SOURCE:General Mills

DESCRIPTION:

Susan and Floyd Bergen own and operate five ranches in Oklahoma and Texas, including a 12,000-acre property in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Here, Susan, who has managed these ranches since 2012, shares her thoughts on the importance of soil health for long-term success in ranching.

In the years leading up to 2012, the primary means of ranching our land utilized chemicals as the sole solution for plant management. But this killed plants that we know to be nutritious to cattle, like clover. Chemical spraying further diminished the ecosystem, causing limited root diversity.  Varied root depths bring about soil health by opening up pathways at deeper levels and bringing up nutrients from the earth’s many layers. I loved walking my alfalfa field, and seeing how the cattle had eaten the weeds we used to work so hard to kill. It is my belief that the creed here at Peach Crest Ranch, “‘Selective minimization of chemicals,”’ ought to become the motto of any modern ranch.

The changeover to rotational grazing established itself as the best tool to bring about the biggest change on our ranches. The rest time for the different grasses, coupled with the forbs that grew back, has allowed us to almost double the herd size on the same acres. In one previously overgrazed area, clover has returned to add to the quality of the forage. In spring, the stands grow tall when the cattle rotate in to begin grazing. In subsequent months, lush stands of Bermuda grass will have further developed in height. To finish out the year in mid-fall, we no-till drill a wheat-pea blend as cover crop. We now have a tremendous asset that had once been bare soil.

As a result of the prudent partnership between necessary chemicals and rotational grazing, the soil has become a sponge combatting the biggest threat to the ranch—drought.

Learn more about the ranch at www.peachcrestranch.com

KEYWORDS: soil health, regenerative agriculture, sustainable agriculture, General Mills, Modern Farmer

SOURCE:Cisco Systems Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

No two career journeys are the same, and for military veterans, the road to civilian employment is often an entirely new, unfamiliar mission. In today’s digital economy, the skills people need to thrive are ever-changing, adapting with every innovation and technology that hits the market; a market that doesn’t always wait for veterans to end their deployments and return home.

But some of the skills veterans develop in the military — leadership, organization, and teamwork, for example — more than prepare them to reach their full potential in today’s workforce. And at Cisco, we recognize the value of bringing veterans into the workplace; not only for business, but to ensure they’re inspired and fulfilled in IT careers.

It’s why we regularly host veterans-focused events to raise awareness of the opportunities available to transitioning service members looking to work in the technology field. In 2017, during an IT Awareness Day event at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Cisco managers volunteering at the event saw an opportunity to create a direct pathway for veterans to work at Cisco.

Soon, a cross-functional team assembled to create what became the Veteran Talent Incubation Program (VTIP).

A pipeline for transitioning service members and veterans

Launched shortly after the Fort Bragg event, Cisco’s VTIP is a pipeline for transitioning service members and veterans that provides the skills required for an entry-level Cisco Services engineer role. Through the 20-week developmental program, participants focus on honing their technical and consultative expertise, and those who complete the “boot camp” are eligible to receive a full-time job offer in select U.S.-based Cisco offices.

Since its inception, over 375 candidates have applied to VTIP, with more than 140 accepted into the training program. More than 40 of those candidates, including Arodi Fernandez, are now working at Cisco after receiving their Cisco CCNA certification. Today, Cisco is looking to expand the VTIP into other business units, with the hope of creating a focus on disabled veterans.

Freddy Karban, a VTIP graduate now working as a TAC engineer at Cisco, reflected on his career-changing experience. “The VTIP program has completely transformed my life,” he said. “Over the last decade, my passion for technology has grown and I quickly realized how difficult it is to break into this industry without a lot of experience.”

Preparing veterans to thrive

The VTIP program is provided to veterans at no financial cost, but the selection process and time commitment are rigorous. Cisco works directly with connections at bases throughout North Carolina, including Camp Lejeune and the Joint Forces Headquarters, to identify qualified candidates.

Those who apply must be willing to spend 15-25 hours per week studying, attend three sessions onsite, and complete the program with the goal of accepting a full-time offer in January or July.

Once they’ve met those conditions and been accepted into VTIP, candidates are given access to a wealth of knowledge, including Cisco Networking Academy coursework, technical mentorship from Cisco employees, one-on-one meetings with the VTIP program manager, soft skills training, job shadowing, CCNA exam vouchers, and hands-on training with the latest technology tools.

“Without the VTIP program, my dream of making that career change would not have been possible,” Karban said. “The program was challenging, but the hard work paid off and I now have a more exciting career than I could have ever imagined.”

To learn more about Cisco’s Veterans Program and the opportunities available to transitioning service members, please visit our website’s program page.

Tweet me:.@Cisco connects #veterans to #careersintech http://bit.ly/2k6ualB via @CiscoCSR #socinn #vetsintech

KEYWORDS: Veteran Talent Incubation Program (VTIP), cisco csr, vets in tech, careers in tech, memorial day

SOURCE:SiMPACT Strategy Group

DESCRIPTION:

39% of LBG Canada Companies are ready to benchmark their investments into Indigenous communities, are you?

Join LBG Canada on June 5th, 2018 to explore the role of community investment in corporate response to ACTION 92 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, with featured panelist Kelly Lendsay, President & CEO of Indigenous Works. 

In addition to Indigenous inclusion, participants will be invited to discuss thinking differently about abilities, LGBTQ2+ inclusion, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the lens of community investment. Community investment has a role to play in enabling an employers vision for diversity and inclusion. 

"Community investment has a key role within a diversity and inclusion strategy," says Stephanie Robertson, Founder & CEO SiMPACT Strategy Group and Facilitator of LBG Canada. "We look forward to the rich and important conversation that panelists and participants will enable."

While organized by SiMPACT Strategy Group on behalf of LBG Canada, the generous sponsorship of Imperial Oil is an invitation for all interested corporate practitioners to participate. 

To register for the LBG Canada Western Conference, please visit: https://www.lbg-canada.ca/regional-meetings-contact-form/. 

To view the agenda, please visit: https://www.lbg-canada.ca/lbg-canada-western-conference-agenda/ 

For additional background reading on diversity and inclusion, please visit: https://www.lbg-canada.ca/blog/category/resources/  

And to read more about our speakers, please visit: https://www.lbg-canada.ca/blog/category/get-to-know-our-speakers/ 

KEYWORDS: indigenous communities, Simpact strategy group

Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Pleased to Report Results of Another Successful Cleanup Event

SOURCE:Keep America Beautiful

DESCRIPTION:

For the last four years, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful has been proud to team up with Gwinnett County’s Department of Water Resources to raise awareness about the important role that wetlands play, as well as to motivate the community to act as stewards to local wetlands.

Dubbed Great Gwinnett Wetlands, the two organizations have held an annual educational-cleanup event at Bromolow Creek and Beaver Ruin Wetlands since 2015. The latest installment took place on April 28, and the outstanding results included the removal of 3,560 pounds of litter and 14,500 pounds of invasive plants – all in just four hours.

Continue reading here.

Tweet me:#FF @kabtweet Affiliate Stories: @gogreengwinnett #volunteers tackled litter, invasive plants at Great Gwinnett #Wetlands 2018! http://bit.ly/2rVDRa3 #DoBeautifulThings

Contact Info:

Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3014
lkaufman@kab.org
http://www.twitter.com/kabtweet
http://www.facebook.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.instagram.com/keepamericabeautiful
http://www.youtube.com/kabnetwork

Janessa Rivera
Keep America Beautiful
+1 (203) 659-3064
jrivera@kab.org

KEYWORDS: Keep America Beautiful, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, Great Gwinnett Wetlands, volunteerism

Upgrades Help Green the Community and Save Money

SOURCE:National Grid

DESCRIPTION:

May 21, 2018 /3BL Media/  - Rochdale Village in Jamaica Queens, the second largest housing cooperative in the world, with 120-acres including 20 apartment buildings, a daycare center, three schools, a public library system, two shopping malls, two banks and a host of small businesses, is receiving more than $1 million in National Grid energy efficiency rebates for their commitment to greening the local community.

The owners of Rochdale Village were interested in reducing their energy usage and carbon footprint and turned to National Grid for assistance.  The company’s energy efficiency experts provided technical assistance and energy efficiency rebates for a number of improvements, making this housing complex the first National Grid customer in the New York Metro area to receive more than $1 million in energy efficiency rebates.

“Rochdale Village is making energy efficiency and the environment a priority for their local community,” said Louis Rizzo, Manager, Energy Programs Operations, National Grid.  “We congratulate them on their commitment for the past four years to implement significant energy saving efforts.”

As a result of their energy efficiency measures, Rochdale Village is saving about 1.3 million therms annually, reducing energy use and their carbon footprint.  In terms of preventing greenhouse gas emissions that’s equivalent to taking 1,419 cars off the road or planting 171,759 trees.   By substantially reducing their carbon footprint Rochdale Village is well on the way in meeting its commitment to New York City’s Carbon Challenge to reduce building-based emissions 30 percent by 2025.

“Over the past four years Rochdale Village completed several energy efficient improvements including, installation of low-flow shower heads in apartments, new roof installations on over 20 structures throughout the complex and a campus-wide conversion to LED lighting; an upgrade that keeps area lights bright while lowering energy costs,” said Herbert Freedman, General Manager-Marion Scott Real Estate, Inc. property management on behalf of Rochdale Village, Inc.  “The most extensive energy improvements to date are those made to the community’s ‘total energy’ Power Plant.”

The power plant upgrades included four new boilers, two restored turbine generators and an upgraded cooling tower.  The plant generates all the electric power the complex needs for heating, air-conditioning, hot water and lighting.

National Grid is committed to partnering with its customers to provide successful, award-winning efficiency programs.  For nearly a decade the company’s New York natural gas customers saved 73 million therms, enough energy for 42,000 homes for one year.   To learn more about National Grid’s energy efficiency services, visit https://www.nationalgridus.com/NY-Home/Energy-Saving-Programs/.

About National Grid

National Grid (LSE: NG; NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company that supplies the energy for more than 20 million people through its networks in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the Northeast. National Grid also operates the systems that deliver gas and electricity across Great Britain. 

National Grid is transforming its electricity and natural gas networks to support the 21st century digital economy with smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions. Read more about the innovative projects happening across our footprint in The Democratization of Energy, an eBook written by National Grid’s US president, Dean Seavers. 

For more information please visit our website. You can also follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, friend us on Facebook, find our photos on Instagram.

CONTACT: Media Relations – 929-324-5050

Tweet me:.@nationalgridus: Upgrades Help Green the Community and Save Money http://bit.ly/2IAWJq7 Rochdale Village Earns $1M in #Energy Efficiency Rebates #sustainability

KEYWORDS: Green the Community and Save Money, National Grid, sustainability, Energy Efficiency Rebates, New York Metro

SOURCE:Ray C. Anderson Foundation

SUMMARY:

This is the quarterly newsletter for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, a private family foundation that seeks to promote a sustainable society by supporting and funding educational and project-based initiatives that advance knowledge and innovation in sustainability.

DESCRIPTION:

Get Your Tickets to #RayDay2018

RayDay 2018 promises to be one of the best ever with all new rides and attractions. We've added a ferris wheel, a big slide, big swing ride, and a climbing wall for all ages.  We've also added a puppet show and more interactive games for the children's area.  Of course, we're also bringing back favorites from years past; Sven (juggler and circus artist), face painting, rain barrel painting, bird house building and pony rides. 

The educational exhibits will include several new organizations, and as always we'll have plenty of beer, wine and tasty food truck favorites.  The event is still FREE, but you must register to attend.  Click here to get your tickets.  We will reach capacity this year.

Foundation Provides $500,000 Seed Grant to Global Change Program

In March, the Georgia Institute of Technology celebrated the formal launch of the Global Change Program, a new initiative designed to coordinate and grow educational and research activities focused on providing solutions and creating economic opportunities at the intersection of global change, climate change, and energy.  The Global Change Program has been initially supported by seed funds from the Office of the Provost and the Executive Vice President for Research, and through a $500,000 gift from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. 

The co-curricular initiative is a partnership between Kim Cobb, ADVANCE professor and Georgia Power Chair in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Science and Beril Toktay, professor in the Scheller College of Business and faculty director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. Read the full story in Georgia Tech's online News Center.

NextGen Spotlight: McCall Langford

Meet McCall Langford. She’s Ray Anderson’s youngest grandchild and the daughter of Foundation Trustees Harriet and Phil Langford. Like her grandfather, who put Interface and the industrial world on the path to sustainability, and her mother, who inspired The Ray, she’s a visionary and a dreamer, and she’s definitely a doer.  In fact, for the better part of the past 1.5 years, she’s been…well…somewhat of a nomad, traveling the country up and down, and from side to side with her partner, Neal Ewen, all the time, having the time of her life, and exploring so many of the wonders that nature has to offer.

Langford and Ewen even spent part of the harsh Colorado winter in a tiny Teardrop Trailer. While they were truly “roughing it” most of the time, the experience helped McCall immerse herself in nature and was certainly instrumental in helping her identify the next steps in her educational career. Read the full story.

Meet Cecilia Lanier

"On April 3, a stunningly beautiful baby girl was born in a small hospital in Los Angeles. As her eyes opened for the first time and she gave her tiny lungs a workout, this baby girl first experienced the love of being held in a mother’s arms. She gazed up at Chantel, my wife, and her cries quieted. Chantel held her with awe, love and gratitude.

At that exact moment, I was in a complete stranger’s car, taking a Lyft ride to the airport. I’d left our son with my parents and was catching the first flight I could from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Chantel texted me a photo of this new baby, and I’m sure I said something to my Lyft driver that she had never heard from a passenger before – 'My daughter was just born!'"Read the full story by John A. Lanier.

Carbon Reduction Challenge at Georgia Tech

Trustees and staff from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation were delighted to attend the Spring Semester Carbon Reduction Challenge Poster Presentation Expo on April 23rd at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business. The Challenge is a co-curricular effort between Kim Cobb, director of Georgia Tech's Global Change Program, and Beril Toktay, faculty director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. The Challenge enables undergraduate and graduate student teams to form for implementation of measurable strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby saving money for a variety of partner organizations, ranging from large corporations to NGOs to governmental entities.

The Ray Celebrates Infrastructure Week

This week is Infrastructure Week and The Ray is proud to be one of 400 affiliates around the country talking about the critical importance of updating our national infrastructure. On Monday, The Ray kicked off the week with a virtual tour, cohosted by Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and the Georgia Department of Transportation. You can watch the video here. Follow #TimeToBuild and #InfrastructureWeek2018 for all the week's activities.  Read the full story here, and read Harriet Langford's op-ed piece in the LaGrange Daily News.

Ecocentricity Blog: This One is a Step Back

I share this news because it’s important for environmentalists to acknowledge each step back at the same time we celebrate every two steps forward. We lose our credibility if we trumpet sustainability’s successes and ignore its failures.

If you were to look back at all the blogs I have written (by my count, we are at 142), you might notice a trend. Besides being slightly whimsical and heavy on the Star Wars references, my blogs tend to be positive in orientation. I write a lot of “How cool is this?!?!” and “Here’s how sustainability is winning” posts. That’s mainly because I find lots of cool things and because sustainability is winning.  Read more.  Subscribe here to receive Ecocentricity weekly via email.

Biomimicry Institute Introduces Launchpad Accelerator Program

The Biomimicry Launchpad is is an accelerator program that helps early-stage entrepreneurs bring biomimetic innovations to market. The Launchpad offers entrepreneurship and biomimicry training, mentorship, networking, exposure to strategic partners, and opportunities to showcase breakthrough innovations to the media and the public. Each year, Launchpad teams are eligible to compete for the $100,000 Ray of Hope Prize®, sponsored by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation.
Read more.

NextGen Committee Issues Grant RFP

The NextGen Committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation has issued a call for proposals for one $90,000 grant to fund work in the 2019 calendar year for currently existing or new programs that would measurably reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, measured by metric tons (or “tonnes”) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), either by preventing the emission of those gases or by sequestering gases presently in the atmosphere.  Read more.

Upcoming Events

May 22 - The Story of Purpose, Joey Reiman & Jay Gould - Conscious Capitalism of Atlanta
June 9 - EarthShare of Georgia Sustainability Speaker Series: K. Rashid Nuri at Truly Living Well Farms
June 22 - Southface's Summer Solstice
June 26-27 - Green Sports Alliance Summit
October 14 - RayDay - Tickets now available!

Tweet me:The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has published it quarterly newsletter. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/2Kyerae @GT_ACSB @GT_GlobalChange @johnalanierRCAF @BiomimicryInst @TheRayHighway #RayDay2018 #NextGenGrant #RidetheRay #InfrastructureWeek2018

Contact Info:

Valerie Bennett
Ray C. Anderson Foundation
+1 (770) 317-5858
valerie@raycandersonfoundation.org

KEYWORDS: Ray C. Anderson Foundation, The Ray, RayDay, biomimicry, Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, Georgia Tech

SOURCE:Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

DESCRIPTION:

More than 117,000 children in the United States don’t have the family they deserve. They are living in foster care, hoping to be adopted, hoping to have a safe, warm bed to come home to each night.

Every. Single. Foster Care Adoption Story is UNIQUE. The Walker Family has an incredibly special story about their son Ja’Kolby.

The Walker family met Ja’Kolby when he was placed with friends of theirs who were foster parents. He was 18 months old. They immediately felt connected to him, and began the process to become licensed foster parents so that they could adopt him. That's when they discovered that Ja'Kolby was a distant relative, and qualified for kinship placement. The Walkers officially adopted Ja’Kolby in December, 2016 and today he is a happy, healthy 4-year-old.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is committed to dramatically increasing the number of adoptions from foster care. We will not stop until every child has the family they deserve.

To learn more about how you can help find forever families for children in foster care, visit davethomasfoundation.org

Tweet me:Every. Single. #FosterCareAdoption Story is UNIQUE. The Walker Family has an incredibly special story about their son Ja’Kolby: http://bit.ly/2s23PZx @DTFA #foreverfamily

KEYWORDS: Dave Thomas, foster care, adoption, Recruiter, forever family, Wendy’s

G&A's Sustainability Highlights (05.16.2018)

SOURCE:Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

Now in its 19th year, the well known CR Magazine“100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018” list was just unveiled; this effort recognizes the ESG performance of public companies in the United States. (The publication is now titled Corporate Responsibility Magazine, published by 3BL Media LLC.)

Top Companies:
Microsoft (MSFT) earned top ranking (#1), followed by Accenture, Owens Corning, Intel, and Hasbro (#5).  The next five ranked companies are (#6) Altria Group, Cisco Systems, Ecolab, Johnson & Johnson, and NVIDIA Corp (at #10).  The biggest gainers for the year were Becton, Dickenson; IBM; Owens Corning; and Biogen.  The complete list is available in our Top Story.

Assembling the list does not rely on responding to a survey, publisher Dave Armon explains.  Each year the rankings measure the success of the “Brands Taking Stands” movement by celebrating the most successful, most transparent companies that report on their responsible practices. “We congratulate the company on the 2018 list for their commitment to corporate responsibility,” he said in announcing the rankings.

Methodology: 
The list examines 260 data points of performance measures and disclosure, harvested from publicly-available information for every company in the Russell 1000® Index, in seven categories (environmental, climate change, employee relations, human rights, corporate governance, financial, and philanthropy & community support).  The underlying research is conducted by ISS Corporate Solutions (Institutional Shareholder Services).

The inaugural list was published in 1999 by the former Business Ethics Magazine, which segued into CR Magazine.

Coming up soon, CR Magazine in collaboration with the 3BL Association (formerly the Corporate Responsibility Association), presents the well known annual COMMIT!Forum conference, now re-branded as the 2018 3BL Forum by its new owners.  This year’s event is at MGM National Harbor near Washington DC, October 23-25; the theme is “Brands Taking Stands – The Long View”.

3BL Media LLC is the global leader in disseminating CR and sustainability content. Its brands include Triple Pundit; CSR Wire; 3BL Wire; 3BL Report Alert; Justmeans, 3BL Studio, and others. Corporate clients utilize the platforms for their sustainability, CR and related content distribution, communications and campaigns.

G&A Institute has collaborated with 3BL Media and Corporate Responsibility Magazine on a long-term basis.  3BL content is carried on G&A’s news and opinion web platforms. 

This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

Tweet me:The “100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018” Roster -– Published by CR Magazine (Sustainability Highlights | May 16, 2018) http://bit.ly/2rPdRNp

KEYWORDS: business & trade, Corporate Social Responsibility, GRI, Governance & Accountability Institute, socially responsible investing, Sovereign Wealth Funds, sustainability, Corporate Citizenship, esg, 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2018

Applications due June 14, 2018

SOURCE:Medtronic

DESCRIPTION:

Medtronic believes that all people deserve access to quality healthcare and well-being, and through the Medtronic Foundation, we seek opportunities to demonstrate sustainable and innovative solutions to expand access and improve health outcomes for underserved populations around the world.

Medtronic Foundation is seeking project ideas to test or scale solutions that improve the efficiency of healthcare delivery by addressing gaps in distance, time or people, while leading to demonstrable health outcomes for underserved populations. Successful applicants will receive a one time, one-year grant for US$50,000-US$100,000 and will participate in a global learning collaborative facilitated by the Medtronic Foundation. Up to ten (10) grants will be awarded. 

Organizations will find information on eligibility, timing and how to apply by visiting the Medtronic Foundation Opportunity Grant Initiative page on the CAF America website.

Medtronic Foundation Opportunity Grant Initiative Webinar

The Medtronic Foundation is hosting two webinars to share more about the Opportunity Grant program with potential applicants. Each webinar will contain the same content and interested applicants need only to sign up for one webinar.

Webinars will be hosted on:

• May 22, 2018 at 10am ET (GMT-4)
• May 30, 2018 at 12pm ET (GMT-4)

During the webinar, we will discuss more about the application process, eligibility requirements, and timeline for the Opportunity Grant program, and will answer frequently asked questions about the program. Out of fairness to all applicants, we will not provide feedback on the merit of specific proposal ideas.

Register for the webinar(s) using this link. If you cannot make the webinar, recordings will be posted on the Medtronic Foundation Opportunity Grant Initiative page on the CAF America website.

Tweet me:.@MDTFoundation announced a new open call to apply for grant funding for global organizations (health and non-health) focused on improving healthcare efficiency — deadline is June 14. Full details here: https://www.cafamerica.org/medtronic-foundation-opportunity-grant-initiative/

KEYWORDS: NYSE:MDT, Medtronic

Cone executives join experts on four panels sharing insights on brand purpose, navigating the social justice landscape and consumer trends

SOURCE:Cone Communications

DESCRIPTION:

BOSTON, May 21, 2018 /3BL Media/ - For the seventh year in a row, Cone, a Porter Novelli public relations and marketing agency specializing in Purpose and corporate social responsibility (CSR), will join Sustainable Brands® 2018 (SB’18) as a sponsor. Cone will help lead and facilitate four dynamic sessions taking place over the four-day conference in Vancouver, June 4-7.

“As the expectations of responsible business continues to evolve to a broader brand Purpose, Cone is thrilled to participate in the conversation alongside renowned business leaders – sharing our consumer insights around how brands can simultaneously grow their business and positively impact the world,” says Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President of CSR/Purpose. “Our long-standing support of Sustainable Brands events reinforces our conviction that businesses acting as a force for good will be rewarded with competitive advantage and a new type of loyalty.”

Cone Executives Share Insights on Brand Purpose and More

On Wednesday, June 6, Aaron Pickering, Senior Vice President, CSR/Purpose, will moderate a session titled, “Campaigns that Enable Good Life Principles: Balanced Simplicity, Meaningful Connections.” The session will explore how brands can anticipate and understand their customers’ changing aspirations even before they do — and then innovate accordingly. Pickering will be joined by Mike Pepperman, Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Relations at LG Electronics, and Daniella Foster, Senior Director of Global Corporate Responsibility at Hilton.

Alison DaSilva, Executive Vice President of CSR/Purpose, will lead two conversations at SB’18. On Wednesday, June 6, DaSilva is facilitating an invite-only lunch session titled, “Purpose Isn’t Elitist: How Brands Can Right-Size Purpose for their Organizations.” During the session, executives from Ben & Jerry’s, Timberland and Mars will share their unique approach to Purpose and how they have brought it to life in authentic and compelling ways. The session will not only explore the successes and speedbumps of embedding Purpose into their organizations, but also how other companies can demonstrate and live their Purpose in a variety of ways. DaSilva will be joined by Chris Miller, Activism Manager at Ben & Jerry’s, Atlanta McIlwraith, ‎Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Timberland, and Ian Knight, Global Sustainability Senior Manager at Mars, Inc.

Wednesday afternoon, DaSilva will also lead a session titled, “When Staying Silent is No Longer an Option: When and How to Stand Up for Social Injustices.”This session will outline how brands can address social justice issues in an authentic way that is in alignment with their business. DaSilva will share Cone’s four-step approach to evaluating if, when and how companies should engage on often divisive issues in real-time.  

Whitney Dailey, Vice President of Marketing/Research & Insights, will be joining research experts at a roundtable titled, “The Good Life through the Lens of Consumer Preferences: Aspiration vs. Reality.” In this session, Dailey will share key insights from Cone’s newly released research being released on May 30.

Cone Invites Attendees to Taste the Difference of Beers Brewed with Purpose

To round out the conference, Cone will also host businesses and thought leaders at the “SB Gather Party” on Wednesday evening. At the event, participants will have the opportunity to taste a line of zero-waste beers crafted in partnership with Bridge Brewing, a Vancouver brewery focused on great-tasting craft beer that can boast being 99 percent waste-free. Cone and Bridge Brewing have partnered to create a Honey Pale Ale made exclusively for the event, in addition to three other zero-waste cask brews. Each beer uses repurposed waste ingredients from local Vancouver businesses that would have otherwise gone to landfill, such as bread, pineapple skins, cilantro stems and used tea bags to give the beers unique flavors while minimizing waste.

About Cone

Cone (http://www.conecomm.com/ ) is a public relations and marketing agency that is Always Making a Difference℠ for business, brands and society. We help organizations define their authentic Purpose, weaving it into the brand DNA to both grow the business and positively impact the world. Our deep subject matter expertise in Purpose Brand Strategy, CSR, Social Marketing, Social Impact and Brand Communications creates breakthrough work and unforgettable experiences to ignite action around issues that matter. Cone is a Porter Novelli company and part of the Omnicom Public Relations Group.

About Porter Novelli

Porter Novelli is a global public relations agency built on a rich heritage of marketing for social good. We’ve been motivating people to change deeply ingrained behaviors rooted in cultural and social norms for more than 40 years. Porter Novelli is a different kind of agency—and we recognize, respect and champion companies with the spirit, drive and tenacity to do things differently. We like taking on big challenges, and even bigger challengers, and we seek out clients who feel the same way—clients who have the conviction to tell their own story, and the courage to innovate from who they have been into who they know they can be. For additional information, please visit www.porternovelli.com. Porter Novelli is a part of the Omnicom Public Relations Group.

About Omnicom Public Relations Group

Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research.

Tweet me:Cone Sponsors Sustainable Brands® Conference for Seventh Year http://bit.ly/2IV4MgR #SB18Vancouver

KEYWORDS: Cone Communications, sustainable brands conference, Leadership

SOURCE:Pfizer

DESCRIPTION:

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that it has validated Nepal as the sixth country to eliminate trachoma as a public health problem. Pfizer is excited to join the global trachoma community in celebrating this important milestone, which brings us one step closer to eliminating the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness once and for all.

Through the International Trachoma Initiative (ITI), Pfizer has worked with more than 100 partners to help end the suffering and cycle of poverty caused by trachoma. We are proud to stand alongside organizations such as RTI International – which implemented in Nepal its neglected tropical disease (NTD) control program ENVISION, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – and we recognize the many important contributions made by the NTD elimination network around the world.

Trachoma is treatable and preventable through the WHO-recommended SAFE strategy, which stands for Surgery, Antibiotic treatment, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement. Since 1998, Pfizer has donated more than 730 million doses of an antibiotic to treat trachoma through ITI.

Nepal joins Oman, Morocco, Mexico, Lao PDR and Cambodia as countries validated by the WHO as having eliminated trachoma.

This remarkable progress is a testament to the power of partnerships, and we look forward to continued collaboration with organizations around the globe to achieve our final goal: a trachoma-free world. To learn more about how we’re supporting progress toward trachoma elimination, visit Pfizer.com/IndividualVoices.

Tweet me:The @WHO has validated Nepal as the 6th country to eliminate trachoma. Learn how @pfizer works with partners around the world such as @RTIfightsNTDs to #endtrachoma: http://bit.ly/2KJQQmS

KEYWORDS: public-private partnerships, Corporate Social Responsibility, Global Health, Corporate Responsibility, trachoma, RTI International, USAID, Pfizer, Nepal, world health organization, NTDs

Hear from leading companies that are REWIRING their talent strategies on June 13 at REWIRE in San Francisco

SOURCE:Shared Value Initiative

DESCRIPTION:

Savvy business leaders everywhere are focused on talent, changing demographics, and the future of work—and what it all means for their company. On June 13th, FSG and the Shared Value Initiative are hosting REWIRE: Unlocking Talent Solutions for Today & Tomorrow at Gap Inc.’s headquarters in San Francisco to explore how companies can build their capacity to better recruit, retain, support, and advance historically overlooked talent pools with an aim of improving the bottom line. Join companies like MOD Pizza, Tyson Foods, T-Mobile and others as they dicuss the strategies they're using to REWIRE their HR practices.

MOD Pizza was founded with the goal of using business to make a positive social impact. Founders Ally and Scott Svenson realized that through the fast-casual pizza segment they pioneered, MOD could create a positive effect on the lives of their fiercely loyal employees. MOD’s hiring philosophy -  that talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not – continues to drive their success and gives their employees purpose. 

The Challenge

When MOD learned that 5.5 million young people in the U.S., ages 18-24, are out of school and unemployed, they saw an opportunity to not only impact lives but solve a critical business need.  Like many other companies, MOD was having difficulty recruiting entry-level workers to keep up with the 2,000 MOD jobs created every year through their rapid expansion.  MOD was also challenged with high turnover; although their rate was typical of the restaurant industry, it was higher than they would like.

Read More About How MOD Pizza REWIRED Their Talent Strategy

Tweet me:.@MODPizza is dishing up insights from their time spent working with @FSGtweets on #partnership building to solve a crucial biz need: a pipeline of workers to support rapid expansion. #impacthiring #sharedvalue bit.ly/2IpHAIa

Contact Info:

Alicia Dunn
+1 (617) 502-6164
alicia.dunn@sharedvalue.org

KEYWORDS: Shared Value Initiative

By Kristin Musulin, Waste Dive

SOURCE:Republic Services

DESCRIPTION:

Fortune released its highly-anticipated Fortune 500 list today, which ranked Republic Services at 296, up from 299 in 2017. The company has been slowly climbing the rankings since 2014.

Continue reading on Waste Dive.

Tweet me:.@RepublicService continues to climbs @FORTUNE 500 list for 4th straight year. https://bit.ly/2rZHig0 @wastedive

KEYWORDS: fortune magazine, fortune 500, Republic Services, waste management, Waste Dive

SOURCE:Bloomberg

DESCRIPTION:

May 21, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Bloomberg and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) announced the New Economy Forum to be held in Beijing, China from November 6-8, 2018. The Forum will stimulate a frank conversation about the shifts in the global economy and the risks and opportunities created by a world in transition that is increasingly led by China and India, as well as the rising powers in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

Hosted by Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Three-Term Mayor of New York City, in partnership with CCIEE, the Forum will bring together a group of 400 preeminent world and business leaders and experts. Advisory Board members include former U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, who serves as Honorary Chair, along with former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson, Jr. and Zeng Peiyan, Former Vice Premier of the State Council, PRC, and Chairman of CCIEE, as co-Chairs.

“The global economy stands at a historic turning point. New economic powers like China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are increasingly playing a more important role in shaping global affairs,” said Michael R. Bloomberg.  “Now more than ever, we need a new convening platform to bring world leaders across the public and private sectors together to assess the risks and opportunities created by the emerging global order. The New Economy Forum will promote collaboration among participants to address the greatest challenges facing the planet, among them climate change, inequality and social disruption created by new technologies.”

Click here to learn more. 

Tweet me:Bloomberg and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE) Announce New Economy Forum in China, Convening 400 Influential World and Business Leaders @bloomberg #neweconomyforum http://bit.ly/2KGToCl

KEYWORDS: Bloomberg, Mike Bloomberg, New Economy Forum

SOURCE:Comcast Corporation

DESCRIPTION:

Every year on Comcast Cares Day, our employees get their hands dirty to give back to their communities – and this year was no exception. 

Tweet me:A record 115,000 @Comcast employees and other volunteers turned out for #ComcastCaresDay. See how their work makes a positive impact and inspires environmental responsibility http://bit.ly/2kel4Dv

KEYWORDS: comcast, Comcast Comcast NBCUniversal, comcast cares day, NASDAQ:CMCSA, CMCSK

JetBlue Partners with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing to Battle Bay Area “Book Deserts” and Bring 100,000 Free Books to Kids In Need Through Free Vending Machines

SOURCE:JetBlue Airways

DESCRIPTION:

New York, May 22, 2018 /3BL Media/ – JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced San Francisco and Oakland, Calif. as the next locations to receive free book vending machines as part of its annual Soar with Reading program. This award-winning literacy initiative tackles the issue of “book deserts” and provides access to age-appropriate books to children in underserved communities. To kick off the eighth year of Soar with Reading, JetBlue also announced a new partnership with Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

JetBlue and Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing will bring books to children in the Bay Area through five custom vending machines which will distribute 100,000 books throughout the summer, free of charge.  The program aims to help fight “book deserts,” areas offering limited access to age-appropriate books. Since 2011, JetBlue has donated $3 million worth of books to children in areas of need.

“Our customers voted and we’re excited to bring Soar with Reading to the Bay Area this summer,” said Icema Gibbs, director corporate social responsibility, JetBlue. “In book deserts, access to age-appropriate reading material is very limited. JetBlue’s goal is to provide books to help children build their personal libraries. As we continue to grow the initiative, we’ve also added select titles for adults as a way to encourage families to read together.”

This is the fourth year JetBlue has funded this innovative book vending machine program. Last summer, JetBlue’s vending machine initiative visited Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and previously Detroit and Washington, D.C. During an online vote, JetBlue’s customers, crewmembers and the local community overwhelmingly voted for San Francisco to receive 100,000 free children’s books in 2018.

Vending machines, powered by Innovative Vending Solutions, will be installed at five locations in San Francisco and Oakland. Reading events with Simon & Schuster Children’s Book authors will also take place throughout the summer. Specific locations for the vending machines and dates for the reading events will be announced next month.

“We are thrilled to partner with JetBlue for the Soar with Reading program," said Jon Anderson, President & Publisher of Simon & Schuster Children Publishing. “Access to quality children’s books is key to fostering a lifelong love of reading, and we couldn’t be happier that many of our authors will be participating in events this summer in the San Francisco area to meet with kids and share their stories.”

This summer, JetBlue will invite customers to #BookWithUs and take their city’s reading adventures to new heights. Customers and community members will be invited to vote for the city they would like to win $25,000 in children’s books plus a “celebrity reading room makeover” for a local community organization. Voting will start in June at SoarwithReading.com. No purchase is necessary. Stay tuned for more details.

This year’s Soar with Reading program will officially launch in late June 2018, just in time for summer break. The experience will include an updated website which will offer free downloadable resources for families, interactive reading lists, games, advice for keeping kids engaged in reading all summer long, and more. Passport booklets filled with activities will also be distributed at JetBlue terminals across the U.S. and throughout the Caribbean in July and August to encourage summer reading.

Soar with Reading is a signature program of JetBlue For Good®, the airline’s platform for social impact and corporate responsibility. As the program continues to grow, JetBlue is working to ensure that the books in the vending machines represent the communities where the machines will be place. The selection of books in the machines will be changed out every two weeks so kids can come back and grab new books all summer long.

Giving back is part of JetBlue’s DNA and is core to its mission of inspiring humanity. Centered around volunteerism and service, JetBlue For Good focuses on the areas that are most important to the airline’s customers and crewmembers - community, youth/education and the environment. Combining JetBlue’s corporate efforts with its customers’ and crewmembers’ passions, the common theme is Good – JetBlue For Good. Join the #JetBlueForGood conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, check for regular updates and get involved.

ABOUT JETBLUE

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 40 million customers a year to 102 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit www.jetblue.com.

About Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, one of the leading children’s book publishers in the world, comprises the following imprints: Aladdin, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Beach Lane Books, Libros para niños, Little Simon®, Margaret K. McElderry Books, Paula Wiseman Books, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Simon Pulse, and Simon Spotlight®. While maintaining an extensive award-winning backlist, the division continues to publish acclaimed and bestselling books for children of all ages. Simon & Schuster publishes numerous Caldecott, Newbery, and National Book Award winners. For more information about Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

JetBlue Corporate Communications

Tel: +1 718 709 3089, corpcomm@jetblue.com  

Lisa Moraleda, Director of Publicity, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

212-698-7087, lisa.moraleda@simonandschuster.com

Tweet me:.@JetBlue's Soar with Reading® Initiative Lands in San Francisco and Oakland This Summer http://bit.ly/2keUvOw providing access to age-appropriate books to children in underserved communities #CSR

KEYWORDS: Soar with Reading® Initiative, Jetblue, csr, San Francisco and Oakland

SOURCE:Republic Services

DESCRIPTION:

PHOENIX, May 22, 2018 /3BL Media/ – Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) is pleased to announce that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Chuck Serianni, was recognized with the 2018 Financial Executive of the Year Award by the Financial Executives International (FEI). This prestigious award recognizes financial executives who have made a significant impact within their companies and have shown exemplary leadership throughout their careers.

“On behalf of the entire Republic team, I congratulate Chuck on this well-deserved recognition,” said Don Slager, president and chief executive officer. “Chuck is a trusted advisor who has the vision and financial discipline to continue leading us on a path to long-term financial success.”

Held in conjunction with FEI’s Financial Leadership Summit, the awards were presented during the Financial Executive of the Year Awards Ceremony on Sunday, May 20, in Houston.

Serianni said, “I’m truly appreciative to be recognized by the FEI, and humbled by this honor. This award is not just about me, this is a testament to the great work we are doing across the country – both economically and environmentally.” 

About Chuck Serianni
As Republic Services’ CFO, Mr. Serianni is responsible for maximizing shareholder value by driving long-term growth and efficiently allocating capital, managing enterprise risk and enhancing internal control environment. He oversees Republic’s financial analysis and planning, accounting, treasury, investor relations, internal audit and tax departments.

A certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chuck has over 30 years of experience in finance with 20 of those years dedicated to Republic Services. Chuck holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Dayton.

About Republic Services
Republic Services, Inc. is an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste disposal. Through its subsidiaries, Republic’s collection companies, recycling centers, transfer stations and landfills focus on providing effective solutions to make proper waste disposal effortless for its 14 million customers. We’ll handle it from here.®, the brand’s promise, lets customers know they can count on Republic to provide a superior experience while fostering a sustainable Blue Planet® for future generations to enjoy a cleaner, safer and healthier world.

Media
Jennifer Eldridge
Media@RepublicServices.com
(480) 718-0119

Tweet me:.@RepublicService EVP and CFO Chuck Serianni named Financial Executive of the Year by Financial Executives International http://bit.ly/2Iw9ZMs #leadership #finance

KEYWORDS: Republic Service, Financial Executives International, employee recognition, Leadership, Chuck Serianni

Tackling food access with pro bono, aligning programs with talent development strategies, and more

SOURCE:Taproot Foundation

DESCRIPTION:

The Taproot Foundation’s U.S. Pro Bono Summit is an annual gathering of leaders from across sectors and industries with a shared vision to make the talents and skills of the business community accessible to social change organizations.

The 7th annual Summit was held in San Francisco on April 18 and 19. Over the course of two days, 100+ CSR, nonprofit, and government leaders from across the country gathered to dig into topics ranging from tackling food access through pro bono to aligning programming with talent development strategies. 

Check out these highlights and more: 

• Measuring the intangible benefits of pro bono --> read more
  The experience of pro bono creates a lasting impression on volunteers and nonprofits alike. But measuring a personal mind-shift is tough. See how some participants are overcoming the measurement challenge.
   
• Finding opportunities ahead --> read more
  Through engaging cross-sector brainstorms and investigation of nonprofit needs, opportunities were uncovered in using pro bono to build leadership, to increase food access, and to drive technology adoption and use. Find out what opportunities are ahead.
   
• Aligning pro bono and talent development stragtegies --> read more
  A growing number of companies are running innovative pro bono initiatives and seeing great results, particularly those that are integrating pro bono as a part of their talent development strategies. See how this one company has evolved their program to support HR's objectives.
   

Want to dig deeper into key insights from the U.S. Pro Bono Summit? --> register here
Explore learnings and ask questions at Taproot's free webinar. 
Tuesday, June 12, 2018 
1 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. CST / 10 a.m. PST
REGISTER TODAY

About the Taproot Foundation
Taproot Foundation, a national nonprofit, connects nonprofits and social change organizations with skilled volunteers who provide their expertise pro bono. Taproot is creating a world where organizations dedicated to social change have full access—through pro bono service—to the marketing, strategy, HR, and IT resources they need to be most effective. Since 2001, Taproot’s skilled volunteers have served 6,000 social change organizations providing 1.6 million hours of work worth over $180 million in value. Taproot is located in New York, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, and Los Angeles and is leading a network of global pro bono providers in over 30 countries around the world. 

Tweet me:Measuring the intangible benefits of #probono service, aligning pro bono and talent development strategies, and more. Explore highlights from @TaprootFound's 2018 U.S. Pro Bono Summit --> http://bit.ly/2s10eee #PBSummit2018

Contact Info:

Taproot Foundation
pr@taprootfoundation.org
@taprootfound

KEYWORDS: Taproot Foundation

Recognized for the third year in a row, Medtronic remains steadfast in commitment to inclusion and diversity

SOURCE:Medtronic

DESCRIPTION:

When Amanda Miranda talks about her career path, she gets emotional. The biomedical engineer put her career on hold to start a family more than six years ago. Sadly, her son, Johnathon, was born with congenital heart failure, and passed away at age four. Finding herself with a newfound passion for helping patients like Johnathon, Amanda’s desire to rejoin the workforce was tempered by her own uncertainty about whether she was equipped to jump back into the field she loved.

A Medtronic program – Careers 2.0 – gave her the boost she needed. The hiring initiative provides returnship opportunities for women in engineering after taking time away from the field. In the summer of 2017, Amanda was hired at Medtronic and today provides cardiovascular product design expertise at one of the company’s most advanced R&D facilities in Tempe, Arizona. Watch Amanda’s story.

Amanda’s story is one of hundreds from around Medtronic that represent the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. Announced this week, Medtronic is being recognized for that commitment on DiversityInc’s Top 50 list.

“We believe diversity is critical. It makes a difference in our capabilities, our thinking and ultimately the success of our company,” says Chairman and CEO Omar Ishrak. “We have set aggressive goals to better reflect the global population both in gender and diverse ethnic representation at all levels of the company. We do this because we know greater diversity will benefit our business, our customers and our entire team.” 

Read more 

Tweet me:DiversityInc puts Medtronic on the "Top 50" List for 2018 http://www.medtronic.com/us-en/about/news/news-diversityinc-medtronic-top50-2018.html #diversity #top50

KEYWORDS: NYSE:MDT, Medtronic, DiversityInc’s Top 50 list

SOURCE:Cone Communications

DESCRIPTION:

Plastic pollution has become a trending topic over the past year. Companies have partnered with environmental organizations and nonprofits to upcycle plastic pollution, they have joined coalitions and launched a new initiative to address their supply chains – diverting plastic waste from our oceans. Plastic waste is such a critical issue, it was even the theme of this year’s Earth Day. With stakeholders from all industries working to decrease the impact of plastic pollutants, National Geographic kicked-off a multifaceted campaign leaning on its aptitude for storytelling in the hopes of reducing global reliance on single-use plastics.

To communicate the size and severity that plastic waste is having on our planet, National Geographic dedicated its June cover to launch the “Planet or Plastic?” campaign. The cover serves as a warning that the 18 billion pounds of plastic that end up in the ocean each year are “just the tip of the iceberg.” The somber caption is dwarfed by the image of a plastic bag resembling an iceberg, floating in the ocean. The image has gone viral, sparking conversation and further spreading awareness to new audiences. But the effort is more than a splashy cover, the campaign is supported by a website where visitors can read more, take a pledge and participate in a Reddit AMA with a zero-waste blogger. In addition to leveraging its core competency of compelling storytelling, the publication has made internal changes. 

To continue reading, please click here.

Tweet me:National Geographic Fights Single-Use Plastic on all Fronts http://bit.ly/2rZpgv6

KEYWORDS: plastic pollution, National Geographic, Cone Communications, upcycling, earth day, zero-waste, Recycling, plastics