AEG’s LA Galaxy team up for second year with LA Chargers to read Dr. Seuss classics to more than 250 elementary school students in advance of season opener on March 4

SOURCE:AEG

DESCRIPTION:

Yesterday, AEG’s LA Galaxy, StubHub Center and the LA Chargers hosted more than 250 second and third grade students from Towne Avenue Elementary School and Leapwood Avenue Elementary School at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. for Read Across America Day in celebration of Dr. Seuss’ 114th birthday. 

After participating in a rigorous soccer clinic in the morning, students enjoyed lunch and a special reading with LA Galaxy President Chris Klein. Following lunch, students dispersed throughout the stadium to meet Galaxy and Chargers players at various reading circles and crafting activities. 

LA Galaxy players Daniel Steres and Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Assistant Coach Dominic Kinnear joined LA Chargers players James Onwuala, Damion Square and Denzel Perryman to read Dr. Seuss classics such as The Lorax and The Cat in the Hat. 

Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss.  To continue the celebration of reading, MLS WORKS provided each student with a book of their own to take to take home. 

With the Galaxy season opener just around the corner, Dr. Seuss’s wise words will set the tone come Sunday: “You’re off to great places! Today is your day! Your Mountain is waiting, so get on your way! The Galaxy begin their 2018 campaign on Sunday, March 4th at the StubHub Center when they host the Portland Timbers at 7 p.m. PT live on FS1 and FOX Deportes.

Tweet me:AEG’s @LAgalaxy team up with @chargers to host annual #ReadAcrossAmericaDay celebration for more than 250 elementary school students at @StubHubCenter! #DrSeuss http://bit.ly/2teKwzU

KEYWORDS: AEG, LA Galaxy, StubHub Center, LA Chargers, Dr. Seuss, Read Across America Day

SOURCE:Cone Communications

DESCRIPTION:

The students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have been thrust into a national debate and have made it clear that thoughts and prayers are not enough – they are demanding action from politicians, schools, the NRA and even businesses. We have seen this highly-politicized and divisive issue in the news before, but this time is different. Those students can’t be ignored. Companies are increasingly more comfortable standing up for and speaking out on hot button issues that have dominated the news over the last year.

Americans are looking to business to take the lead and address issues outside their transactional footprint – and they were willing to buy and boycott based on those corporate values. Now, in the wake of the tragic Parkland school shooting, gun control is taking center stage. The culmination of student activism and the hyper-awareness of social justice issues spurred by 2017 has catalyzed a new movement, pressuring companies to cut ties with the NRA and for consumers to boycott those companies who refuse to take a stand. The call for action is impossible to ignore and brands are responding with a range of actions:

• Discontinuing NRA Member Discounts: Brands including Delta, United, MetLife, First National Bank of Omaha, Symantec, Avis Budget Group, Hertz and Enterprise Holdings took to social media to announce they will be discontinuing their discounts for NRA members. Many cited “customer feedback” as the main cause for distancing themselves from the organization.
• Changing Gun Purchasing Policies: Walmart (the largest seller of guns in the country), Dick’s Sporting Goods, L.L.Bean* and Kroger announced they will no longer sell guns and high-capacity magazines to anyone under the age of 21. In addition to the policy changes, Dick’s said it will no longer sell assault-style rifles in its stores. Walmart had made that decision back in 2015, but has extended the ban to items resembling assault-style rifles, including toys guns and air rifles.
• Leveraging Purchasing Power and Dollars to Influence Others: REI announced that it would suspend future orders from Vista Outdoor, the parent company of CamelBak and Giro, as well as Savage Arms, a manufacturer of AR-15-style semi-automatic rifles. While the outdoor retailer does not sell guns, the company hopes to sway its vendors to “work towards common sense solutions” to prevent more tragedies. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset managers, stopped short of saying it would divest its funds of gun companies, but said it will speak with weapons manufacturers and distributors “to understand their response” to the Florida shooting and is putting pressure on companies such as Sturm Ruger & Company Inc. and American Outdoor Brands Corp.

To continue reading, please click here.

Tweet me:Companies Standing Up For Gun Control http://bit.ly/2I0ENB4

KEYWORDS: gun control, #BoycottNRA, Dick's Sporting Goods, Cone Communications, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, L.L.Bean, Kroger, Walmart

Leading global provider of sustainable wood fiber products and solutions invests in recycling

SOURCE:Sappi North America

DESCRIPTION:

BOSTON, March 6, 2018 /3BL Media/ – Sappi North America, a leading producer and supplier of diversified paper and packaging products, has joined on as a new funding partner of The Recycling Partnership, a national nonprofit that applies corporate funding to improve recycling efforts in communities across the country. In doing so, the company will be working to help transform recycling nationwide, increase materials recovery, and reduce the creation of greenhouse gases that add to climate change.

Currently, still less than half of recyclables in U.S. homes are getting captured; just 22 million tons out of an available 46 million tons are recycled every year [1]. While the funding and management of recycling systems has fallen on the shoulders of cities and towns across the country, now, through The Recycling Partnership, nearly 40 companies, including Sappi are committing financial resources to work with the nonprofit and local governments to improve recycling systems.

Since 2015, The Recycling Partnership has invested more than $27 million of corporate funding in recycling infrastructure. Each new funder expands The Partnership’s reach to improve recycling through local and national work.

“Sappi North America has been part of The Recycling Partnership through the Recycling Works in Publishing,” says Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership. “We are grateful to have them now on board as a direct partner. The work Sappi has done throughout Maine and beyond with co-funding pedestrian recycling bins has been very successful. We look forward to working with their team on generating new ideas and partnerships to improve recycling in cities and towns across the United States.”

Sappi has always been committed to sustainability, particularly waste reduction and the best use of materials, according to Laura Thompson PhD, Director of Sustainable Development and Global Policy Initiatives, Sappi North America. “We’re excited to further this work by supporting The Recycling Partnership in its mission to transform recycling for good in the U.S. We are proud of the work that we have already completed with the Partnership over the years, and we are ready to make an even larger impact on recycling in our country moving forward,” she says.

For the last two years, Thompson has served as the chair of Recycling Works in Publishing (RWIP), a member of The Recycling Partnership. Last fall, Sappi worked with The Partnership to launch a recycling cart program in the city of Portland, Maine, increasing access to recycling for the city’s residents. The Portland project is helping to inform a greater collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy and its Trash Free Seas initiative, a public awareness program that educates consumers and reduces pollution in the world’s oceans. Sappi is also a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), and a supporter of ASTRX, a joint initiative between SPC and The Recycling Partnership, which aims to increase recycling by strengthening each element of the materials supply chain to create reliable and valuable manufacturing feedstock.

“The paper industry has very high recycling rates compared to other materials,” says Thompson. “Recent statistics show we are recovering over two-thirds of paper in circulation – but that means there are still nearly 20 million tons of paper-based materials that are not being recovered each year. Through efforts such as designing for recyclability to improving infrastructure, access, and education, we can further improve our industry’s recycling efforts. We see The Recycling Partnership as a key player in making this goal a reality, and we’re proud to help further its mission.”

About The Recycling Partnership

The Recycling Partnership (www.recyclingpartnership.org) is a national nonprofit organization that leverages corporate partner funding to transform recycling for good in towns all across America. As the only organization in the country that engages the full recycling supply chain: from the corporations that manufacture products and packaging, to local government charged with recycling, to industry end markets, haulers, material recovery facilities, and converters; the Recycling Partnership positively impacts recycling at every step in the process. By the end of this year, The Recycling Partnership expects to have served 750 communities with tools, resources and technical support, provided 500,000 recycling carts, reached 40 million households, and helped companies and cities invest more than $33 million in recycling infrastructure. 

About Sappi North America

Sappi North America, headquartered in Boston, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses – high quality Coated Printing Papers, Specialised Cellulose, Release Papers and Specialty Packaging – is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high quality Coated Printing Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Specialised Cellulose used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods, and one of the world's leading suppliers of Release Papers with our Ultracast, PolyEX, Classics and Neoterix lines for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Our Specialty Packaging products, such as LusterPrint and LusterCote, represent an important asset in the food packaging and labeling industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit.

Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 150 countries around the world. Learn more about Sappi at: www.sappi.com.

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Tweet me:.@SappiNA joins @recypartnership to improve recycling and reduce waste across the world http://bit.ly/2I5I4ze

KEYWORDS: Sappi, paper, Recycling, Recycling Partnership, Waste

SOURCE:VMware

DESCRIPTION:

VMware has been named an Omni Top 50 Organization for Multicultural Business Opportunities for its commitment to supplier diversity.

The Omni50 "represent the Top 50 Organizations who are awarding the most business to the growing culturally diverse marketplace across the United States. These same organizations are also successfully appealing to the growing millennial generation, which, by 2020, will be the largest diverse market segment in America (a market segment that is forcing brands to evolve from minority/diversity paradigms to inclusion)."

VMware embraces diversity through our employees, our suppliers and partners we work with, our customers, and the communities in which we work and live. To learn more visit https://www.vmware.com/il/company/supplier-diversity.html

Tweet me:.@VMware recognized as an #OMNI50 leader in multicultural business practices http://bit.ly/2GWY3OF #supplierdiversity

KEYWORDS: Omnikal, Omni50, supplier diversity

Looking after the global commons can cut costs and foster growth

SOURCE:Walmart

DESCRIPTION:

Integrating sustainable practices into a company’s operations can improve business performance, spur technological innovation, inspire brand loyalty, and boost employee engagement.

That is our experience at Walmart, where investments in sustainability and efficiency in our own operations – and those made by our suppliers – have enabled us to save money, while striving to support jobs and help reduce impact on the environment.

Read the full article on TheGuardian.com

Tweet me:How #SustainableBusiness Practices @Walmart Help the Bottom Line http://bit.ly/2oTHAn7

KEYWORDS: Walmart, Project Gigaton

LIXIL’s Green Toilet System to help improve sanitation and self-reliance for refugees and host communities

SOURCE:LIXIL

DESCRIPTION:

TOKYO, March 6, 2018 /3BL Media/ – LIXIL Corporation (LIXIL), a global leader in the housing and buildings industry, announced today it has been awarded a contract by UN-Habitat to provide its Green Toilet System – a waterless and sustainable sanitation solution - for the Kalobeyei refugee settlement in Turkana County, Kenya. Designed for areas without access to water and sewage systems, the Green Toilet System will improve access to clean and safe toilets in the settlement and help refugees become more economically self-reliant by converting waste into fertilizer for crops.

There are currently 38,000 displaced people living in the Kalobeyei settlement. Every year, the influx of refugees into Turkana County continues with many coming from neighboring South Sudan. While most refugee camps in Kenya are designed to only temporarily deal with emergencies, displacement in the region has now carried on for over two decades. The Kalobeyei refugee settlement aims to provide a longer-term solution by promoting the economic self-reliance and social integration of refugees, reducing the burden of hosting refugees and enabling local communities to also participate more equitably in the hosting process.

Supported by the Government of Japan, UN-Habitat partnered with UNHCR and the Turkana County Government in Kenya in 2016 to promote the development of community-based, sustainable livelihoods and climate-resilient infrastructure in the settlement. The partnership is now piloting sustainable urbanization strategies, including for sanitation.

“Our approach at Kalobeyei is based on a participatory process that involves the local government and local communities, helping us create more sustainable solutions. We are now also working with private sector companies, such as LIXIL, to implement innovative technologies adapted to local conditions and for the benefit of both refugees and host communities. Through this broader approach, we believe that we can provide inhabitants with not just a place to live, but also help them achieve more sustainable livelihoods.” said Yuka Terada, Programme Management Officer of UN Habitat.

The Green Toilet System offers a recycling-based system to treat waste. The toilet separates solid and liquid waste, enabling maintenance workers to collect the waste from tanks and transport it to a treatment facility. Once turned into fertilizer and soil conditioner, it can be used for farming. The Green Toilet System also requires no water to transport human waste, circumventing the need for a traditional sewage system while protecting groundwater from contamination. LIXIL has worked on the research and development of the Green Toilet System since 2008, and conducted pilot tests in Kenya in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

LIXIL plans to install Green Toilet System washrooms and a human waste treatment facility in the Kalobeyei settlement by the end of March 2018. It will implement a training program to ensure these facilities will be properly maintained and can be managed by the local community.

Junichi Goto, Head of the Social Sanitation Initiatives Department at LIXIL, commented: “Ensuring access to safe sanitation is a pressing issue, and based on the successful research and development of our Green Toilet System, we are committed to working with UN-Habitat on implementing a sustainable solution for the Kalobeyei refugee settlement. We will continue to leverage our expertise and resources to further innovate sustainable, scalable measures to make a meaningful difference.”

Worldwide, 2.3 billion people do not have adequate access to sanitation. LIXIL aims to provide safe sanitation for 100 million additional people by the end of 2020, contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for 2030: ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

About LIXIL

LIXIL is a global leader in the housing and building industry. Our unique portfolio spans everything from technologies that revolutionize how we interact with water in our daily lives, to a full lineup of products and services for housing and major architectural projects. Delivering core strengths in water, kitchen, housing, and building technologies, our brands including LIXIL, American Standard, GROHE, DXV, INAX, and Permasteelisa are leaders in the industries and regions in which they operate. LIXIL operates in more than 150 countries and employs more than 70,000 people, bringing together function, quality, and design to make people’s lives better and more delightful – wherever they are.

Learn more at www.lixil.com, facebook.com/lixilgroup and www.linkedin.com/company/lixil-group.

About LIXIL Group

LIXIL Group Corporation (TSE Code: 5938) is the listed holding company containing LIXIL Corporation, LIXIL VIVA CORPORATION and LIXIL Housing Research Institute, Ltd. The Group, which is led by President and CEO Kinya Seto, is involved in a broad spectrum of housing-related businesses, ranging from the manufacture and sales of building materials and housing equipment to the operation of home centers and a network of homebuilding franchises, and comprehensive real estate service. LIXIL Group Corporation posted ¥1.79 trillion in consolidated sales in FYE March 2017.

Tweet me:LIXIL to provide @unhabitat with #sanitation facilities for Kalobeyei refugee settlement http://bit.ly/2FVdffQ

KEYWORDS: Green Toilet System, LIXIL, Kenya, refugees, UN-Habitat, Kalobeyei

SOURCE:Ceres

DESCRIPTION:

Andrew Plepler, global head of ESG at Bank of America, discusses how the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability provides the company with a comprehensive framework for corporate sustainability leadership. 

TURNING POINT: Corporate Progress on the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability is a new assessment released by Ceres that examines how more than 600 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. are responding to urgent calls to act on climate change and other sustainability threats, such as water pollution and scarcity, and human rights abuses, and positioning themselves for success in a world shaped by these unprecedented environmental and social challenges.

TURNING POINT  takes a closer look at the progress these companies have made against 20 key expectations of sustainability leadership within the areas of governance, disclosure, stakeholder engagement and environmental and social performance as outlined in the Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability.

Find out more at www.ceres.org/turningpoint.

Tweet me:WATCH: @BofA_news Global head of #ESG @Aplep discusses how employee engagement on #sustainability helps attract and retain the best workforce. #TurningPoint ceres.org/turningpoint

KEYWORDS: Turning Point, CERES, sustainability, Bank of America

SOURCE:CECP: The CEO Force for Good

DESCRIPTION:

How does your company make decisions about social investments? Is it an ad-hoc approach or strategic and measurable? CECP's Giving in Numbers report - the largest, most robust, industry-leading and internationally-recognized research of corporate social engagement - offers an in-depth review of how leading companies are effectively harnessing their resources to solve the world’s most pressing challenges. Since 2001, the Giving in Numbers Survey has collected data on corporate social strategy programs globally to provide professionals with the benchmarking and reporting tools necessary for making decisions about their company’s social strategy. 

CECP regularly hears from CSR professionals that Giving in Numbers has a permanent place on their desk - Harriet Dominique, SVP, USAA, told CECP that the report “completely transformed the way we do the business of societal impact and societal good.” Watch the video and download your free copy of the report today.

About CECP: The CEO Force for Good

CECP is a CEO-led coalition that believes that a company’s social strategy — how it engages with key stakeholders including employees, communities, investors, and customers —determines company success.  Founded in 1999 by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and other business leaders to create a better world through business, CECP has grown to a movement of more than 200 of the world’s largest companies that represent $7 trillion in revenues, $18.6 billion in societal investment, 13 million employees, and $15 trillion in assets under management. CECP helps companies transform their social strategy by providing customized connections and networking, counsel and support, benchmarking and trends, and awareness building and recognition. http://cecp.co

Tweet me:According to Harriet Dominique, SVP, @USAA, #GivinginNumbers “completely transformed the way we do the business of societal impact and societal good.” Watch the video and download your free copy of the report today: http://bit.ly/2HbzWw3

KEYWORDS: giving in numbers report, Corporate Responsibility Videos, USAA, data, CECP

SOURCE:American Express

DESCRIPTION:

NEW YORK, March 6, 2018 /3BL Media/ — American Express has been named one of the 2018 NAFE Top Companies for Executive Women by the National Association for Female Executives, to recognize American corporations where women have significant clout to make the decisions that affect their company’s future and its bottom line. The NAFE Top 70 Companies, released today, is featured in April/May issue of Working Mother. The full report on this year’s winners are listed here.

About the Methodology

The 2018 NAFE Top Companies application includes some 200 questions on female representation at all levels, especially the corporate officer and profit-and-loss ranks. The vetting process includes tracking access and usage of programs and policies that promote the advancement of women as well as the training and accountability of managers in relation to the number of women who advance. In order to be eligible for the NAFE Top Companies survey, entrants must have a minimum of 1,000 employees, two women on the Board of Directors and be a public or private company. NAFE also separately names the Top 10 companies in the nonprofit sector.

About American Express:

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, Plenti rewards program, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, corporate card, business travel, and corporate responsibility.

ABOUT NAFE

The National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), founded in 1972, serves 20,000 members nationwide with networking, tools and solutions to strengthen and grow their careers and businesses. Working Mother magazine publishes the annual NAFE Top Companies list. NAFE.com provides up-to-date information, a community for women in business, and access to member benefits. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, owned by the Bonnier Corporation.

Tweet me:.@AmericanExpress made the 2018 @_NAFE_ Top 70 Companies for Executive Women list! See why here: http://workmom.co/NJoS45 #NAFETop

Contact Info:

Jocelyn F. Seidenfeld
American Express
+1 (212) 640-0555
jocelyn.f.seidenfeld@aexp.com

KEYWORDS: American Express

SOURCE:Bacardi Limited

DESCRIPTION:

Jacob Briars, Bacardi’s global brand ambassador, shares why plastic straws were originally created and why they are no longer serving the same purpose in society. Join the Bacardi No (Plastic) Straws Pledge and commit to adding "no plastic straw, please" to your every drink order.

Learn more about what you can do to help Bacardi rid the world of single-use plastic straws and stirrers at https://www.bacardilimited.com/corporate-responsibility/good-spirited-sustainability-initiative/.

Tweet me:Find out why plastic straws were created and how you can reduce usage http://bit.ly/2HbhG5S #GoodSpirited #NoStraws @BacardiLimited

KEYWORDS: Bacardi, good spirited, No Straws pledge, Plastic straws

NAWBO puts a spotlight on the 30-year anniversary of The Women’s Business Ownership Act, H.R. 5050

SOURCE:PNC Financial Services Group

DESCRIPTION:

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2018 /3BL Media/ —Today, the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) released “Spotlight on H.R. 5050: The Bill that Changed Everything for Women Business Owners.” This white paper, sponsored by The PNC Financial Services Group, reflects on the provisions that transformed the course for women business owners and highlights the current areas for improved policy and better women involvement. The white paper includes anecdotes of NAWBO leaders who played a role in H.R. 5050, as well as assessments of the current status of women business owners from NAWBO leaders and luminaries in the women business owner community including SBA Administrator Linda McMahon and NWBC Chair Carla Harris. Right now, women own an estimated 11.6 million businesses employing nearly 9 million people and generating nearly $1.7 trillion in revenues.

Noteworthy sections of The Women’s Business Ownership Act included:

• Erasing the need for a male relative or husband to co-sign a business loan,

• Establishing the Women’s Business Center (WBC) program,

• Creating the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), and

• Requiring the Census Bureau to include women-owned c-corporations, which expanded research beyond the self-employed and into bigger women-owned businesses.

“We need to stay engaged. We are just as responsible as those who represent us,” says Kathleen Warnick, NAWBO national board chair. “We must offer our policymakers sound ideas to continue moving forward and help them create policies that nurture a prosperous environment for all women-owned businesses.”

“It seems incomprehensible today to think that just 30 years ago, simple acts of financial independence like obtaining business credit under your own name, were denied to our mothers and grandmothers,” says Beth Marcello, PNC director of Women’s Business Development. “As we pause to commemorate the 30th anniversary of H.R. 5050, we also recognize that the work is not done. At PNC, we’re fully committed to supporting women who own and run businesses, and to working with organizations like NAWBO to help overcome the barriers that remain.”

Opportunities for future engagement and policy include:

• Expanding access to capital,

• Providing for research that assesses and meets the needs of women business owners,

• Targeting support for women of color and women in tech,

• Giving WBCs the tools to create more of an emphasis on business expansion, and

• Providing an avenue for more women involvement in procurement.

“Business owners require tools to get their business up and running: resources, access to capital, counseling from business experts and their peers, as well as research that covers their demographic. We must ensure that women are provided these tools just as much as their male counterparts,” according to Teresa Meares, NAWBO Institute for Entrepreneurial Development board chair.

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About PNC
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.

About NAWBO
Founded in 1975, NAWBO is the unified voice of America's more than 11.6 million women-owned businesses representing the fastest growing segment of the economy. NAWBO is the only dues-based organization representing the interests of all women entrepreneurs across all industries. NAWBO develops programs that help navigate women entrepreneurs through the various stages of their business growth.

To learn more, please visit www.nawbo.org.

Tweet me:30 years later, @PNCBank & @NAWBONational reflect on the provisions that transformed the course for women in business and highlight the current areas for improved policy. #WomensHistoryMonth http://pnc.co/2D1Brdv

KEYWORDS: PNC Bank, International Women's Day, The Women’s Business Ownership Act, pnc financial services group, entrepreneurship, Leadership, Women's History Month

SOURCE:Bloomberg

DESCRIPTION:

Venture capitalists from some of NYC’s leading VC firms joined Bloomberg, Cornell Tech, and Tech:NYC at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters on Wednesday to discuss how to close the gender gap in the technology industry.

Introduced by Bloomberg Beta founding partner Karin Klein, Rebecca Kaden, partner at Union Square Ventures, Beth Ferreira, managing director at FirstMark Capital, and Ellie Wheeler, partner at Greycroft, joined moderator Scarlet Fu of Bloomberg Television on a panel to share their own experiences at the latest installment of the CornellTech@Bloomberg series at Bloomberg.

Click here to read the full story. 

Tweet me:CornellTech@Bloomberg: Fresh Perspectives from Women in Venture Capital @techatbloomberg http://bit.ly/2Ft8FHU #WomenInVC

KEYWORDS: cornelltech, womeninvc, IWD, Bloomberg, Tech at Bloomberg

SOURCE:Republic Services

DESCRIPTION:

The weather was beautiful, the desert was vast and our more than 180 volunteers at @TheMint400Race cleanup in LasVegas crushed it! They filled more than eight 30-yard containers with trash left in the desert, leaving the city cleaner for all.

Tweet me:.@RepublicService #volunteers clean up 22.06 tons of trash following @TheMint400Race in #LasVegas http://bit.ly/2oVlzEo #environment #sustainability

KEYWORDS: Republic Services, The Mint 400 Race, las vegas

By Albert Khoury

SOURCE:Ray C. Anderson Foundation

SUMMARY:

The Ray is featured in Digital Trends

DESCRIPTION:

To see the future of motoring, point a flashlight toward electrified and autonomous vehicles (and sometimes a combination of both). But other technologies are being developed under a smaller spotlight. “The Ray” is an 18-mile stretch of west Georgia’s I-85 highway, including the surrounding land and community — and the future of cars is being dreamed up on its pavement.

Read the full article in Digital Trends.

Tweet me:.@TheRayHighway is an 18-mile stretch of west Georgia’s I-85 highway, including the surrounding land and community — and the future of cars is being dreamed up on its pavement. @DigitalTrends @harriettheray @allienkelly @langfordphill http://bit.ly/2oSjVUI

Contact Info:

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

Anna Cullen
The Ray
+1 (404) 405-2685
anna@theray.org

KEYWORDS: electric vehicles, solar EV charger, tire pressure measurement, WheelRight, Wattway, solar pavement, Ray C. Anderson Foundation, The Ray

SOURCE:Sodexo, Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

March 7, 2018 /3BL Media/ - In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, I’d like to share the question I get most often as a female leader.

It’s also the question I hate the most:

“What’s the business case for gender diversity?”

Ugh.

There are other variations:

“What’s the business case for diversity in general?”

“How does gender parity affect my bottom line?”

“How does being inclusive help me meet my KPIs?”

I am asked one of these almost every time I speak publicly and I just cannot answer again. Frankly, if a business leader doesn’t get it at this point, I feel sorry for that person. Their company won't be here in five years.

In the spirit of generosity and IWD, however, I will offer the below links to anyone who still needs to ask:

• Sodexo’s Gender Balance Study, 2018
• Delivering Through Diversity, McKinsey 2017
• The Business Case for Diversity, The Digitalist, 2017
•  Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter, Harvard Business Review, 2016
•  Why Diversity Matters, McKinsey, 2015
• Companies Behaving Responsibly: Gender Diversity On Boards, 2015
• Diversity Matters, Catalyst (Infographic) 2014
• Gender Diversity and Corporate Performance, Credit Suisse Research, 2012

What evidence would you add? 

Tweet me:.@SodexoUSA's CEO addresses gender diversity on International Women's Day http://bit.ly/2HbjkEk

KEYWORDS: Gender, gender diversity, women, International Women's Day, Sodexo, Equal rights

SOURCE:Ray C. Anderson Foundation

SUMMARY:

If a company wants to do a side project or charitable initiative to support an environmental or social cause, that is all well and good. There’s no penance in sustainability though.

DESCRIPTION:

Triple and triple play. Triplets. The Atlantic tripletail. Triple sec (for you margarita fans in the crowd). The Triple Crown. Triple double and the triple-threat position (both basketball terms, if you weren’t familiar). Triple net lease. Triple jump. Triple bogey (a.k.a. “my nemesis”).

Is the word “triple” starting to look weird to you yet? It is to me. Hang on, I have just one last triple for you – the triple bottom line.

Tweet me:If a company wants to do a side project or charitable initiative to support an environmental or social cause, that is all well and good. There’s no penance in sustainability though. #Ecocentricity http://www.raycandersonfoundation.org/articles/raising-the-bar @johnalanierRCAF

Contact Info:

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

Anna Cullen
The Ray
+1 (404) 405-2685
anna@theray.org

KEYWORDS: Triple Bottom Line, Ray C. Anderson Foundation, Prototypical Company of the 21st Century, Mid-Course Correction

SOURCE:Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.

DESCRIPTION:

March 7, 2018 /3BL Media/ - As the opening of RobecoSAM's Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) draws nearer we wanted to remind you about our upcoming workshop on April 6th at Baruch College/CUNY in New York City. The workshop will be a very intimate discussion with 30 or fewer people with an opportunity to engage with representatives from RobecoSAM, G&A Institute, and your peers.

Participants will also have access to RobecoSAM's benchmarking & leading practices database for the day. (Access to these databases normally cost 4’990 EUR and 2’500 EUR respectively.)

Click Here To Register & Find Our More Details!

We'd also like to share with you a collection of video interviews which outline the value of the RobecoSAM CSA for leading companies. These topics and more will be discussed at our workshop.

RobecoSAM interviewed a number of leading companies that are long time CSA participants. Please enjoy... and let us know if you have any questions about the CSA or the upcoming event.

Does the CSA deliver quantifiable business returns?
The CSA results are often used by companies to refine their sustainability strategy, add credibility to sustainability focused RfPs, attract investors, and to motivate employees and increase engagement. Learn first-hand about all the benefits these companies realize. Watch this 2min video with statements from Siemens, AstraZeneca, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung, ABN Amro, and Shinhan Financial Group.

How do you use the results of RobecoSAM’s CSA?
Companies that lead in sustainability use the CSA results in their communication with investors and B2B clients and to motivate employees to name just a few examples. To learn more, watch this 2min video with statements from Deutsche Telekom, AstraZeneca, Samsung, Siemens, ABN Amro, and Shinhan Financial Group.

Where does RobecoSAM’s CSA fit your overall reporting approach? 
The discussions and outcomes that develop internally at Sustainability leaders from the process of completing the CSA are used as key input for their sustainability reporting strategy. Hear about it from the leaders in this 2min video with statements from AstraZeneca, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung, Siemens, ABN Amro, and Shinhan Financial Group.

Advice for peers: what are the pitfalls first time participants should avoid? 
Watch this short video to learn about the benefits companies realize from their CSA participation and receive expert advice on how to best manage the CSA questionnaire process. Experts from ABN Amro, AstraZeneca, Deutsche Telekom, Samsung, Siemens, and Shinhan Financial Group.

“It’s not rocket science” – Advice for 1st time CSA participants
RobecoSAM asked a number of long time participants in our Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) what kind of advice they have for first time participants. Watch this 4min video to learn first hand from Axa Group, Philips, Grupo Nutresa, Cementos Argos and UPM Kymene.

Please join us on April 6th at Baruch College in NYC!
Click Here to For More Details & To Register! 
We look forward to seeing you there!

FOR QUESTIONS, contact Louis D. Coppola, Executive Vice President & Co-Founder, Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. at Tel 646.430.8230 ext 14 or email lcoppola@ga-institute.com.

Tweet me:"Does the @RobecoSAM CSA Deliver Quantifiable Business Returns?" - Find out April 6th in NYC at "DJSI How INSIGHTS Inspire Action" with @gainstitute http://bit.ly/2D8w24m

KEYWORDS: RobecoSAM, CSA, DJSI, G&A, G&A Institute, Dow Jones Sustainability Index, Workshop, csr, SRI, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Sustainability, sustainability, Sustainability Investing

SOURCE:Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

DESCRIPTION:

Keeping sibling groups together is one of the main purposes of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s signature adoption program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. Too often siblings are separated when they enter foster care and our recruiters work hard to help siblings maintain those biological relationships and get adopted by the same family.

That is exactly what happened for sisters Madison and Taylor last June. The Weymouth family first fostered Madison when she was 6 months old, but she soon rejoined her birth family. Two and a half years later, Madison returned to the Weymouth’s home with her younger sister, Taylor. Today the siblings, ages 6 and 4, are thriving together in their forever home.

We are thrilled for these two little girls, but there are still more than 117,000 children waiting in foster care for their forever family. The Foundation will not stop until they are all adopted.

To learn more about how you can help support our mission of a loving family for every waiting child, visit davethomasfoundation.org

Tweet me:Keeping sibling groups together is one of the main purposes of the @DTFAs signature #adoption program, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. Last year, two sisters found their #foreverfamily together http://bit.ly/2Hdn2xd #fostercare

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

SOURCE:Smithfield Foods

DESCRIPTION:

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2018 /3BL Media/ — In North Carolina, 371,000 low-income children participated in the national School Breakfast Program on an average school day in school year 2016–2017, according to a report released today by the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), an anti-hunger advocacy group.

“School breakfast means less hunger, better health, and improved educational outcomes for our children,” said Jim Weill, president, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC). “The many schools in North Carolina offering breakfast at no charge to all students and serving breakfast after the bell are ensuring that children start the school day ready to learn. We strongly encourage other schools to follow their lead so that more children may reap the benefits of school breakfast.”

The report finds that 58.3 low-income children in North Carolina ate school breakfast for every 100 who received free or reduced-price school lunch during the 2016–2017 school year. This is slightly above the national average of 56.7 low-income children eating school breakfast for every 100 who received school lunch, as determined by FRAC.

FRAC has set a goal of reaching 70 low-income children with school breakfast for every 100 receiving school lunch. Thirty-three school districts in North Carolina achieved this goal. Many of these top-performing districts, including Columbus County Schools, Hyde County Schools, and Washington County Schools, serve a particularly high proportion of students from low-income households in rural areas.

“Access to school breakfast is important for all of North Carolina’s school-aged children, but it is especially important for children who live in rural areas and have long bus rides to school,” said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief, Smithfield Foods. “We have partnered with FRAC to create the Rally Against Rural Hunger initiative to expand access to — and promote the benefits of — school breakfast for students, educators, families, and communities in North Carolina and across the country.”

North Carolina’s strong school breakfast participation in rural, suburban, and urban areas alike can be attributed to two key strategies: community eligibility, which allows high-poverty schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students and eliminates the stigma associated with school breakfast as being only for low-income children, and alternative breakfast models that move breakfast out of the cafeteria and after the first bell, such as breakfast in the classroom. Offering breakfast after the school day starts helps schools and students overcome common barriers, such as late bus arrivals and tight household budgets. Used together, these two approaches can continue to move the needle on school breakfast participation throughout North Carolina.

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About the Food Research & Action Center
The Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) is the leading national nonprofit working to eradicate poverty related hunger and undernutrition in the United States.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield^®, Eckrich^®, Nathan's Famous^®, Farmland^®, Armour^®, Farmer John^®, Kretschmar^®, John Morrell^®, Cook's^®, Gwaltney^®, Carando^®, Margherita^®, Curly's^®, Healthy Ones^®, Morliny^®, Krakus^® and Berlinki^®. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About Rally Against Rural Hunger

FRAC and Smithfield Foods have teamed up to create the Rally Against Rural Hunger initiative to raise awareness about rural hunger and to connect eligible people in North Carolina and across the country with federal food assistance programs so they may get the nutrition they need for their health and well-being.

Tweet me:North Carolina schools reaching more low-income students with #SchoolBreakfast, report finds http://bit.ly/2D5RYwV @SmithfieldFoods @fractweets

Contact Info:

Emily Pickren
FRAC
+1 (202) 640-1118
epickren@frac.org

Diana Souder
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
+1 (757) 357-1675
dsouder@smithfield.com

KEYWORDS: Smithfield Foods, FRAC, Food Research & Action Center, School Breakfast Program, Rally Against Rural Hunger

New Fair Trade Innovations Support Farmers, Consumers and Businesses

SOURCE:Fair Trade USA

DESCRIPTION:

OAKLAND, Calif., March 7, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, and PUR Projet, a social business working with companies to regenerate ecosystems, announce a new partnership to develop community-driven agroforestry projects within Fair Trade supply chains in Côte d’Ivoire. Côte d’Ivoire produces about 39 percent of the world’s cocoa and has lost about 85 percent of its forest since the 1960s largely due to agricultural expansion. The partnership will equip cocoa producers to better revitalize and protect their land through means such as:

• Increased trainings & community monitoring to reduce likelihood of farming in protected forests
• Key infrastructure and capacity to implement agro-forestry projects
• Income diversification for farmers to increase income and reduce dependency on cocoa yield.

"PUR Projet is proud to partner with Fair Trade USA to initiate this new program," says Andrew Nobrega, Director North America/UK at PUR Projet. "The partnership provides the opportunity to leverage Fair Trade USA’s extensive experience in empowering and building institutional capacity with local cocoa-producing communities in the region, while integrating PUR Projet's model for community-based ecosystem restoration and conservation."

As with other well-known Fair Trade Certified™ products like coffee and tea, Fair Trade Certified cocoa products must adhere to rigorous, independently audited standards for sourcing and trading. These standards help to protect fundamental human rights, prevent forced and child labor, establish safe working conditions, and enable responsible natural resource management. This is especially important in an industry with a history of deforestation.

“PUR Projet’s model of community-led agroforestry is a wonderful complement to the Fair Trade program,” said Ken Redding, Chief Commercial Officer at Fair Trade USA. “We are so grateful to be able to include their expertise and passion in the critical fight against deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire.”

For food companies, cocoa supply chains are amongst the riskiest, wrought with labor and environmental challenges like deforestation. As consumers continue to vote with their dollar for sustainably sourced chocolate (which is growing at a rate of 8.6 percent vs 3.2 in the overall chocolate category), more and more brands are turning to Fair Trade certification.  Fair Trade USA currently certifies over 11,500 products with challenging ingredient supply chains. Many Fair Trade certified products will be promoted at Natural Products Expo West. Reach out here to learn more.

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About Fair Trade USA

Fair Trade USA is a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable livelihoods for farmers and workers, protects fragile ecosystems, and builds strong, transparent supply chains through independent, third-party certification. Its trusted Fair Trade Certified™ label signifies that rigorous standards have been met in the production, trade and promotion of Fair Trade products from over 80 countries across the globe. Recognized as a leading social venture by the Clinton Global Initiative, the Skoll Foundation and Ashoka, Fair Trade USA also provides critical capacity-building programs at origin, and educates consumers about the power of their purchase. Visit www.FairTradeCertified.org for more information.

About PUR Projet

PUR Projet is an international social business, specialized in the development of social and environmental positive impact projects within the supply chains of partner companies. PUR Projet operates across multiple animal and plant-based supply chains, in >40 countries across the globe, focusing on ecosystem restoration, farm-level production quality and local community livelihoods. For more information regarding this program, please contact Andrew Nobrega, Director North America at andrew.nobrega@purprojet.com.
 

Contact:

Julie Clark, Fair Trade USA, jclark@fairtradeusa.org

Andrew nobrega, Pur Projet, andrew.nobrega@purprojet.com

Tweet me:.@FairTradeCert and @PurProjet partner to tackle deforestation in #cocoa supply chains: http://bit.ly/2G2sxQ8

KEYWORDS: Fair Trade USA