MARKETING AND COMMS -
Through Monday, February 15, McDonald’s stores in the U.S. will be swapping toys for books in its Happy Meals. Four children’s books have been specially printed to fit in small Happy Meal boxes, and some stores will have Spanish versions available. By the end of this year, the company expects to have distributed more than 50 million books to children – enough to provide a book to every child in America under the age of 12.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
In October, water testing found toxic levels of lead in the water at Flint, Mich. schools. The state of Michigan, community groups, various charities, and even Mark Walhberg and Sean “Diddy” Combs have supported the city of about 100,000 residents with bottled water donations in response.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Benefit corporation Singularity University (SU) is in ambitious pursuit of solutions for eleven “global grand challenges” that its experts have identified: environment, security, health, learning, energy, food, prosperity, water, space, disaster resilience, and governance. SU hopes to use technology to address these challenges with the support of its Developing Organization Partners and their expertise.
LEADERSHIP -
Arizona State University (ASU) has emerged as a leader in sustainability education in part due to its Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a series of programs designed to solve global sustainability problems, educate future leaders in sustainability strategies, and engage and inform the public around sustainability issues.
PRESS RELEASE -
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) today announced it has entered into 10 partnerships around the world to help increase the number of undergraduate women enrolling in and declaring majors in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Manufacturing and Design (STEM2D).
WASTE NOT -
Heineken has become the first alcohol company member of the The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit committed to improving curbside residential recycling, according to a recent announcement.As a leading sponsor, the brewer will provide industry expertise to help improve consumer education, elevate the quality of curbside recycling and drive increased recovery of recyclable glass in communities nationwide.The Recycling Partnership works to improve recycling in communities across the country.
CLEANTECH -
Telecommunication company Globe Telecom is advocating responsible use of mobile devices in school campuses in the Philippines to leverage advancement in information and communications technology, according to a recent announcement.While government learning institutions are now adopting the use of ICT materials, the use of digital technologies as a learning tool is not as widespread as it should be, Globe Telecom said.However, even if technology is available in the schools, children increasingly are gaining access to some devices, as internet-enabled smartphones abound.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
After spending much of her childhood in landfills near Mexico City, 22-year-old Sandy Yazmin Colohua Gomez is now one of the women who has gained financial independence and confidence through The Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 initiative. The company has released a short film, 5by20: Meet the Artisans, to share the global impact of the initiative through stories such as Sandy’s.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
This might be the best recent trend in children’s brands.
After years of being a less-than-progressive feminine role model, Barbie is on the verge of becoming the feminist icon she should be. Mattel’s latest ad features a college professor, a veterinarian, a soccer coach, a businesswoman, and a museum tour guide — all girls under the age of 10. It asks the audience, “What happens when girls are free to imagine they can be anything?”
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A new eBook encapsulates the key learnings of a recent week-long digital ThinkTank (virtual dialogue) conducted on the Convetit online engagement platform, which grappled with many of the thorny questions emerging from early practice of Net Positive business.
LEADERSHIP -
Earlier this month, He Named Me Malala, the feature-length documentary on the inspiring story of Nobel Laureate and girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai, opened in theatres across the U.S. and Canada. To accompany the release, her charity, the Malala Fund, launched a Stand #withMalala global campaign to encourage people to stand up and take action for education rights.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
More than 20 large banners that encouraged United Airlines customers to “Fly the Friendly Skies” at Chicago O’Hare found new life; the airline worked with the Columbia College Chicago Department of Fashion Studies and the Re:new Project – a nonprofit that provides employment opportunities for refugee women – to transform the large fabric signs into 100 eco-friendly carry-on bags.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Nestlé’s Pure Life® Purified Water recently announced a new campaign dedicated to encouraging children to drink more water. A recent study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that a little more than half of all children and adolescents don’t get enough hydration. Although excessive dehydration — which is rare in the developed world — is associated with serious health problems, even mild dehydration can cause issues including headaches, irritability, poor physical performance and reduced cognitive functioning.1
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
H&M has released an inspiring film emphasizing that there is only one rule in fashion – to recycle your clothes! Starring and narrated by icon Iggy Pop, and featuring appearances by blogger Pardeep Singh Bahra, emerging designer Loza Maleombho and artist Daniel Lismore, the piece supports H&M's Close the Loop collection and Global Recycling initiative, which to date, has recycled more than 260 billion pounds of unwanted clothing.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
A coalition of British NGOs and businesses is collaborating on a call for concerted action to curb littering. In a letter to the Guardian, leaders from national companies such as the British Soft Drinks Association and British Plastics Association, as well as global brands McDonald’s and Wrigley’s, are urging the government to develop a comprehensive anti-littering plan.
CLEANTECH -
The IBM Smarter Cities Challenge last year achieved concrete results in cities in Australia, Ireland, Mexico and the United States, according to the company’s 2014 Corporate Responsibility Report.This included improving infrastructure and its effectiveness, integrating municipally-owned solar energy into the existing power grid, planning for economic development and reversing neighborhood decline while increasing tax revenue.The report details how the company’s technology and talent are transforming governments, institutions, communities and the quality of life for people around the world.
COLLABORATION -
The Hershey Company today announced a partnership that will support its campaign to fight malnutrition in Ghana. As part of its Energize Learning program, the company is teaming up with the Ghana School Feeding Programme and current partner Project Peanut Butter to distribute a peanut-based protein supplement called Vivi to schoolchildren. The program aims to reach 50,000 children by 2016, and eventually expand to serve all children in Ghana’s school feeding program.
WASTE NOT -
Recyclebank, which claims to to inspire and reward smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future, has named Mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, MI “Mayor of the Year” as part of the first annual Recyclebank Awards.The awards recognizes one “Mayor of the Year” and participating U.S. cities and towns that go above and beyond expectations to “slash the trash” by promoting recycling efforts and recycling education.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
In the effort to reach new milestones in employee engagement, we must recognize that the process is a journey. Successful corporate responsibility efforts must be embedded throughout the organization, as exemplified by the fine examples from this panel at SB ‘15 San Diego.Susan Hunt Stevens, founder of WeSpire, welcomed everyone to this Wednesday afternoon breakout session on gamification, educational services and culture shifts in employee engagement. According to an oft-cited statistics this week, more than half of employees are disengaged at work.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
What can cities do contribute to the sustainability revolution? A whole lot, according to a workshop today, opening morning of SB ’15, featuring Gil Friend, CSO of the City of Palo Alto, and Chris Guenther, Director of Research at think tank SustainAbility.The three-hour presentation and breakout discussion focused on leveraging municipal and corporate partnerships to advance sustainability goals around issues such as climate, water, utilities and mobility.