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The Bar for Corporate Leadership on Climate Has Been Raised
5 years ago - As the legal briefings pile up over the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP), I’m inspired by the growing number of companies and business organizations standing up for the most significant step in U.S. history toward reducing climate pollution. The bar continues to rise for companies that want to lead on sustainability, and it’s great to see companies aligning their corporate sustainability strategy and policy advocacy. Today’s corporate-led amicus briefs in support of the Clean Power Plan and smart climate policy are the latest example.
Focus on Women in Communication, STEM, Finance ‘the Biggest Bang for the Buck’
5 years ago - Building on the inspiration and energy from day one, day two of the International Women’s Day Forum kicked off with a panel on The Power of Communication and Perception. Beth Colleton, SVP of CSR at NBC Universal, posed the question: “We reach 97 percent of all people in any given month. But how do we get people to care?”
How the World's Best Companies Demonstrate Their Sense of Purpose
5 years ago - How do you communicate your company's sense of purpose — what you stand for in simple terms — in a way that is authentic, transparent and honest? Increasingly, the answer for many of the world's biggest companies is to highlight their sustainability work. Why sustainability? Well, sustainability, after all, is rooted in doing business in a transparent and authentic way. And, in today’s always-on, smarter-than-before society, pledging to be a better company just won’t cut it. You have to demonstrate how your company’s purpose is creating a tangibly better experience.
Microsoft Helps Launch R2 Ready for Reuse Label Pilot for Refurbished Computers
6 years ago - With an estimated 41.8 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2014, recycling and refurbishing our machines is an increasingly important issue. Perhaps more importantly, consumers need to be convinced to recycle their devices and that refurbished ones can be trusted as functional and reliable. Luckily, a certification for responsibly refurbished computers is on the way.
Microsoft’s Manufacturing Operations Achieve Carbon Neutrality
6 years ago - Microsoft has, as of July 1, 2015, achieved carbon neutrality across its manufacturing operations, according to the company’s 2015 Citizenship Report.The software company’s data centers, software development labs, offices and business air travel have been carbon neutral since July 2012.Microsoft was able to achieve carbon neutrality across its global operations due to its internal carbon fee. The program puts a price on carbon and makes the company’s business divisions responsible for the cost of reducing and compensating for the carbon emissions associated with their electricity use and air travel.
CDP: Threefold Increase in Companies Disclosing Carbon Price from 2014
6 years ago - Big brands across all industries are now assigning a carbon price to offset the costs and risks of their GHG production: Companies reporting that they price their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) has nearly tripled this year, now 437 from 150 in 2014.
Climate Week: Climate Neutral Now, RE100 Initiatives Recruit Fortune 500 Companies
6 years ago - Two initiatives for reducing businesses’ impacts on the environment have attracted globally recognized brands this week at Climate Week NYC.On Tuesday, the United Nations (UN) announced a new initiative to help businesses and individuals reduce their carbon footprints, Climate Neutral Now. An online platform will facilitate the measurement, reduction, and offset of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Google, BMW, Disney, Microsoft Once Again Top List of Best CSR Reputations
6 years ago - Reputation Institute has released its annual Global CSR RepTrak® 100, which highlights the companies that have the best reputations for corporate social responsibility (CSR) among the general public in 15 countries. Google tops the ranking for the second year in a row, with a significant lead over all other companies in the ranking.
Microsoft, GE Among Big Brands Backing New White House ‘Smart Cities’ Initiative
6 years ago - Microsoft, GE and Bank of America are among the ten companies supporting a White House challenge to U.S. cities to become smarter by accelerating deployment of innovative technologies that tackle energy, water, waste and air challenges.Organized by the nonprofit, Envision America, the new effort will invite leaders from 10 winning communities to participate in a workshop in January in Charlotte, NC, where they will work with leading experts from industry and academia to diagnose needs, workshop solutions and develop new smart initiatives for their community.
How Urban Centers Become More Sustainable When Business and City Leaders Get Creative
6 years ago - At SB ‘15 San Diego in early June, speakers on the Sustainable Cities panel discussed big issues and a few case studies around global brands building innovative partnerships with cities. They also shared how new, non-conventional partnerships are necessary and discussed opportunities that corporate sustainability teams should take into consideration.
How to Pool Collective Leadership & Go Beyond Nudging, Gaming and Competing to Engage Employees
6 years ago - It's an incredible, mostly missed opportunity: 70 percent of U.S. workers are not engaged at work, and yet organizations with high employee engagement have 147 percent higher earnings per share. Not surprisingly, employee engagement was one of the major topics this week at SB '15 San Diego.
In the Wake of Tragedy: Brands Come Together to Aid Nepal Earthquake Relief Effort
6 years ago - The 7.8 magnitude Nepal earthquake that hit on April 25th has yielded a death toll of over 6,000, with thousands still reported missing. Villages throughout the country have been destroyed as well as a large portion of the capital Kathmandu. The Guardian reports that 90 percent of clinics and schools in some districts have become completely unusable. “There are still injured there who have not been treated. Whole villages are flattened. They need tents very badly,” Kempo Chimed Tsering, a local religious leader, told the Guardian.
‘Return on Meaning’: Top Meaningful Brands Enjoy 46% Higher Share of Wallet Than Low Performers
6 years ago - Meaningful Brands® – Havas Media Group’s metric of brand strength – is the first global study to show how our quality of life and wellbeing connects with brands at both a human and business level. The study includes 1,000 brands, 300,000 people, 12 industries and 34 countries; and covers the role brands play in our communities and our personal wellbeing, as well as marketplace factors that relate to product performance such as quality and price.
#BusinessCase: Internal Carbon Fee Saves Microsoft Over $10M Per Year
6 years ago - With Earth Day this week, it’s a great time to reflect on the challenges we face and the advancements we’ve made. Last week, Microsoft released a whitepaper describing the progress made with our carbon fee since its inception in the hope to inspire other organizations to take similar action.
Electronics Giants Partner with CDP on Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Initiative
6 years ago - This week, the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), a nonprofit coalition of many of the world’s largest leading electronics companies — including Apple, Cisco, Dell, Eastman Kodak, HP, Microsoft and many more — dedicated to supply chain responsibility, and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) announced a new partnership to help expand greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting and reductions in the electronics supply chain.
Carbon Onsetting: A Robust Complement to - or Replacement for - Offsetting
6 years ago - Whether as competitive differentiation, long-term risk management, or hedging against future regulation, internal carbon fees are becoming increasingly popular with companies as varied as Shell, Microsoft and Disney.
The Leaders and Laggards of Sustainability Goals
6 years ago - Imagine that you arrive to take your first flying lesson. The instructing pilot asks, “How much fuel do you guess we should put in the tank?” You think: “Guess? Come again? Shouldn’t we calculate the distance between where we are and where we are going, and then determine the fuel needed (and add in some extra fuel for peace of mind)?”Yes. And the same is true for sustainability goals.
Bill Gates Tastes Proof of Latest Breakthrough Concept in Wastewater Treatment
7 years ago - Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently took a leap of faith when he personally put the latest technology for wastewater processing to the ultimate test — by drinking water produced from recycled human sewage.
Google, Microsoft, Walt Disney and BMW Have Best CSR Reputations
7 years ago - Google, Microsoft, Walt Disney and BMW have the best CSR reputations globally, according to new research from the Reputation Institute (RI).Although this year Google beat out Microsoft for the top spot, the same companies remain in the top four as last year. The top companies based on their CSR reputation come from the IT, automotive, consumer goods and media/entertainment industries. The new entrant in the top 10 this year is LEGO, while Nestle is no longer in the top 10 list.
Microsoft to Build First Zero-Carbon Data Center
7 years ago - Microsoft, Siemens and FuelCell Energy have come together to build what they claim is the first zero-carbon, waste-to-energy data center in the U.S.Microsoft's data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming uses biogas produced at the nearby Dry Creek facility, which is a byproduct of municipal wastewater treatment. Anaerobic bacteria produce the biogas while stabilizing solids removed from wastewater. The fuel cell electrochemically converts the biogas into electricity to power the Microsoft IT server container. Virtually no air pollutants are released because of the absence of combustion.