn’t an American issue alone. Yes, it’s inextricably linked to U.S. history, but racism doesn’t adhere to borders. It lives just below the surface in our global society and is triggered by certain events. For example, hatred is now being directed toward the Asian community in response to the coronavirus outbreak and its regional origin. The intersection of these two viruses is extremely ironic.

Racism is not welcome at VF Corporation. It never has been and never will be. And while we as a company can’t create a vaccine to eradicate racism from our planet, we can do our part to lead with purpose, inspire others with our actions, break down racial and ethnic barriers and be part of the solution. Unlike the coronavirus, we aren’t going to stay in our homes or hide from the racism virus. We’re going to continue to fight it, but do so through constructive and collaborative efforts, not destructive and violent protests.

Starting today and over the coming weeks, you will see VF and our brands speak out against racism and engage both our associates and external audiences in positive, productive dialogue. And because many of us are hurting and feeling an extra level of anxiety these days, we will be taking concrete steps to support you during this time. To this end, our Inclusion & Diversity team will create virtual venues for us to gather, discuss and express our emotions, which are understandably high right now. We will activate our Employee Resource Groups in ways that elevate this topic to a higher degree internally, and we will leverage our Executive Inclusion & Diversity Council so we can understand what other actions we should be taking to support our people.

VF and our brands have been championing equity, equality and belonging for a long time, whether that’s through specific support for initiatives and organizations from our individual brands or supporting dozens of minority-led and focused organizations through the VF Foundation and other forms of corporate support. This isn’t new territory for us. But the senseless death of George Floyd seems different. It seems like a turning point in this long battle against the racism virus. And while I’m not confident we will discover a cure in the near term, we need to start with acknowledging that racism is also a pandemic – and one that has been an immensely debilitating factor in our society and abhorrent to our professed values of inclusion and equality.

We at VF will continue to do what’s right and lead by example through not just words, but actions. As always, we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that our company is one where everyone feels welcome, supported and inspired to be exactly who they are.

That is who we are at VF, and each of us plays a critical role in helping our global society build a more enduring remedy for racism and hatred.

Steve Rendle
Chairman, President & CEO

UPS to Mark World Environment Day by Matching Offsets of Carbon Neutral Shipments in June

06.01.2020 - 11:15AM

UPS TO MARK WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY BY MATCHING OFFSETS OF CARBON NEUTRAL SHIPMENTS IN JUNE

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced the company will commemorate World Environment Day on June 5 by matching the carbon offsets of all packages shipped via its carbon neutral program during the month of June. UPS carbon neutral counterbalances the estimated carbon impact of each shipment by purchasing certified carbon offsets.

UPS will automatically match all offsets during the month of June. To start shipping more sustainably today, please click here. For more information on UPS’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, visit www.ups.com/sustainability, and stay tuned for the company’s upcoming 18th annual Sustainability Report when it is released on June 30, 2020.

Schneider Electric's 2019 - 2020 Sustainability Report

06.01.2020 - 11:11AM

The 2018 – 2020 Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) is a collection of our sustainability goals, grouped under five megatrends. We use the SSI to share and measure our progress toward our own sustainability objectives, which are closely tied to the United Nations (U.N.) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

"More than ever, in 2019, the SSI demonstrates that rapid, disruptive changes for a more sustainable world are possible across diverse and complex topics. I am amazed by the commitment of our teams and partners worldwide to contribute to our common goals, and confident we are on the right path with efforts validated by external experts. This year will be pivotal in pushing to reach ambitious targets and inviting stakeholders to help define the 2021 – 2025 SSI, in line with the SDGs." - Olivier Blum, Chief Strategy & Sustainability Officer, Schneider Electric

"We work to advance the U.N. SDGs every day. They are a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for all people and our planet. Achieving them requires global partnerships to transform our world by 2030 and beyond. The SDGs form the basis of our SSI, which guides our contributions toward tackling climate change, ending poverty, improving health, and reducing inequality. We invite you to explore this report to see how our actions help advance these global efforts." Gilles Vermot Desroches, Sustainable Development Senior Vice President, Schneider Electric

Procter & Gamble and Cargill Collaborate to Bring Nature-Powered Innovation, Fueling the Future for more Sustainable Products

06.01.2020 - 09:30AM

An innovation developed in the corporate R&D labs at P&G that converts lactic acid into bio-based acrylic acid could be a helpful step to shift everyday goods to be made from annually renewable crops. P&G has granted Cargill an exclusive license that allows Cargill to further develop and commercialize this technology, so that it can ultimately be incorporated in a range of applications from superabsorbent polymers in absorbent hygiene products to thickeners in household paints and beyond. The use of bio-based acrylic acid is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to greener products for years to come – something that is important to a range of stakeholders, including consumers and business leaders.

P&G scientists were recently announced as winners of the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2020 Award for Affordable Green Chemistry for this groundbreaking proprietary technology. While the conversion technology is considered a breakthrough, it will take several more years of development before impacting consumer products in the marketplace.

“This new technology demonstrates that we can leverage the best materials science with new bio-based solutions to deliver sustainable innovation in consumer goods production. By investing in advancing bio-based solutions, we can and will help reduce the carbon footprint of various industries. This is consistent with P&G’s stated Ambition 2030 sustainability goals to look to new, renewable sources of raw materials for conversion into everyday products,” says Dr. Annie Weisbrod, Principal Scientist, Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability at Procter & Gamble.

“Manufacturers and brand owners have been seeking viable pathways to bio-based acrylic acid to reduce the environmental impact, and P&G’s conversion technology brings us closer to a solution,” says Mr. Asheesh Choudhary, global business development director for Cargill’s bioindustrial business.

“We are thrilled that P&G granted Cargill an exclusive license to this technology that converts lactic acid into bio-acrylic acid,” says Dr. Jill Zullo, strategic marketing and innovation leader for Cargill’s bioindustrial business. “By using annually renewable crops, we’ll be able to contribute to farmer prosperity while delivering more renewable solutions that are estimated to have less than half the GHG footprint versus the petroleum-based equivalent.”

About Cargill

Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive.

We combine 154 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com/ for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Contact:

Jennifer Patel, Global Communications Lead, 612-644-1891, jennifer_patel@cargill.com
Maria Burquest, P&G Communications, 513-680-5977, burquest.mh@pg.com

Crayola Launches 'Colors of the World' Skin Tone-Inspired Crayon Colors

06.01.2020 - 08:20AM

Originally posted on Good Morning America

Thanks to Crayola, children of many different backgrounds can have access to crayons that are reflective of their own skin tone.

The handicraft company announced its "Colors of the World" line featuring 24 new crayon colors representing 40 global skin tones.

In partnership with CEO of MOB Beauty Victor Casale, the shades were carefully crafted to go from extra light to deepest while incorporating rose, almond and golden undertones.

Click here to continue reading

Tetra Tech Recognizes Safety Month 2020: Safer and Stronger Together

05.29.2020 - 10:45AM

Health & Safety

On June 1, 2010, Tetra Tech launched its first Safety Month campaign to promote an annual focused safety message as part of the company’s strong safety culture. Our Health & Safety leaders teamed up with the U.S. National Safety Council to provide our employees with access to various safety tools and resources, and Tetra Tech’s Safety Month was born. The first Safety Month theme was “Make a Difference, One Act at a Time.” We encouraged our staff to share their stories and actions on ways to stay safe at home, at work, and on the roads.

Ten years later, the need for an annual focused safety message is just as important as we continue to take small actions that make a big difference. As we have grown from 11,000 employees to 20,000 global staff, we are proud to see that we have grown Safer and Stronger Together.

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic presents new challenges to our safety efforts and requires us to navigate our Health & Safety procedures in new ways. While our program has always supported the various types of work we perform, the rapid adjustments to our Health & Safety processes over the last few months have touched each of our 20,000 employees.

Throughout June, we will highlight how we are Safer and Stronger Together during this time through our Health & Safety program focus on emergency preparedness, safe driving, and Focus 4 Injury Prevention. We also will highlight how each of us can continue to make a big difference one step at a time. Our 2020 Safer and Stronger Together campaign will focus on the following topics:

Week 1 (June 1-5) – Expect the Unexpected
Week 2 (June 8-12) – Safer Roads Ahead
Week 3 (June 15-19) – Focus Four
Week 4 (June 22-26) – Safety Together

Tetra Tech’s commitment to safety is reflected in the company’s safety achievements. In 2019 our enterprise-wide Total Recordable Incident Rate outperformed industry peers by 43 percent, and our enterprise-wide Lost Work Day Incident Rate outperformed industry peers by 45 percent. Additionally, 34 Tetra Tech operating units qualified to receive the U.S. National Safety Council Perfect Record Award for 12 consecutive months without a Lost Workday Injury.

Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for safety resources and to see how we are Safer and Stronger Together.

Hershey Continues to Scale Cocoa Sustainability Efforts

05.29.2020 - 10:30AM

Originally published by The Hershey Company

At Hershey, we are driven by our purpose of making more moments of goodness, whether that’s eating S’mores over the campfire or sharing Hershey’s Kisses with a friend. It’s a passion we’ve had for more than 125 years, and we want everyone who enjoys our great-tasting chocolate to feel good about those special moments.

It’s our job to ensure that we use only the best ingredients in our products and that those ingredients are sourced ethically and sustainably. At the top of that list is cocoa and how we use the principles of fair and ethical trade in our practices.

That’s why we are proud to announce that we’re committing to increase our Cocoa For Good direct sourcing program to 100% coverage of our high-risk areas of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana by 2025. This significantly increases our direct investment in those areas and will give us clear line of sight into where all of our cocoa was grown and how it was produced – a level of transparency we’ve never had before. We will provide more holistic intervention support to farmers, and scale-up programs to help end instances of child labor.

We are also expanding our Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems, to cover 100% of our high risk sourcing in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. This means we will be assessing more than 125,000 children, a 350% increase. CLMRS is the leading child labor monitoring and remediation system that leverages both supply chain personnel and community members to identify potential cases of child labor. Once identified, these cases are remediated often through simple education to the farmer on what work is acceptable for children to do as part of the farming family. Other times, we need to provide assistance to the farmer, such as providing a birth certificate so their child can stay in school.

Hershey is fully committed to ending instances of child labor within our supply chain. We’re working with farmers to educate them on what is acceptable child work and what is considered child labor. It is important to understand the distinction between the two as defined by the ILO, as we know appropriate child work occurs on family farms all over the world – as long as they are attending school and doing work that is appropriate for their age.

We’re pleased that this CLMRS work to date has found zero instances of forced labor. But know there is more work to do to have zero instances of all forms of child labor – which is our ultimate goal.

We believe our focused efforts to improve our Hershey cocoa ecosystem are important and we are pleased to also announce that we have achieved our commitment to only source 100% certified and sustainable cocoa by 2020, a milestone we successfully hit earlier this year in January.

Certified and sustainable cocoa directly supports higher incomes for farmers and improved labor and environmental standards.
We also recognize that certification alone will not solve all of the challenges within the cocoa supply.

We’re also working to improve farmer incomes. To help increase farmers’ income from cocoa, we are paying the West African Living Income Differential; a premium paid to the government that should help support farmer income. This is on top of the premium we already pay farmers for our certified cocoa. We will continue providing training and resources to farmers to diversify their income, which will increase their resilience against market shocks. We do this by providing training and resources on growing alternate crops and supporting income-generating activities for women’s group in the local community.

These efforts are all part of our Cocoa For Good strategy we launched in 2018, a $500 million investment to further expand holistic interventions within cocoa farming communities. To date, we have worked with 54,000 cocoa-growing families. While we’ve made good progress, we need to move faster and expand our programs further.

We believe children can reach their full potential in the classroom only when they have proper nutrition to focus on their studies. We are expanding our proven ViVi school feeding program with our partners Project Peanut Butter and the Ivorian National Nutrition Council, to open a second ViVi nutritional supplement factory in Cote d’Ivoire and begin distributing the food to 25,000 Ivorian school children this year. ViVi is made from locally grown peanuts and has been proven in Ghana to reduce anemia and improve educational performance, and we’re optimistic for a similar result in Cote d’Ivoire. We are also partnering with Hellen Keller International to bring training to new mothers to enhance their knowledge and skills regarding newborn nutrition and early childhood development.

The growing threat of climate change is critically important to cocoa ecosystems, and Hershey is committed to doing its part to protect the environment. We’re strengthening our zero-deforestation commitment as part of the Cocoa and Forest Initiative. We are increasing the coverage of our satellite monitoring systems and mapping 100% of the West African cocoa farms in our supply chain, ensuring we have real-time and accurate monitoring. We are also supporting new solutions for farmers to obtain affordable land titles to promote farm rehabilitation and increase shade tree planting. In 2018 we distributed almost 2.7 million cocoa and shade tree saplings.

Building and announcing sustainability plans is easy; executing them is hard. We must work in partnership with farmers and communities, our suppliers, and interact with wider industry actors and governments to move forward. And this takes time. But we’re committed to making substantive and systemic change. And we will be transparent and continue to publish our progress in our yearly Sustainability Report.

We’re confident that together with all stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain, we can make positive change to ensure we will make more moments of goodness for everyone.

The CGF and Oliver Wyman Publish ‘Business as a Force for Good in Times of a Crisis’

05.29.2020 - 09:35AM

The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) has partnered with global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman on the curation of broad and insightful COVID-19 content for the industry. Produced to coincide with the launch of the CGF’s Global Learning Mechanism, the one-stop open access database for all information on health-related activities being led by the consumer goods industry and associated stakeholders across the globe, the content provides a global overview and a critical framework on COVID-19 actions, learnings and recommendations. Bringing together retailers and manufacturers, the content showcases how the industry responded to the unprecedented crisis and what the ‘new normal’ might look like for the industry.

The publication also responds in a timely fashion to a call from the CGF Board of Directors and David Nabarro, a WHO COVID-19 Special Envoy, on the need for global coordination in securing the availability of essential items for local communities, and the launch of the CGF’s Collaboration for Healthier Lives (CHL) Coalition that launched on World Health Day in April. The examples and insights within the framework show exactly how industry has responded with both speed and agility to this global crisis in support of healthier lives and vulnerable populations.

The first section provides an overall global context and the vital baseline facts on COVID-19 and its impact on the world and within the consumer goods industry. The next section goes on to showcase more than 470 case studies and innovative responses CGF members and other stakeholders have had to the pandemic across four key themes that are central to the work of the CGF’s. The themes include community, employees, digital, and in-store activities.

Critical challenges, learnings among employees, consumers, and business models are highlighted as well as key learnings on how members have managed the crisis and successfully maintained business continuity. The content also includes a section on emerging trends and strategic implications and recommendations for the industry’s “new normal” following the height of the pandemic.

This ‘one-of-a-kind’ collection of content shows the strength and commitment CGF members have towards their employees and communities.

“We are pleased to launch this piece of content that highlights the industry’s rapid COVID-19 response. Published with the support of our strategic partner Oliver Wyman, it also supports our vision of building the CGF’s Global Learning Mechanism into the go-to-platform for health experts. This content will enable us to learn from each other and empower leaders to stretch their thinking around what is possible to support people in living healthier lives in a constantly changing environment”, said Isabelle Grosmaitre of Danone and Marcus Osborne of Walmart, and CGF’s Collaboration for Healthier Lives Coalition Co-Chairs.

“The Global Learning Mechanism is an innovative and real-time online platform for businesses to efficiently learn from and collaborate with each other on global health & wellness issues and opportunities, positively impacting the world’s health and wellbeing,” says Sirko Siemssen, Retail & Consumer Goods Practice Leader at Oliver Wyman. “We are delighted to have been responsible for curating this content for the Global Learning Mechanism, the go-to health and wellness hub for the industry.”

The Consumer Goods Forum and Oliver Wyman would like to thank CGF members and stakeholders for their valuable contributions.

Download Learnings & New Normal Framework Overview

Download COVID-19 Case Studies: Actions from Retailers & Manufacturers

--Ends --

About The Consumer Goods Forum

The Consumer Goods Forum (“CGF”) is a global, parity-based industry network that is driven by its members to encourage the global adoption of practices and standards that serves the consumer goods industry worldwide. It brings together the CEOs and senior management of some 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers, and other stakeholders across 70 countries, and it reflects the diversity of the industry in geography, size, product category and format. Its member companies have combined sales of EUR 3.5 trillion and directly employ nearly 10 million people, with a further 90 million related jobs estimated along the value chain. It is governed by its Board of Directors, which comprises more than 50 manufacturer and retailer CEOs. For more information, please visit: www.theconsumergoodsforum.com.

About Oliver Wyman

Oliver Wyman is a global leader in management consulting. With offices in 60 cities across 29 countries, Oliver Wyman combines deep industry knowledge with specialized expertise in strategy, operations, risk management, and organization transformation. The firm has more than 5,000 professionals around the world who work with clients to optimize their business, improve their operations and risk profile, and accelerate their organizational performance to seize the most attractive opportunities. Oliver Wyman is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies [NYSE: MMC]. For more information, visit www.oliverwyman.com. Follow Oliver Wyman on Twitter @OliverWyman.

For further information, please contact:

Lee Green
Director, Communications
The Consumer Goods Forum
l.green@theconsumergoodsforum.com

Clara Smith
Oliver Wyman
Clara.smith@oliverwyman.com

CBRE Group, Inc. Releases 2019 Corporate Responsibility Report With Special Focus on COVID-19

05.29.2020 - 08:00AM

Subaru of America and National Parks Conservation Association Take Home 2020 Silver Halo Award for Best Sustainability Initiative

05.28.2020 - 04:41PM

Subaru of America, Inc., along with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), today announced they have been awarded the 2020 Silver Halo Award in the ‘Best Sustainability Initiative’ category by Engage for Good. The automaker and NPCA were recognized for the Don’t Feed the Landfills initiative, an environmentally focused campaign aimed at preserving national parks.

Since 2015, Subaru of America has worked with NPCA and the National Park Foundation (NPF) toward a shared goal of reducing landfill waste in America’s national parks. Through extensive research over the course of five years, the automaker and NPCA tested landfill best practices, piloting programs in three iconic national parks – Yosemite, Grand Teton, and Denali. As part of this collaborative effort, Subaru and NPCA, in coordination with the National Park Service staff and many partners, work to find innovative solutions to lessen the environmental footprint in and around national parks. Since the launch of the initiative, the pilot parks have made significant strides by nearly doubling their recycling and composting capabilities, keeping more than 16 million pounds of waste out of landfills, which is equivalent to the weight of 40,000 grizzly bears.

“Our national parks represent the very best of the American great outdoors, and we feel a responsibility to keep them clean and free of waste for future generations to enjoy,” said Alan Bethke, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Subaru of America, Inc. “We are honored that our ongoing work with NPCA and NPF has been recognized by Engage for Good with this Halo Award, and hope our efforts continue to inspire others to take care of the world around us.”

The successes and long-term impact of the initiative can be attributed to the collaborative community-based tailored approach. By first identifying the biggest waste items found in the pilot parks, which includes food waste, cardboard, single-use plastic bottles, plastic wrap and packaging, steel and aluminum cans, glass bottles and jars, and single use portable propane canisters, each park set incremental goals in order to reduce the most.

“We set out to tackle an enormous challenge for all national parks – keeping millions of pounds of waste they produce out of the landfills,” said Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for the National Parks Conservation Association. “With leadership from Subaru after successfully implementing zero landfill practices into their own operations, we joined forces and together have identified collaborative, innovative, and efficient ways to remove waste, and it’s making a big difference. Using the scalable zero landfill best management practices and lessons we’ve learned from the three pilot parks, we hope to expand this work so national parks across the country can adopt and implement these waste solutions, making parks more sustainable for generations to come.”

The Halo Awards, presented by Engage for Good, are North America’s highest honor for corporate social initiatives and cause marketing. This marks the 18th year that Engage for Good will honor businesses and nonprofits with Halo Awards for doing well by doing good.

“If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of companies leading with purpose. The companies that have been able to quickly pivot and make a meaningful impact are the ones that already had a strong corporate social impact foundation they could activate and further engage during this time of crisis,” said David Hessekiel, President, Engage for Good.

A total of 28 category awards will be given out to programs at the first-ever Engage for Good Virtual Conference taking place online today, May 28th. A list of the Halo Award winners can be seen at www.engageforgood.com/halo-awards.

Don’t Feed the Landfills is part of Subaru Loves the Earth, the automaker’s environmentally-focused philanthropic pillar of the Subaru Love Promise. To learn more about Subaru Loves the Earth and the environmental work Subaru does, visit subaru.com/earth and follow #DontFeedtheLandfills and #SubaruLovesTheEarth on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to learn more and see this initiative in action.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company’s vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $190 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About the National Parks Conservation Association

Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its nearly 1.4 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.

About Engage for Good

Engage for Good, producer of the Engage for Good conference and Halo Awards, helps business and nonprofit executives succeed together by providing practical information and inspiration, opportunities to build valuable relationships and recognition for outstanding work engaging employees and consumers around social good and cause-related marketing efforts.

A wealth of information on cause marketing, corporate social impact programs and Engage for Good’s offerings can be found at http://www.engageforgood.com

###

Diane Anton

Subaru of America, Inc.

856-488-5093

danton@subaru.com

Dominick Infante

Subaru of America, Inc.

856-488-8615

dinfante@subaru.com

Alison Zemanski Heis

National Parks Conservation Association

202-384-8762

aheis@npca.or

Global Impact to Pilot a Virtual Employee Giving Hub in 2020

05.28.2020 - 03:43PM

Global Impact, the leader in growing global philanthropy, today announced plans for a virtual employee giving hub to support private and public sector employee engagement.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the workplace, the hub will address the need for companies to reach employees in new ways and demonstrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals. The necessity for employee engagement is even more critical as individuals around the world face increased demands and stressors, and the void of in-person connection deepens. Companies are presented with a strong opportunity to dedicate additional resources to engage a remote workforce, empower and connect local and global offices, and enhance marketing, communication and storytelling tools.

“Global Impact is prepared to serve those organizations looking to reach employees, build a virtual community and harness the power of nonprofit stories, goals which were previously easier by nature of being in the same physical location,” said Scott Jackson, president and CEO of Global Impact.

The hub will feature toolkits and resources to support the private and public sectors – from leadership to campaign workers – reimagine their workplace campaigns. Global Impact will work with its alliance of more than 100 leading international charities to meet the needs of a virtual campaign season by offering:

Trainings available for campaign leaders and volunteers.
Digital games and presentation tools.
Virtual volunteering opportunities.
Speaker previews and virtual opportunities with Global Impact’s Charity Alliance partners.

In addition to supporting companies exploring ways to reach their employee engagement and CSR goals, Global Impact is working to fulfill its mission to build partnerships and resources for the world’s most vulnerable. Demands on nonprofits have increased significantly, as charities have been called to respond on the front lines during this international crisis. They face unprecedented needs and are in need of support more than ever before. At the same time, they are challenged financially as the fundraising flow has tapered due to declining economies. Global Impact is helping its Charity Alliance partners navigate this new environment and adjust to their shifting resources.

Want to be the first to know when the virtual employee giving hub launches? Or if you are interesting in Global Impact’s workplace resources and services, contact engage@charity.org.

About Global Impact

Global Impact works on charitable ventures to inspire greater giving. We serve as a trusted advisor, intermediary and implementing partner across the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Through these partnerships, we have raised nearly $2 billion for causes such as disaster relief and global development. Our expertise includes fundraising and partnerships, employee engagement and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and finance and business services. Global Impact’s reach and services are complemented by the work of our subsidiary company, Geneva Global.

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2020 Halo Awards Honor Top Corporate Social Impact Initiatives

05.28.2020 - 03:00PM

Campaigns that helped students deal with grief, reduced waste in national parks and hydrated firefighters – all while building stronger businesses - were among the initiatives honored at the 18th annual Halo Awards.

Twenty-eight category-specific winners were selected out of more than 130 entries by Engage for Good at its annual conference.

In addition, Levi Strauss & Co. and Habitat for Humanity International each received a Golden Halo Award, Engage for Good’s highest honor, for their long records of achievement at the intersection of profit and purpose.

Case studies of each winning campaign and profiles of the Golden Halo Award winners can be found at http://engageforgood.com/halo-awards

“We’re delighted to honor these companies and causes that are working together to effectively engage consumers and employees while building business and making a social impact,” said Engage for Good President David Hessekiel.

MAC Viva Glam Celebrates 25 Years was named the “Best In Show” honoree, a new award sponsored by For Momentum, the conference’s premier sponsor.

Please join us in congratulating this year’s Halo Award-winning campaigns:

ACTIVISM/ADVOCACY

GOLD: Change For Nature: Burt’s Bees and National Geographic

SILVER: M·A·C VIVA GLAM Celebrates 25 Years: M·A·C, Planned Parenthood, Girls Inc., GLAAD and additional nonprofits

CONSUMER-ACTIVATED CORPORATE DONATION

GOLD: DSW Gives: DSW and Soles4Souls

SILVER: Poptivism: PopSockets

CONSUMER DONATION

GOLD: Pride & Joy: Macy’s and The Trevor Project

SILVER: No Kid Hungry: Denny’s & Share Our Strength

DISASTER PREVENTION/RELIEF

GOLD: Supporting Grief, Loss, and Healing Together: New York Life Foundation and First Book

SILVER: Hydrating Our Nation’s Heroes: Anheuser-Busch and National Volunteer Fire Council

EDUCATION

GOLD: Drive Bigger: VW and DonorsChoose

SILVER: WE Teachers: Walgreens and WE

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

GOLD: Pride In Service: CSX

SILVER: Creating “Grief Ambassadors”: New York Life and First Book

EXPERIENTIAL/EVENT

GOLD: Birds in Focus: Canon USA and the National Audubon Society

SILVER: S’more out of Summer: LL Bean and National Park Foundation

GROUP VOLUNTEERISM

GOLD: The Power of One: Vivint Smart Home and Vivint Gives Back

SILVER: The CarMax Foundation Supports Play With KaBOOM!: CarMax and KaBOOM!

HEALTH

GOLD: The Truth About Opioids: Leidos and The Truth Initiative

SILVER: Planet Fitness Teen Summer Challenge: Planet Fitness and Boys & Girls Clubs of America

INCLUSION

GOLD: Day of Inclusion: Tim Hortons and Special Olympics Canada

SILVER: Face Your Fierce: Abercrombie & Fitch and The Trevor Project

SKILLED VOLUNTEERISM

GOLD: Girls4Tech: Mastercard

SILVER: Smile Brands Inc. Delivers Smiles for Everyone: Smile Brands, Inc. and Smiles for Everyone Foundation

SOCIAL SERVICE

GOLD: Planet Fitness Teen Summer Challenge: Planet Fitness and Boys & Girls Clubs of America

SILVER: #HireHonor: Activision Blizzard and Call Of Duty Endowment

SUSTAINABILITY

GOLD: Earth Day 2019: Allbirds and the National Audubon Society

SILVER: Don’t Feed the Landfills: Subaru and National Parks Conservation Association

VIDEO

GOLD: Megan | Aspiring Art Educator |Live Más Scholarship: Taco Bell

SILVER: Don’t Retire Kid: ESPN and The Aspen Institute

BEST IN SHOW: M·A·C VIVA GLAM Celebrates 25 Years: M·A·C, Planned Parenthood, Girls Inc., GLAAD and additional nonprofits

About Engage for Good
Engage for Good, producer of the Engage for Good conference and Halo Awards, helps business and nonprofit executives succeed together by providing practical information and inspiration, opportunities to build valuable relationships and recognition for outstanding work that engage employees and consumers around social good and cause-related marketing efforts. Learn more at https://www.engageforgood.com.

Media Contact: Megan Strand, Communications Director, Engage for Good:  360.977.3343 ms@engageforgood.com

Moving Forward Sustainably – Verizon Publishes 2019 Environmental, Social and Governance Report

05.22.2020 - 08:00AM

Parker’s 2019 Sustainability Report Highlights How Team Members are Leading With Purpose

05.21.2020 - 08:00AM

Investing for a Climate-Positive Future

05.21.2020 - 04:00AM

FedEx Releases 2020 Global Citizenship Report

05.20.2020 - 02:00PM

Virtual Demo Day for Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator Powered by Techstars

05.20.2020 - 12:02PM

Join us online for Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator powered by Techstars Virtual Demo Day! Register to gain access to ten of our founder company presentations. Access will become available on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 5:00pm EDT. Your registration confirmation will provide you with a specific viewing URL.

If you would have any questions, please contact Paige Hrubik, Program Manager at paige.hrubik@techstars.com.

Date And Time

Thu, May 28, 2020

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM EDT

Location

http://demoday.techstars.com/social-impact-2020-t1

Click here to register!

Anthem, Inc. Releases 2019 Integrated Annual and Corporate Responsibility Report

05.20.2020 - 08:00AM

AEP Releases 2020 Corporate Accountability Report

05.20.2020 - 04:00AM

Vertex Publishes 2019 Corporate Responsibility Report

05.19.2020 - 08:00AM

NRG Energy Provides Progress on Net-Zero Goal in 2019 Sustainability Report

05.19.2020 - 04:00AM

Make a Difference from the Safety of Your Own Home through Virtual Pro Bono

05.18.2020 - 01:15PM

Taproot Plus: A Guide to Volunteering Your Skills Virtually

Wednesday, May 27 at 1 PM ET / 12 PM CT / 11 AM MT / 10 AM PT

Nonprofits need your support now more than ever. You have the power to make a difference using your professional skills, all from the safety and comfort of your own home. On Taproot Foundation’s free online platform, Taproot Plus, thousands of experienced professionals just like you are connecting with nonprofits doing critical work to end hunger, expand human rights, provide healthcare, and much much more, for pro bono marketing, IT, HR, strategy, or finance projects and consultation sessions.

Start giving back virtually by joining Taproot’s free webinar on Wednesday, May 27 where you'll learn:

Why it’s crucial that we all step up to support nonprofits during these challenging times
How to find and apply for a virtual pro bono opportunity with a cause you’re passionate about that matches your unique skill-set
And strategies for managing pro bono projects remotely once you’re matched with a nonprofit

Register now to attend and spread the word to other business professionals who are searching for ways to make a difference! During the webinar, you'll be joined by a few of Taproot’s experienced skilled volunteers so you’ll hear first-hand what an impactful experience pro bono can be.

Can’t attend live? Go ahead and register anyway—Taproot will send out a recording to all registrants. 

REGISTER NOW

Wednesday, May 27 at 1 PM ET / 12 PM CT / 11 AM MT / 10 AM PT

Access to this webinar and Taproot Plus are free of cost for social good organizations and business professionals in the US, UK, EU, and India.

Nielsen Is Creating Value Through Trust and Transparency

05.14.2020 - 02:00PM

Vancity Returns $18.3 Million – 30 Per Cent of 2019 Net Income – to Members and Communities

05.13.2020 - 08:00AM

Suzano Launches the First Annual Report of the New Company

05.13.2020 - 04:00AM

STMicroelectronics Reports Progress Towards 2025 Sustainability Goals

05.12.2020 - 08:00AM

Citi Releases First Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report

05.11.2020 - 04:00AM

Nearly Half of Bloomberg LP Energy Usage Now Comes From Renewables, up Sharply From 17% in 2018

05.08.2020 - 09:00AM

Moody’s CSR Report Highlights 2019 Milestones, COVID-19 Efforts

05.05.2020 - 08:00AM

Bechtel Annual Report Shows Strong Performance for 2019

05.05.2020 - 04:00AM

3BL Media to Host ‘Learn from Home’ Live Event, May 13: Corporate Citizenship and Reputation, Featuring Dave Stangis

04.27.2020 - 08:00AM

Business is adapting to new standards set by the novel coronavirus. A major risk during this economic reset is the deprioritization of corporate sustainability programs.

Join 3BL Media and Dave Stangis, CEO & founder of 21C Impact and former chief sustainability officer, vice president, public affairs and corporate responsibility for Campbell Soup Company on May 13 at 1 p.m. ET for “Learn from Home: Corporate Citizenship and Reputation,” a free webcast with live Q&A.

Stangis, respected for his decades of leadership in corporate communications and sustainability, will share insights on how sustainability provides business value, the imperative of anchoring your strategy to stakeholder priorities and best practices for navigating change.

REGISTER NOW

SABIC Releases Sustainability Report Outlining Progress on Key Drivers, Moving Toward a More Circular Future

04.23.2020 - 04:00AM

“Sharpening Focus, Accelerating Sustainable Growth”

04.22.2020 - 08:00AM

General Mills and its Foundation Enables 5.5 Billion Meals, Commits to Advancing Regenerative Agriculture

04.21.2020 - 08:00AM

Science As a Force for Good

04.15.2020 - 04:00AM

Accelerating Climate Action in the Built Environment, CDL Is Changing the Climate to Change the Future

04.13.2020 - 04:00AM

OMV Publishes Sustainability Report 2019

04.09.2020 - 08:00AM

Mohawk Group Invites Design Community to “Revitalize Knowledge and Renew Well-Being” With Resourceful CEU Series

04.07.2020 - 03:17PM

Accredited digital educational offerings continue Wednesday

For commercial architects and designers currently looking for learning and other professional development opportunities in the midst of a non-traditional workplace and social landscape, Mohawk Group is offering free digital CEU programming. The Resourceful CEU Series was created to provide outlets for the design community to revitalize their knowledge and renew their well-being while many are working remotely.

All continuing education courses take place through May 6 on Wednesdays from 12–1 p.m. EST. Each CEU is free to attend virtually, but all attendees must register to view and receive credit.

“We felt it important to provide the design community with impactful accredited opportunities to take deeper dives into a variety of subject matter,” said Jackie Dettmar, Mohawk Group’s vice president of design and product development. “We are thankful we are able to share the talents of our amazing team to bring unique digital learning experiences to those now juggling a new reality that includes spending more time working remotely.”

On April 8, Mohawk Group A&D design director Royce Epstein will present “Color + Design Vision 2020: Return to Humanity.” The course will highlight a focus on human-centered design through the lens of the company’s 2020 forecast. After several years of global turmoil, both humankind and nature are in dire need of renewal. The CEU asks and answers the questions: “How can we become more human in the presence of digital life and artificial intelligence; what makes us human and how do we get back there; how can we connect better with nature to remind us who we are?” Attendees will experience how design can inspire and motivate positive change in a shifting world dynamic as expressed through the hand, heart, and mind. This CEU is accredited through AIA and IDCEC. Click here to register.

The free program continues with the following sessions:

April 15, 2020
Handprints Over Footprints: Combining Social Impact with Environmental Stewardship to Create Net-Positive Enterprises
Presenter: Rami Vagal – Senior Sustainability Manager, Mohawk Group
Credits available: AIA, IDCEC
REGISTER

April 22, 2020
Scrap Culture: Sustainable Design Practices in a World of Waste
Presenter: Royce Epstein – A&D Design Director, Mohawk Group
Credits available: AIA, IDCEC
REGISTER

April 29, 2020
The Path to Living Product Challenge
Presenter: Rami Vagal – Senior Sustainability Manager, Mohawk Group
Credits available: AIA, IDCEC, USGBC
REGISTER

May 6, 2020
Dematerialized Rematerialized
Presenter: Royce Epstein – A&D Design Director, Mohawk Group
Credits available: AIA, IDCEC
REGISTER

A full listing of the CEU events is available on at Facebook.com/MohawkGroup/events. For specific questions about Mohawk Group’s Resourceful CEU Series, please click here.

About Mohawk Group

As the world’s leading producer and distributor of quality commercial flooring, Mohawk Group believes that better floor coverings emerge from better design, innovation, sustainability, project solutions and operational excellence. Mohawk Group addresses the unique challenges and opportunities in contract interiors with a comprehensive carpet and hard surface portfolio of all types and price points. As the commercial division of Mohawk Industries, the company has a heritage of craftsmanship that spans more than 130 years. To learn more about our full line of flooring products, please visit MohawkGroup.com.

# # #

Contact:
Luke Chaffin
762-204-5607
luke_chaffin@mohawkind.com

Event: Corporate and Education Leaders to Discuss the Impact of COVID-19 on Education During Virtual Convening Hosted by Discovery Education

04.07.2020 - 10:59AM

Stakeholders Invited to Join Leaders from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Microsoft, and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation on April 9th at 1:30pm ET for Open Conversation About Continuity of Learning

SILVER SPRING, Md., Apr. 06 /CSRwire/ - On April 9 at 1:30pm ET, Discovery Education will convene a virtual discussion between corporate and education leaders on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the US education system. A full agenda and registration information can be found here.

This unique conversation will be moderated by US Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Senior Vice President Marc DeCourcey and will include Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, Microsoft’s General Manager of Education Dan Ayoub, and Discovery Education’s Chief Product Officer Pete Weir. Among the topics this panel will cover are:

How K-12 schools are meeting the challenge of these unprecedented circumstances
How the Miami-Dade County Public Schools built a world-class virtual learning program
The move from traditional in-person teaching to virtual learning
The unique opportunities for corporate America to step up and support schools during this rapidly evolving crisis
Examples of meaningful corporate responses that are building long-term, substantive solutions supporting education beyond this health crisis

“As a global company serving 45 million students across 140 countries , we, like many of our partners have heard firsthand the array of challenges COVID-19 has placed in the way of educators, families, and communities alike,” said Lori McFarling, President of Corporate Education Partnerships at Discovery Education. “The unnatural disaster of this pandemic highlights the importance of collaboration and partnerships. We look forward to this industry convening, as we believe it will be the catalyst to grow the network of resources, support systems, and communication channels needed to effectively serve the millions of students and educators impacted by COVID-19.”

Attendees are invited to submit their questions to the panel as part of the registration process.

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Discovery Education is offering schools and school systems not currently using the company’s digital services free access to Discovery Education Experience. Schools accepting this offer will have access to Discovery Education’s dynamic K-12 learning platform and its ready-to-use digital lesson plans, activities, and standards-aligned resources through the remainder of the school year. In addition, Discovery Education is offering a suite of no cost resources for parents and caregivers called Daily DE that can be used at home. For more information, visit Discovery Education’s comprehensive Virtual Learning resource website dedicated to helping educators adapt their instruction to meet today’s needs.

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About Discovery Education

Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning, creating immersive STEM experiences, and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education currently serves approximately 4.5 million educators and 45 million students worldwide, and its resources are accessed in over 140 countries and territories. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

Reimagining Volunteering: Creative Ways to Do Good in a Time of Crisis

04.07.2020 - 08:20AM

As we cope with a global pandemic, volunteering is going to have to look a little different.

Join us for our webinar, Reimagining Volunteering: Creative Ways to Do Good in a Time of Crisis to hear from Accenture Canada, Dolby Laboratories and VolunteerMatch, who’ll offer insight into how you can reimagine volunteering in small but meaningful ways! Whether it’s offering virtual or remote opportunities, or encouraging small acts of Goodness, these new strategies could help your people find a sense of purpose.

The presenters will share best practices and answer your questions — you can submit them during registration or online during the webinar.

Leading and Learning in a Time of Crisis: Free Webinar on the Corporate Response to COVID-19

03.25.2020 - 02:00PM

Leading and Learning in a Time of Crisis: Free Webinar on the Corporate Response to COVID-19

As COVID-19 puts governments and civil society to the test, corporations are emerging as leaders in the global response by:

Rapidly changing policies to better support their most vulnerable workers
Adapting products and services to meet emerging needs
Supporting communities, relief efforts, and scientific research
Contributing to public discourse and sharing expertise

FSG Co-CEO Greg Hills moderates a conversation with three social impact leaders to learn how they are approaching their companies’ responses, the challenges they are facing, and what they are learning.

Panelists:

Lynette Bell, President, Truist Foundation
Julie Gehrki, Vice President of Philanthropy, Walmart
Michael Stroik, Director, 3Mgives and Vice President, 3M Foundation

Monday, March 30 @ 1:00 pm ET

Learn more and register >

About FSG
FSG is a mission-driven consulting firm supporting leaders in creating large-scale, lasting social change. Through customized consulting services, innovative thought leadership, and support for learning communities, we help foundations, businesses, nonprofits, and governments around the world accelerate progress by reimagining social change. Learn more at www.fsg.org.

Behind the Masthead: TriplePundit 2020

03.25.2020 - 01:27PM

What makes TriplePundit different from other news organizations?

As the leading voice covering the triple bottom line, TriplePundit reports on companies that are implementing effective ESG practices to help stakeholders, communities and countries respond to crises around the world.

On April 1 from 2-3 p.m. EST, join TriplePundit editors Leon Kaye and Mary Mazzoni for “Behind the Masthead: TriplePundit 2020,” a webinar presented by 3BL Media, for a virtual tour inside the newsroom that’s been making the business case for sustainability since 2005.

Tune in from the comfort of your home to discover:

Best practices for authentic storytelling that doesn’t read like an advertorial.
How to pick up earned media coverage with the help of TriplePundit’s Sponsored Series.
The ESG trends to watch in 2020 and beyond.

Register

SB'20 Long Beach

03.05.2020 - 11:05AM

The business case is clear. Purpose-led brands attract customers, fulfill employees, and outperform competitors.

At Sustainable Brands, we believe purpose is the driving force of a thriving business, and sustainable innovation separates leaders from the pack. Year after year, we bring together our global community of change agents to share the latest developments in sustainable business, to collaborate around solutions to difficult obstacles, and to inspire a new generation of business leaders.

For the past decade, we’ve laid the foundation for a regenerative future. Now, we’re moving forward with even greater conviction to restore ourselves, our brands, our businesses, and our planet.

Now is the time to move your brand toward becoming a positive force for a regenerative economy. Your business can do well AND do good. The Sustainable Brands community is the only place to find trusted leadership with a depth of understanding of the landscape, shared ambition to shape a new direction, and insightful tools to take action. Join the change agents who are co-creating the framework for a flourishing future at SB’20 Long Beach.

3BL community members receive an exclusive 20% off all pass types! Register using the code “ptr3bl” to take advantage of this special offer.

Location: Long Beach Convention Center
Dates: June 1 - 4, 2020 9:00am-5:00pm PT

GreenBiz 20

12.09.2019 - 08:15AM

The sustainability profession is evolving, with new concerns and concepts emerging faster than ever. GreenBiz 20 (Feb. 4-6, Phoenix) is the premier annual event for sustainable business leaders exploring the latest trends, tools and insights.

Attend GreenBiz 20 to network with and learn from this powerful community of more than 1,500 sustainability thought leaders and practitioners from business, government, academia and NGOs. Save 10% with our discount code GB203B. Learn more: http://bit.ly/352SlYc

2019 Net Impact Conference

10.07.2019 - 06:00PM

When was the last time you gathered under one roof with 1,500 people who care just as deeply as you do about social impact?

At NI19, you will:

Connect to changemakers, innovators, sustainability leaders, activists, influencers, students and companies.
Be inspired to tackle today's biggest challenges.
Learn how to make an impact from where you are.

We're bringing together an inspiring lineup of keynote speakers, social change activists, corporate visionaries, authors and cutting-edge thinkers this year.

Global leaders like Microsoft, International Paper, and TerraCycle will be part of Career Central to talk shop about employment opportunities and the future of your career. Pioneer programs like REDF and Uncommon Schools will inspire you with their untraditional and innovative approaches to tackling social and environmental issues. Top leaders from companies like Intel, Lime, Campbell’s and The Coca-Cola Company will talk openly about CSR, sustainability, and what it’s like to be a woman growing an enterprise. And our fast-paced networking salons will give you the chance to connect with like-minded activists and leaders who care about the same topics you do.

We hope to see you in Detroit!

VERGE 2019

09.09.2019 - 12:55PM

The VERGE 19 conference and expo (October 22-24, Oakland) is the platform for accelerating the clean economy. The event convenes more than 3,000 leaders — from the private and public sectors, utilities, solution providers, NGOs and startups — to explore scalable, cross-cutting solutions and to collaborate more effectively to advance them. The event is framed around four key markets driving the transition: clean energy, transportation and mobility, the circular economy and carbon removal.

2019 Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability Management Forum

09.04.2019 - 01:31PM

The Forum is the largest annual gathering of Environmental, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S) managers, directors and vice presidents.

With four days of networking, peer-led interactive sessions and keynote presentations, this is the premier event dedicated to showcasing best practices in EHS & Sustainability management.

Corporate Philanthropy Conference: Measurement Metrics and Outcomes

08.16.2019 - 11:00AM

Join us as we take a deep dive on building and sustaining a philanthropy strategy that aligns with your organization’s business strategy, culture, and mission. This year’s event will examine the “business” of corporate philanthropy through case studies and real-world scenarios with perspectives from both corporations and beneficiary organizations.

Session topics will cover the decision-making process as it relates to corporate strategy, as well as metrics, measurement, impact, output versus outcome, employee engagement, portfolio analysis, and more. This conference is designed especially for executives with responsibilities in the following areas:

Corporate Philanthropy
Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Citizenship
Corporate Foundations
Community Affairs and Community Relations
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Board Service
Corporate Communications
Public Relations
Legal, Regulatory, and Financial Advisory
Cause Marketing

To Register, download the agenda or learn more, visit us at: www.conferenceboard.org/philanthropy SAVE $100 with Code: CSR100

Sixty Minutes with Hazel Henderson: Transitioning to Science-Based Investing (Security and Sustainability Forum)

08.09.2019 - 12:03PM

Join me and in a sixty minute webinar with Hazel Henderson, world renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, worldwide syndicated columnist, and leader in sustainable development. We will discuss science-based investing, which is the focus of the 2019/20 edition of her Green Transition Scoreboard Report.

Hazel is the founder of Ethical Markets Media, Certified B Corporation and the creator and co-executive Producer of its TV series. She is the author of The Axiom and Nautilus award-winning book Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy (2006) and eight other books. She co-edited, with Harlan Cleveland and Inge Kaul, The UN: Policy and Financing Alternatives, Elsevier Scientific, UK 1995 (US edition, 1996), and co-authored with Japanese Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda, Planetary Citizenship (2004).

Don't miss an opportunity to engage with one of the most transformational economic leaders of our time.

I hope you'll join this course.

Sincerely,

Edward Saltzberg, PhD
Managing Director
Security and Sustainability Forum
www.ssfonline.org
esaltzberg@securityandsustainabilityforum.org

Innovations in Social Impact Measurement Symposium

08.02.2019 - 08:00AM

Your company is dedicating time and resources to be a responsible corporate citizen. Are those efforts working? Are they having an impact? Does anyone care if they are or aren't? How do you communicate the importance of measurement to stakeholders who don't see the value, and how do you communicate your impact to those who do?

We're bringing together corporate social responsibility and social impact measurement experts to grapple with these questions and more at our upcoming Innovations in Social Impact Measurement Symposium in San Francisco. The symposium will consist of a keynote speaker, panel discussions, and a skills development workshop where we will explore simple and effective ways to improve impact measurement for your organization's CSR programming.

Register now to join the discussion and network with fellow corporate responsibility and social impact professionals. We're looking forward to seeing you there! Lunch and mingling provided.

Date and Time
Thu, September 19, 2019
8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PDT

Location
Marines' Memorial Club & Hotel
609 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Early-Bird Registration (available until Aug. 15^th): $95
Standard Registration: $130

Our Innovations in Social Impact Measurement Symposium will include:

Panel Discussions

Our panelists will tackle questions like:

How do you mainstream impact measurement into your business plan?
When in the project life cycle do you begin measurement planning?
What are the current trends in social impact measurement?
What does the future hold in terms of how we measure social impact?

Skills Development Workshop

You will be given tools and learn skills for:

Measuring Social Return on Investment
Pre-Design, Design, and Implementation of Social Impact Measurement
Adapting SIM tools/templates to your needs and projects

18th Annual Employee Engagement Summit

04.08.2019 - 12:09PM

This two-day peer-to-peer event brings together corporate citizenship and employee engagement professionals to learn and network, share promising practices, discuss the latest trends, and create greater social impact together.

Through interactive sessions and breakouts, the summit provides a forum for learning and effective practice exchange to engage the most pressing challenges facing today’s CSR professionals.

This year’s themes include how to align your corporate brand with social and employee activism, integrating business goals with CSR, measuring and demonstrating impact, the latest trends in employee engagement, the new frontiers of diversity and inclusion, and more.

Innovations in Social Impact Measurement for CSR Symposium

03.29.2019 - 03:43PM

Join us for a two-day symposium on the latest innovations in self-led social impact measurement for corporate social responsibility programs.

We will review how to develop a strategy for identifying and addressing non-technical risks (NTR), proving you’re having a meaningful impact, and learning how to improve. You will be introduced to easy-to-complete impact measurement tools that can be used across the company and allow for a uniform yet flexible approach across all initiatives, no matter the stage of development, type of investment/engagement, or geography.

The event will also review social return on investment (SROI) techniques, strategies for positioning CSR and social impact measurement in your organization, and getting the most out of your impact data.

Charities@Work

03.01.2019 - 02:25PM

“The Charities@Work Summit offers something that CSR professionals cannot find at any other gathering focused on CSR: the ability to connect the issues our companies face with practical, applicable solutions that will make a difference in supporting employees, brand and most importantly culture,” said Michael S. Carren, summit chair and head of corporate social responsibility at The Guardian Life Insurance Company.

“Whether you are new to the field or a seasoned professional, Charities@Work gives you the opportunity to interact with and learn from other leaders in the field. I am proud to have been affiliated with this event for over a decade and have taken so much of what I have learned through the conference back to my professional practice with great results.”

Through interactive sessions and breakouts, the summit provides a forum for learning and effective practice exchange to engage the most pressing challenges facing today’s CSR professionals.

2018 3BL Forum Brands Taking Stands — The Long View

10.03.2018 - 12:31PM

On October 23-25, 2018, 3BL Forum will once again convene a diverse group of business, policy and NGO leaders to share insights, advance best practices and workshop forward-thinking solutions to the most pressing sustainability challenges of our time.

3BL Forum 2018 will feature the same theme as 2017, 'Brands Taking Stands' with a focus on 'The Long View – The Role of the Corporate Responsibility Professional as Companies Build for the Future Amid Pressure to Prioritize Profit Today.'

Total Impact Boston: October 4 & 5

09.26.2018 - 01:30AM

Total Impact is a multi-city convening series providing practical impact education and execution strategies to advisors, investors, family offices, wealth managers, and HNW individuals interested in aligning their investments to their values and mission.

Total Impact travels to Boston on October 4 and 5. Total Impact Boston will feature actionable impact strategies and tools across asset classes for advisors and investors. In addition, in partnership with key Boston stakeholders, we will highlight place-based opportunities and the impact success stories of the greater Boston area.

Receive a $200 discount when you use this code at registration: TI_SUBSCRIBERS

Total Impact conference series is a Good Capital Project initiative.

2018 EHS & Sustainability Management Forum

09.04.2018 - 03:15PM

NAEM's EHS & Sustainability Management Forum is the largest annual gathering of environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability decision-makers. Attend this year’s Forum to find answers to some of your toughest EHS and sustainability challenges and network with the best in the industry. This year’s program will include 5 different tracks, over 25 sessions, and will be led by more than 90 EHS and sustainability leaders. Register today before it sells out!

Digital Empowers: Accelerating Innovation for Business and Social Good

04.18.2018 - 03:42PM

Innovative partnerships, where businesses can work with and leverage the assets of governments, NGOs, and civil society can help develop creative, sustainable, and scalable solutions that can create significant impact. The partnerships and the technologies that make this possible is the focus of Digital Empowers: Accelerating Innovation for Business and Social Good, a forum hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

This event will bring together business leaders, technical experts, and on-the-ground partners that are shaping the future of innovation and social impact. Participants will share how their organizations leverage new technologies and digital innovations, including blockchain, design thinking, virtual reality, robotics, data collaboratives, and cloud analytics to increase access and equity to individuals and communities.

Learn more and register here: https://goo.gl/osXZa9

The Future of Sustainability Reporting: Trends to Watch

04.13.2018 - 12:00PM

The Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York (CBSACNY) is an alumni organization seeking to strengthen alumni networks, support services, professional development, and education opportunities. The Sustainable Business Committee produces events related to green businesses, the environment, sustainability, and pioneering new industry. Visit CBSACNY online at http://www.cbsacny.org.

Hear from expert panelists with diverse experience in CSR and Sustainability Reporting.
Understand key factors and motivations that guide a company’s reporting strategy.
Learn about different reporting methods, frameworks, and standards.
Explore trends in CSR and Sustainability Reporting in the US and around the world.
Get answers to your questions - unique opportunity for open audience Q & A.

As companies strive to protect their reputational assets and earn trust from stakeholders, sustainability reporting and disclosure are no longer reserved solely for “green” or mission-oriented companies. Demand for transparency and disclosure is increasing, and sustainability reporting is becoming mainstream. However, how reporting is done may vary depending on the target audience and purpose of those disclosures. Dominant frameworks such as GRI and SASB, and emerging methods such as Reporting 3.0, Trucost, and <IR>, are evolving to play different parts and complement each other. Our expert panel will discuss best practices employed by companies, and how such practices create value for shareholders and stakeholders. While sustainability reporting remains largely voluntary, our panel will explore legal trends and any potential movement to integrate sustainability and financial disclosures, from a US and global perspective.

Register and learn more: http://www.cbsacny.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1088046

For more information, please contact:
Leila Goldmark, LGoldmark10@gsb.columbia.edu (re event details)
CBSACNY, contactus@cbsacny.org (re event registration and ticketing issues)

Webinar: How to Craft a Winning Citizens Nomination

04.04.2018 - 09:34AM

Every year, hundreds of businesses apply to win a Corporate Citizenship Award, making it one of the most prestigious awards in the field. How can you ensure your nomination stands out from all the rest?

On May 3, join the Chamber Foundation for a webinar that will share tips and strategies for crafting a winning Citizens Awards nomination. The webinar will feature past judges and winners who will highlight ways to strengthen your nomination and best tell your story.

From now until June 29, the U.S. Chamber Foundation is accepting nominations for the 19th Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards. Since 2000, the Citizens Awards have honored the most strategic and innovative corporate citizenship programs from businesses and chambers of all sizes.