WALKING THE TALK -
In April of 2000, Clif Bar owner and founder Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy Clif Bar & Company. Instead of taking it easy the rest of his life, Erickson decided to keep Clif Bar private and pursue a unique business model known as the Five Aspirations: Sustaining Its Business, Brands, People, Community and the Planet.
BUSINESS CASE -
Unilever has today revealed its fourth consecutive year of growth for its ‘sustainable living’ brands, which delivered 70 percent of its turnover growth and grew 46 percent faster (a slightly slower rate than last year, when it was over 50 percent). than the rest of the business. The company says all of its brands are working to reduce their environmental footprint and increase their positive social impact; the ‘sustainable living’ brands are those that are furthest ahead on the journey.
COLLABORATION -
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
~ Henry Ford
Environmental and social issues are increasingly affecting the viability of business — and the communities and environments in which they operate. A proven way to address these issues is through partnerships in which businesses and non-profits collaborate for mutual benefit and create solutions to societal challenges.
Faced with these sizable issues, it can be hard to know where to start — and to determine where the greatest value lies. Taking a page from lean innovation, start with a pilot project, to test and scale what works.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT -
Danielle Azoulay (@ecodanielle), head of CSR and sustainability at L'Oréal, spoke with us recently about the projects she’s most excited about right now and how she stays inspired to drive positive change for the business, including the ability to measure environmental and social impacts for all L'Oréal products.
Keep reading to learn how writing a letter to the President and other experiences at young age inspired Danielle’s work in sustainability and how she wants to work with other members to lift the entire consumer packaged goods industry together.
WALKING THE TALK -
It’s official. Sustainability is mainstream.
You probably already knew that. What you may not know is that Americans aren’t really changing their personal behaviors. They’re changing their buying behaviors. And that gives brands a new way to win in the marketplace.
Here’s what we’re seeing in our ongoing polling of Americans to understand their attitudes and behaviors related to the environment:
One of our most recent surveys finds that 88 percent of Americans believe the average person should be taking concrete steps to reduce environmental impact, and nearly 80 percent feel a sense of personal responsibility to change daily purchase habits and practices to positively impact the environment.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
One in four children are affected by anxiety disorders, putting our next generation of leaders and innovators at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences and engage in substance abuse.
PRESS RELEASE -
Many Sustainable Brands Corporate Members have been named in DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity. The list was created in 2001 in response to the emerging business value of diversity-management initiatives. To participate, each company must submit a form, have at least 1,000 employees, and complete NOD’s disability employment tracker. The company then receives a subsequent report card which evaluates its performance in talent pipeline, talent development, leadership accountability, and supplier diversity in comparison to competitors within the same industry.
PRESS RELEASE -
Officials from General Motors and Starwood Energy Group joined Ohio lawmakers, county officials and local landowners today at a press conference to unveil the Northwest Ohio Wind Farm, a 100-megawatt wind project under construction in Paulding County, Ohio. Power purchased from the wind farm will help offset the power used at General Motors’ Ohio and Indiana manufacturing facilities with clean, renewable energy.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) made history today by unveiling the new Scout Me In campaign that features girls, as well as boys, in its iconic Cub Scout program for the first time. Starting this summer, all kids are invited to say, “Scout Me In,” as they join the fun, adventure and character-building opportunities found in Cub Scouts. The campaign presents an energizing Scouting experience that speaks to kids by putting them in the middle of the action. It also engages parents who are looking for ways to make the most of the time they have with their kids and help them to be Prepared. For Life.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Though diamonds in today’s jewelry market are much more likely to be conflict free thanks to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, it can still be difficult to trace individual components back to their exact origins. IBM and a newly-formed consortium of gold and diamond businesses aim to make the jewelry supply chain more transparent through the use of
WALKING THE TALK -
Last year saw unprecedented natural disasters across the globe – from wildfires in California to record-breaking hurricanes in the U.S. Gulf Coast, eastern seaboard, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. At the same time, scientists warn that the risks posed by climate change are even more dire than predicted and will lead to even bigger impacts on heat and extreme weather. Combined, this has led to a spike in environmental consciousness, not only for the American people, but for businesses across the globe.
PRESS RELEASE -
Donations, Educational Materials from SC Johnson Help Protect the Most Vulnerable Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases
CLEANTECH -
Many people assume that tech companies are always competing. But as we celebrate Earth Day this year, we’re feeling grateful for our tech peers. When it comes to the environment, working together allows us to make bigger strides toward our shared sustainability goals — and collaboration is the only way forward.
PRESS RELEASE -
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) today released its 11th annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, detailing its latest efforts to shape the future of health care, reduce environmental impacts and exemplify corporate leadership in fulfilling the company's purpose of helping people on their path to better health.
Among the company's key CSR initiatives in 2017 were an enterprise response to combatting the opioid crisis, the development of a carbon emissions reduction target in line with climate science, and a rapid and robust response to a series of natural disasters that impacted CVS Health operations, colleagues and communities.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Building on their individual efforts and those under the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)’s New Plastics Economy initiative, dozens of businesses have made their commitment to the new UK Plastics Pact.
PRESS RELEASE -
In line with its commitments to reflect the diversity of its audiences and to support the next generation of creatives and technologists, 21st Century Fox has made a multi-year commitment to back the groundbreaking organization, Girls Who Code (GWC), with financial and in-kind resources.
This support will go toward two significant initiatives: GWC’s new College Loops program, which will drive retention and community among female computer science majors by connecting and engaging Girls Who Code alumni at colleges and universities, and the development of the organization’s international presence. Both efforts will help the organization move closer to its goal of closing the gender gap in technology.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), the global leader in prestige beauty, today announced new and enhanced family-related programs, policies and benefits for its diverse employee base in the U.S. Effective May 1, 2018, Paid Parental Leave will be expanded to 20 weeks and an enhanced flexibility policy for parents returning to work will be implemented. The policies apply to all eligible employees, irrespective of gender.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Proposing a new idea and convincing others of its validity is no easy task. Even more so when you’re dealing with complex issues such as supply chain transparency, or trying to shift the ‘take, make and waste’ model of the fashion industry to one of circularity.
PRESS RELEASE -
London: 18 April 2018 -Today, at the London Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the world’s leading Crop Protection companies announce their commitment to support the research, development and supply of innovative products to save lives and help eradicate malaria by 2040.
PRESS RELEASE -
I am very excited to announce that Cisco’s Bangalore campus is now using solar power generated by two new offsite solar installations located in Karnataka, India. Cisco recently signed two solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will collectively deliver 85,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity every year to the local electric grid where our Bangalore campus is located.