MARKETING AND COMMS -
Back in the early days of corporate philanthropy, companies typically selected causes to support based on the personal interests of the chairman — or the chairman’s wife! — with little or no regard to issues of strategy, relevance or impact.
Fortunately, things have moved on, with many companies now adopting more innovative, imaginative and considered approaches to their companies’ community involvement activities — such that in many cases they can no longer be understood as purely ‘philanthropic’.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Confronted with an ever-growing demand for transparency and materiality, companies need to find an adequate format to publish both financial and pre-financial information to their stakeholders in an effective way. While traditional reporting reaches its limits, online integrated reporting features a number of key advantages that enable them to get the job done.
It is fair to say that 2017 was an important year for corporate reporting. A number of events established the disclosure of relevant ecological, social and governance (ESG) specific data as the “new normal”:
MARKETING AND COMMS -
In a bid to build trust into our systems and society, Unilever has announced a new commitment to cut investment in platforms that breed division in society — and is challenging the rest of the industry to do the same.
In his keynote speech at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting in Palm Desert, Calif., Keith Weed, Unilever’s CMO, demanded the industry work together to improve transparency and rebuild consumer trust in an era of fake news and toxic online content.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Building on the success of its “Good Odds” spots released during the Super Bowl, in which it highlighted the real-life story of Canadian Para-alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft, auto giant Toyota has released a new ad campaign “Start Your Impossible” for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
PRESS RELEASE -
BillerudKorsnäs’ mission, to challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future, is based on the fact that innovative and sustainable packaging solutions have an important role to play in delivering solutions to some of the global challenges that we all face today. Through the communication concept “What If?”, classic product positioning is replaced with open questions that invite reflection and dialogue.
PRESS RELEASE -
Google, Revlon, 21st Century Fox, and Clif Bar among companies confirmed to attend June 4-7th
SAN FRANCISCO, February 6, 2018 – Sustainable Brands® reveals highlights for its upcoming global flagship conference: SB’18 Vancouver.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
What makes a good company successful in an age where we are blessedly cursed with a wide selection of products in every category? With technology being a widespread disruptor, the business landscape is rapidly changing and making some companies obsolete almost overnight. Do you recall Blockbuster?
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Budweiser is launching a new initiative to communicate its commitment to sustainability to consumers and kickstart an industry-wide movement. The AB InBev brand has created a renewable electricity symbol that indicates when its beer is brewed with 100 percent clean energy.
PRESS RELEASE -
3,000+ brand and innovation leaders to convene June 4-7 at SB’18 Vancouver
SAN FRANCISCO, January 24, 2018 – Sustainable Brands® recently opened general registration for its flagship conference: SB’18 Vancouver. More than 3,000 business leaders are expected to gather June 4-7th at the Vancouver Convention Centre for conversation around how brands are staying relevant and resilient in a challenged world. The conference will showcase brands that are proactively innovating their product and service offerings to align with shifting consumer societal aspirations.
PRESS RELEASE -
Fortune has named 12 Sustainable Brands Members to its 2018 list of Worlds Most Admired Companies.
The list ranks companies based on their reputation among business leaders, and is gathered through surveys with executives across more than 50 industries. Executives are asked to name companies that they admire, both inside and outside of their industry. Companies are assessed on nine attributes, including innovation, people management, use of assets, social responsibility, management quality, financial soundness, long-term investment value, quality of products and services, and global competitiveness.
PRESS RELEASE -
Humana has ranked No. 2 in its industry – the company’s highest-ever ranking – in Fortune magazine’s 2018 listing of the World’s Best and Most Admired Companies. Humana was No. 3 last year in the category of Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care.
The Fortune annual ranking is the worldwide gold standard for the measurement of corporate reputation. Humana ranked No. 1 in the category of Social Responsibility, and also ranked high in areas such as Innovation and People Management.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Environmental and social issues are increasingly being used to shape business practice as companies recognize the link between strong ESG performance and profit. But for those that continue to put up resistance, investors and financial institutions are playing an important role in driving change.
PRESS RELEASE -
In an effort to bring awareness to and support for climate action, Interface recently launched a social giving campaign to raise critical funds needed to advance carbon-oriented solutions to climate change. Every time a social media user takes a stand against climate change by sharing the campaign’s branded post on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or registers for regular sustainability-focused emails from Interface here, the company will donate U.S. $1 to Project Drawdown, up to $20,000. The company will then match those donations up to $20,000.
PRESS RELEASE -
At Visa, our commitment to operating as a responsible and sustainable company includes a focus on understanding and minimizing the environmental footprint of our payments ecosystem. That is why we are pleased to announce our recognition as one of the top 100 U.S. companies on the Newsweek Green Rankings 2017 list, produced in partnership with Corporate Knights. Visa placed at #73, up 170 spots from the previous year ranking and first among U.S.-based payments networks.
WALKING THE TALK -
With only a few short weeks left to go before the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the PyeongChang Organizing Committee has unveiled details of the measures being taken to ensure the sustainability of this year’s event.
LEADERSHIP -
Last month, when news broke that Unilever would begin the search for Paul Polman’s successor, it sent shockwaves through the business world. As the poster child for Purpose in business, what would this mean for the future of businesses that aim to grow while prioritizing sustainability?
PRESS RELEASE -
At the One Planet Summit in Paris last week, a kid in the audience asked the question: “Isn’t it too late to make a difference in climate change?” The question certainly resonates.
From the latest flurry of climate conferences and warnings from scientists, we tend to hear a lot of doom. Many say we’re not going fast enough, we’re missing the targets, or “we need action, we’ve had enough talk!”, as summed up Governor of California Jerry Brown at the One Planet Summit, a high-level event organized by French President Emmanuel Macron that convened leaders from all over the world to showcase and find solutions to our greatest problem.
PRESS RELEASE -
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw), a leading floorcovering provider, has signed the United Nations Global Compact, a widely recognized set of principles focused on upholding and protecting human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption standards. Further, Shaw will implement the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact throughout its supply chain with updates to its sustainable sourcing policy and related terms and conditions for all suppliers.
NEW METRICS -
At the closing of the New Metrics '17 conference in Philadelphia last month, attendees were asked: “What ‘New Metric’ will you go back and implement in 2017/2018?” The overriding response tabulated in real time and displayed on the big screen in a word cloud (above) was “context based,” meaning Context-Based Sustainability (CBS) and its corresponding context-based metrics.