Social Impact

I regularly follow Martha Stewart on social media. This week she posted about climate change, not her usual modus operandi. Much like corporations who are finding their voice, so is Martha. This how she approached climate change, it could be helpful in advising clients: “I just don’t want you all to think I sit around feasting on caviar and black truffles every day. In fact today was a disaster!!! Eight inches of rain!! Road washced out down to surge stone level! Trees hit by lightning. Trees falling into other trees because of weakened footing due to so much water vegetables rotting in the garden because of so much water. And what are we doing as a nation to remedy this erratic weather and global warming?? Think about it and start to act responsibly please!!!!!!!!”

@marthstewart48

Recently the Texas Legislature passed a bill that is said to override local worker safety protections for heat exposure. Let’s be clear, Texas is hot in the summer. Like inferno hot. Meet Rogers-O’Brien Construction, a Texas company that is protecting its workers by having them wear technology to monitor heat and other health impacts at job sites. The wearable technology will continuously monitor heart rate, body temperature and other biometric indicators, and will send an alarm to the worker and a safety supervisor to protect the worker from health impacts.

Governing | One Texas Company Uses Wearable Tech to Beat the Heat

Shopify now has a calculator that calculates the cost of meetings that involve 3 or more people. The calculator is embedded in employees calendars. A 3o minute meeting can cost from $700 to $2000. That’s an efficiency measurement. if I ever saw one.

@bloombergbusiness

Goats are being used to clean up overgrown green space in Austin. Goats are also being used to clean up vegetation in Reno, Nevada to prevent wild fires. In Reno, the city and county are partnering with the Nevada Energy and the Nevada Division of Forestry. Kudos for thinking outside the box.

@Austinmonthly

City of Reno | Reno Fire, NV Energy, Nevada Division of Forestry Using Goats to Reduce Wildfire Risk

In 2022, charitable giving declined by 3.4%. That’s a 10.5% when adjusted for inflation according to Giving USA. The really big deal is that this is only the 4th time in 4 decades that charitable giving has declined year over year.

AP | Charitable giving in 2022 drops for only the fourth time in 40 years: Giving USA report

Courts have been pointing to the first amendment’s protection of free speech to halt bills that ban drag shows, or prohibit trans health care as an infringement on the free speech of drag performers and doctors. Tennessee’s ban on drag shows has been permanently enjoined with the judge writing that it “reeks with constitutional maladies of vagueness and overbreadth fatal to statutes that regulate First Amendment rights.”

Route Fifty | Anti-LGBTQ laws in the US are getting struck down for limiting free speech of drag queens and doctors

Times are a-changing… New Jersey legislators set aside 420 million to create the state’s first Social Impact Investment Fund to advance socially beneficial investments in communities. The goal is for the fund to close financing gaps.

The fund can also accept private funds. The projects that can benefit include affordable-housing developments, infrastructure-improvement projects, and early childhood education centers.

New Jersey Spotlight News | Is new social-impact fund first step to NJ public bank?

A study by a researcher at the University of Essex reveals that consuming positive news elevates a person’s mood positively. Consuming bad news is detrimental to health. Interestingly amusing news did not have the same beneficial impact as positive news.

Houston Chronicle | News stories about acts of kindness can positively affect mood, study found

Buffering the effects of bad news: Exposure to others’ kindness alleviates the aversive effects of viewing others’ acts of immorality

Meet Julia Stewart she worked as a waitress at IHOP when she was 16. Ultimately she became President of Applebees but was passed over for the CEO job. Julia pivoted. She became the  CEO of IHOP  and bought Applebees. And, that’s how it is done, ladies and gentlemen. She led IHOP through 18 consecutive quarters of growth.

@femalequotient

S&P Global’s latest ESG rankings gave Tesla a 37 and Phillip Morris an 84. In response, Elon Musk called esg “the devil.” The drama never ceases.

Yahoo! News | Elon Musk says ‘ESG is the devil’ with tobacco firms trouncing Tesla in social-responsibility ratings

MIT has a new online journal, The Public Interest Technologist (TPIT), that brings together the MIT community to discuss social responsibility of new technologies. MIT and 63 other universities have joined to support the New America Foundation to share ideas about public interest technology.

MIT News | Defining the public interest in new technologies

New word alert: ecopreneur. Found it in an article about Social Entrepreneurship Program at Stanford GSB. “The number of SIF (Stanford Social Impact Founders) fellowships and prizes awarded doubled through a collaboration between Stanford GSB’s Center for Social Innovation and Stanford Ecopreneurship Programs, established through the Benioff Ecopreneur Fund. “

Some tips and tricks to find a socially responsible bank. First, decide what socially responsible means to you. You can then check the financial institution’s website and look for things like whether it is a Corp, joins the 1% for the planet alliance or the Global Alliance on Banking. Look for Fossil Free certification. Check the bank’s mission. You can also consider a local credit union.

Market Watch | ‘Every dollar has power to shape our world’: How to find a socially responsible bank

Gilead Sciences is being labeled a sustainable stock. How did we get here? And, how do we get the Handmaid’s Tale out of our heads? GILD made the cut because of environmental considerations like the environmental impact of the company’s products and services, the company’s efficiency in terms of its use of energy and resources, and social considerations such as human rights, child labor, corporate diversity, and the company’s impact on society.

Nasdaq.com | Why Gilead Sciences is a Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock (GILD)

While some of us cannot sustain interest in golf, golf is becoming sustainable. The GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf has listed the 100 most sustainable golf courses in Europe. What makes a golf course sustainable? Fantastic golf, caring for the local landscapes and biodiversity, actively strengthening their communities, and taking action to reduce adverse climate impact.

Golf Business News | Today’s Golfer to publish list of ‘Top 100 Greenest Golf Courses in Europe’

81% of employees look for employers that support mental health. Let’s take a peek at Rare Beauty, a company that puts mental health front and center. 1% of the company’s sales go to the Rare Impact Fund that seeks to raise $100 million over the next 10 years to fund mental health programs. The company built their mental health care mission into the company’s purpose. The company hosts weekly virtual chats and an annual forum to promote mental heath care.

Fast Company | How Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty brings mental health advocacy to the office

This week conservatives are vocalizing concern over a DEI program at Chick-Fil-A. A program that has existed since at least 2020. I’m so confused…

NY Times | Why Chick-fil-A Is Drawing Fire Over a ‘Culture of Belonging’

This week the European Parliament voted in favor of a Corporate Due Diligence Directive that will require corporations and financial institutions to conduct mandatory human rights and environmental sustainability due diligence. The move was in response to considerations that voluntary due diligence was not creating a shift in corporate action.

Reuters | EU parliament backs company checks on suppliers for human rights abuses

You know those articles this year about how countries like India, China, Mexico, and the E.U. have banned a lot of the food additives that are common in the U.S. Well, now we have states working to ban those food additives. California and New York are working to “prohibit the manufacturing and sale of products containing additives that have been linked to cancer, neurodevelopmental issues and hormone dysfunction.” So what are we talking about? Red Dye #3, Titanium dioxide, Brominated vegetable oil, Potassium bromate, and Propylparaben.

New York Time | Two States Have Proposed Bans on Common Food Additives Linked to Health Concerns

Words are important. Messaging is important. Diversity and Inclusion is being talked about as diversity and belonging. The goal is to remove the villain and/or victim mentality and create a place where people feel like they belong. The nonpartisan nonprofit Business for America surveyed CEOs and discovered that the way DEI programs were rolled out “exacerbated divides even while addressing valuable issues.”

NYTimes | Why Some Companies Are Saying ‘Diversity and Belonging’ Instead of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’

Pet policies are en vogue. Companies are offering pawternity leave (time off when you get a dog), pet bereavement days, dog boarding in the office, discounted pet insurance, and the ultimate perk: granting the right to bring your pet to work. It’s a reflection in our changing culture where pets holder a greater importance and impact employee wellness.

@bloombergbusiness

I’ve learned a new term, a play desert. 7% of U.S. land has no access to parks and other recreational lands. Most play deserts are located in the Southeast and Southwest, places where it is hot, hot, hot with UV indexes that frankly frighten me.

Route Fifty | 7% of the United States Is a ‘Play Desert’

A coalition of LGBTQIA+ organizations are calling on corporations, including Target, to stand up to the “extremist playbook” attacks on the queer community. The organizations want to join forces with corporations to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQIA community. ” 70% of non-LGBTQ+ people believe companies should publicly support and include the LGBTQ+ community through practices like hiring, advertising and sponsorships (Accelerating Acceptance, 2023). “

LEADING LGBTQ+ ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS RAISE THE ALARM TO BUSINESS COMMUNITY ON COORDINATED ANTI-LGBTQ+ ATTACKS; CALL ON TARGET TO LEAD

 A grocery store in Sweden partnered with a local food mission. They are opening special grocery stores with steep discounts for those struggling to make ends meet. Kudos for creating an accessible place to grocery shop and offer dignity for all people to go grocery shopping.

@willyssverige

Some bus stops in Boston will have free digital libraries. Cool, right? Transit riders can read short stories, poems, articles, and books in English and Spanish. Plus best sellers for kids and teens. No library card required, no app to download, transit riders just use a QR code at the bus stop.

NBC Boston | Boston Rolls Out Free Digital Libraries at Some Bus Stops

Scientists are developing “plastic wrap” that’s not plastic. Instead it is made from seaweed and is high temperature safe. Yep, no more melting plastic in the microwave.

@good

There is growing interest for social impact bonds. A Goldman Sachs Asset Management social bonds survey, Investing in Inclusive Growth, found 65% of respondents invested in or were interested in investing in social impact bonds. Only 12% had no interest. They also discovered that  “only small number of managers offer a dedicated social bond fund” and thereby expect that number to grow.

IFA Magazine | Appetite for social bonds grow as investors turn to ‘S’ in ESG – Goldman Sachs

The 2021 study “Sustainability at a turning point” by the IBM Institute for Business Value says 70% of workers are seeking environmentally sustainable employers.  A 2022 Deloitte study, “Sustainability action report: Survey findings on ESG disclosure and preparedness” showed that 52% of employers see increased esg reporting as valuable for employee attraction and retention. Win-win!

Tech Target | Why sustainability improves recruitment, retention

Illinois is poised to be the first state to end book bans when the Illinois Legislature passes a provision to “withhold state funding from any of the state’s 1,600 public or school libraries that remove books from their shelves.”

@politico

The Texas House of Representatives talked mental health, wellness when passing HB4845 (2023 | TX) that creates a bullying prevention pilot program. When politics gets divisive, remember there are Republicans who talk about wellness and mental health and take action to improve wellness and mental health.

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Does your business or non-profit acknowledge, support, or recognize AAPI heritage by  recognize Lunar New Year? Colorado has made Lunar New Year a state holiday. Pew Research has recognized AAPI the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population.

GoodGoodGoodCo | 22 Ideas To Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month (2023)

Governing | Colorado Bills Could Be Wins for Asian, Native American Communities

Looking for ways for your business to support your indigenous employees, leaders, customers, and local community? Perhaps there’s inspiration in how Colorado is acknowledging the contributions of indigenous Coloradans by religious and cultural traditions, including donning traditional garb at celebrations.

Governing | Colorado Bills Could Be Wins for Asian, Native American Communities

A coalition of sports player associations are joining together to support May as Mental Health Care Month. It’s the first time the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, WNBA, and MLB have joined forces to support athlete mental health and well being.

@mlspa

A yogurt company’s CEo says the company culture is to show that capitalism and humanitarianism are symbiotic. As in a corporation can do good deeds, support its employees, its community and still make a profit. The CEO of Chiobani says “before the 1970s, the core purpose of business is to create value for allshareholders. That includes workers, your community and the world altogether.”

ABC 10 | Chobani CEO says he won’t be captive to profit demands

The World Economic Forum reminds us that “corporations with more than a quarter of women on their executive committees realized a profit margin of 16% – more than 10 times higher than those with no female board members. ” If all businesses had at least 1/4 of the board seats filled by women that would mean an “extra $1.1 billion (£900 million) in pre-tax profit on average for each of these businesses” * business being FTSE350 companies.

World Economic Forum | More than DEI: Why it pays to get women in the boardroom

What happens when the proclaimed Danish Capital of the US, Solveng, California finds itself opposing pride flags? You draw the ire of Denmark. The mayor of Copenhagen publicly explained to Solveng that those are not the values of Denmark. The subtext being- Don’t call your town the Danish Capital, your values are not Danish. A quick lesson in staying on brand … the Danish brand.

Governing | Copenhagen Mayor Chides Solvang, Calif., for Anti-LGBTQ Culture

Ever wonder why does esg resonate with businesses but is a bone of contention for some politicians? The C Suite knows that research shows that pro-social and pro-environmental behavior strengthens their business.  Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase & Co. says “research has shown that purpose-driven companies achieve stronger business results and have greater impact by doing better for their customers, employees and shareholders.”

Investment News | Why the ESG backlash has little effect on corporations

The Pittsburgh Penguins have released their sustainability pledge. let’s take a peak. Their goal: “reducing negative impact on the environment and promoting sustainable practices to help preserve natural resources, while also supporting economic and social development. ” Their partners are: PPG, U. S. Steel and Evoqua Water Technologies.  The hockey team is ensuring that their arena reduces food waste, partner with 412 Food Rescue to donate and redistribute all unused food, improved real recycling, sponsoring a tree planting program and raise funds and call attention to the National Aviary.

NHL | Penguins Announce the ‘Penguins Pledge’ Sustainability Initiative

IN 2021 the number of Chief Sustainability offers tripled. Translating sustainability to customers is key. The chief sustainability officer at Dentsu suggests talking about sustainability in ways that make it ” accessible, that’s aspirational, that’s rewarding and fun,” Businesses say sustainability is integral to strategy, growth and purpose, and is competitive advantage.

AdWeek | Inside the Agency Race to Bring Sustainability Efforts In-House

A study by RBC Wealth Management women are twice as likely to say impact investing is important. @ellevest says women give more, more often and more likely to women and girls.

@ellevest

When thinking about governance and policies for impact businesses, non-profits and governments, consider a what not to do file. For fodder, consider whether or not Confederates’s Day should be be a state holiday as it has been declared in Mississippi and Alabama. The founder of Project Say Something says it is “quite tone deaf.”

AP | Alabama and Mississippi mark Confederate Memorial Day

Harvard researchers say a two question protocol will make you more likable and make a great impression. What’s an example- say you’re at a gathering and there’s a football game on- Ask a stranger, what’s your favorite football team? Then follow up with how did that team become your favorite team? Science for the win.

INC. Harvard Research: The Two Question Protocol

76 counties across the country have no grocery store. 34 of those counties are in the Midwest and Great Plains. Small towns are trying to save their local grocers. Rural Grocery Initiative in Kansas has worked since 2006 to fund and support rural grocers. Everyone should have access to fresh food.

NPR | Rural grocery stores are dying. Here’s how some small towns are trying to save them

“For pension funds, the argument for ESG investing has always been that it provides a long-term lens through which the future profitability and even sustainability of companies can be viewed, so that short-term financial performance and profits are not assumed to be perpetual.” It seems that some pension funds are pushing back against performative politics.

Bloomberg Insight | Money Managers Denounce Anti-ESG Crusade

Investors are urging companies to invest in worker safety. A global coalition of 192 institutional investors representing US$1.3 trillion in assets are behind the effort. Hello,  Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), welcome.

Ecotextile news | Investors urge brands to back worker safety

Data lover @girlthatinvest uses past 10 years of S&P 500 company data to show that women CEOs outperform male CEOs. Visual data here. is it the collaboration? is it the listening? is it the willingness to adapt? is it employee productivity?

@femalequotient

Overlooked ESG element: supply chain sustainability. This test from Electronics Supply Chain News hones into supply chain sustainability:

• Social impact: Products and services should be ethical. Organizations must determine whether forced labor, child labor or other inhumane conditions occur at any point along the supply chain.
• Governance impact: Numerous companies manufacture, coordinate and ship products. Do their values align with their mission statements? What do their boards of directors look like and how do they measure corporate performance?
• Environmental impact: The farther a product travels to reach its final destination, the more fuel, temperature control and packaging are required. In turn, shipping exerts strong environmental effects.

Harvard Business Review proposes thinking of sensitive employees as having a superpower. While they may be the most stressed, they are also rated the top managers. When thinking about diversity, don’t neglect neurodiversity.

When I read this, I thought, oh data that’s actually sandwiching bad news in between good news. The good news: more women are outlearning their husbands. The bad news: woman still do more housework. The number of women who are the sole or primary breadwinner has tripled between 1972 and 2022, from 5% to 16%. The number of egalitarian households rose from 11% to 29% over the same time frame.

Pew Research In a Growing Share of U.S. Marriages, Husbands and Wives Earn About the Same

non-profits & doing good? A new report from Lown Institute says non-profit hospitals receive more benefit from  their tax breaks than the give back.  “Out of 1,773 nonprofit hospitals evaluated, 77% spent less on charity care and community investment than the estimated value of their tax breaks — what we call a “fair share” deficit.”

A market-led initiative within the U.N. called the  Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures is helping big companies and financial institutions report on nature-related risks. Cool way to talk about sustainability, eh? nature-related risks. The technology led reporting approach allows companies to mitigate risk by creating a baseline on the state of nature in priority areas with ongoing monitoring to track progress.

Wall Street Journal | Companies Urged to Take Stock of Their Impact on Nature and Related Risks

States like NC, FL and TX are considering legislation to prohibit/limit DEI in state institutions of higher education and state agencies. In NC, the pushback from academics includes a lesson in history. Did you know that in the 1960s state governments also pushed back against universities that welcomed the the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s?

NC Policy Watch | UNC System faculty members, staff bristle as legislature targets Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts

Spiral is a  US-based sustainability and social impact fintech. Spiral is launching — Impact-as-a-Service platform. The platform is showcasing its offerings to 10,000+ financial services providers such as banks, fintechs and credit unions.

Retail banker International | Social impact fintech Spiral lands $28m Series A investment

Rural Homes is part of the Telluride Foundation to provide homes for less than $400,000 for police officers, teachers, government workers and small business owners making about $50,000 a year. Rural Homes is partnering with Paradox Community Trust to cover infrastructure costs covered by philanthropic gifts and partnering with Colorado Health Foundation for $2 million loan. Health is housing, they say.

 Colorado Sun

Women are 41% more likely than men to experience workplace toxicity from the Suite and beyond according to new research from MIT Sloan Management Review. At C-levelpositions, women are 53% more likely to experience corporate toxicity. A review of employer reviews and feedback show that toxic corporate culture is the single largest contributing factor that drove resignations.

HR Dive | Women may be more likely to experience toxic workplace culture, even in the C-suite

We talked about the public-private partnership in Philadelphia that sought o help with food deserts by planting fruit trees. Now we’ll talk about the plan to plant food forests in San Antonio. Not only will the fruit bearing trees provide fresh fruit to local residents the planting of additional trees cleans and cools the air. The two projects represent a partnership between the city’s Metropolitan Health District and its Parks and Recreation Department, and the Food Policy Council of San Antonio, the city’s Office of Innovation and Bexar County’s Parks and Recreation Department, respectively.

San Antonio Report | Food forests find a place at San Antonio’s table

Lever for Change is an arm of the MacArthur Foundation that is dedicated to tackling the world’s biggest problems—including racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. By matching donors with problem solvers. The goal is to award $1 billion.

Lever for Change

Cisco’s Mary de Wysocki, Cisco’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, tells us how Cisco lives and breathes shared value, “Shared value is how a company can have policies and practices that help to advance the business while also helping individuals and communities where it operates thrive…we mean for our business and our communities, our customers, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders. These groups are linked, and we can only achieve an inclusive future for all by all – meaning by working in partnership towards common goals.”

3BL | Building More Sustainable and Resilient Communities: An Interview With Cisco’s Chief Sustainability Officer 

Ford changed its compensation committee to the Compensation, Talent and Culture Committee. Why? To support its company policies on diversity, equity, and inclusion. In Ford’s words “It is incumbent on society as a whole, and businesses in particular, to innovate and adopt new ways to push for equity in employment, education, and everyday wellbeing, and to create greater DEI at all levels.”

Ford | Integrated Sustainability and Financial Report 2022

Parental leave policies vary across companies. The average tech company- 18 weeks of parental leave. Netflix offers parents 52 weeks of paid parental leave that can be taken anytime in a child’s early years. Food for thought for your company’s parental leave policy.

Sustainability | Top 10: Brands for Diverse Corporate Social Responsibility

Kum &Go, the Iowa based convenience store, took to twitter to say ” Protect Trans kids. Period.” and “we’re people first and that means speaking up for our community. yesterday, we voted against SF482 and SF538 in the state of Iowa. we know that this is just the beginning, and we still have work to do to continue to advocate for the LGBTQ+ members of our community” Companies speak in many ways. Data says consumers prefer companies that share their world view. Gallup poll says 71% of us support same sex marriage.

@kumandgo

The Texas Legislature is considering HB2127 (2023 | TX) and its identical twin, SB814 (2023 | TX), which would prevent cities from taking action that the state hasn’t specifically authorized. What are we really talking about? Austin based an ordinance to ban single use plastic bags. Denton banned fracking near homes. Local leaders are working to sustain their communities base don their local flavor. Austin’s ethos isn’t Texas. Houston’s ethos isn’t Texas.

The Hill | Sustainability : Texas legislature could strip cities of local authority 

The 2023 KPMG Winter Consumer Pulse Survey asked consumers about sustainability. Here’s what they found about consumers when making a purchase: 37% consider environmental sustainability, 33% consider social responsibility. The younger the consumer, the more serious they are about environmental sustainability.

Business of retail | Do consumers care about sustainability and responsibility?

4 social impact trends to watch in 2023: (1) companies tackling social issues will become commonplace (2) social impact structure is necessary and can be effectuated with social impact teams to drive employee engagement (3) gender diversity will rise (4) maintain your social impact data

Forbes | 4 Critical DEI Trends To Watch In 2023

Ever wonder what diversity, equality and inclusion metrics your company needs? Look to Intrepid Travel, an Australian based travel tour company. It is established 5 commitments and 23 measurable like 50% of its content partners will be BIPOC, 10% plus size, 10% LGBTQ, and 10% indigenous. What matters to your company?

Fast Company | The 10 most innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives of 2023

Ally Financial is committed to investing its ad dollars equally in men’s and women’s sports. Gone are the days of only sponsoring a baseball team. It’s said Ally’s support moved the women’s professional soccer league finals to primetime instead of noon.

Fast Company | The 10 most innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives of 2023

Meet Yelp! We all know Yelp. Did you know that Yelp vocally announced support for its employees that need to secure reproductive healthcare services? And that Yelp actively removes disinformation that could send a person to a crisis pregnancy center rather than an abortion clinic? Yelp adds disclaimers for entities that do not provide abortion services or abortion referrals. Yelps handling of reproduction access has been an example for other corporations.

Fast Company | The 10 most innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives of 2023

Some resists DEI because it is a “Status Threat” These people are in the majority and see DEI as a threat to their majority status. They think in zero sum terms. Any gains by minorities equal losses by the majority.

Merit Threat resistors see DEI explains away their own success. Here we see people who are “strongly committed to value systems that prize hard work and individual merit.”

Moral Threat resistors see acknowledging privilege means you are tarnishing your own moral image.

Recommendations to counter these threats include (1) reduce status threats before offering evidence of inequity; (2) focus on “win-win” aspects of DEI; (3) self-affirmation to foster positive self esteem to accept what otherwise might seem threatening.

Harvard Business Review | To Overcome Resistance to DEI, Understand What’s Driving It

42% of millennials would change financial institutions for one that is more engaged with charitable giving. A new study is a roadmap for financial institutions and the next generations.

Credit Union Times | “The Credit Card Pull: How to Attract the Next Generation of Members”

A business’ social impact is thought of either as a tenant of the company or as interwoven into the company’s identity/purpose/brand. Some say the Business Roundtable 2019 Statement of Purpose that calls for companies “to lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders—customers, employees, suppliers, communities, and shareholders” requires social impact to be in modern business’ brand.

CSR Wire | 7 Best Practices for Creating an Impactful CSR Strategy

In December 2020, Utah adopted a Compact on racial equity, inclusion and diversity for the purpose of “hope was that the compact would serve as a model nationwide and be applied at the federal level to guide reform around systemic racism. The first of five anti-racist principles was acknowledging that racism exists.” Signatories included business leaders, non-profit leadership, and state officials including Utah’s Governor.

Home Depot announced that it will spend $1 Billion to raise its wages to a minimum of $15 an hour. “The most important investment we can make is in our people,” CEO Ted Decker said.

NPR | The Home Depot says it is spending $1 billion to raise its starting wage to $15

Most clicks: Amazon had 1.3 billion impressions. The takeaway: lovable dogs generate clicks. Most mentions: Disney+ with 1,900 mentions across social media. Engagement winner: Doritos with its nearly 2 million engagements for the brand.

TEV.REV | Super Bowl Spotlight: These Brands Had the Biggest Social Impact 

Subway is partnering with  GenZ EV Solutions to offer customers the ability to charge their EVs while they eat.

Subway has a corporate history of embracing environmental policies. In 2011 they ” opened new “eco-restaurants” designed to reduce energy and water consumption while limiting waste.” Then in 2012, they “offered “Live Green” salad bowls in 2012 made from 95% recycled materials.”

Electrek | Subway builds an ‘EV charging oasis’ so you can recharge while you eat fresh

Utah has passed a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy. “This is politics at its very best when stakeholders from all sides can come together, listen to each other, learn from each other and then discover common ground. “

WRAL News | Legislature bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

The NBA All-Star game purpose is to show the NBA’s commitment to unifying communities through service, philanthropy and the game of basketball. Their impact is targeting youth, education, food insecurity, economic inclusion, and  Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Total NBA tied donations to the All Star host community will be over $3million.

NBA | NBA All-Star connects entertainment with a commitment to social impact

The future is coming and it is bringing sustainable champagne. Labeling on Champagne (the bubbles from France) help guide the way.  AB on a label tells you that the vintner is following organic farming practices. “Terra Vitis” on a a label is a French agricultural certification for sustainable viticulture. More French standards for sustainability are “Viticulture Durable en Champagne“(VDC) and the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE). 

Vogue | Champagne Problems: Can Bubbly Ever Be Sustainable?

NielsenIQ reports that 78% of US consumers say “a sustainable lifestyle is important to them.”

In 2020, a McKinsey US consumer sentiment survey showed that 60% of respondents said they would pay more for a product with sustainable packaging.

“McKinsey released a new study on Feb. 6, titled “Consumers care about sustainability—and back it up with their wallets.” This study concluded that ESG-related products achieved disproportionate growth than non-ESG-related products. Furthermore, the study revealed that consumers of ESG-related products are more loyal to ESG brands than non-ESG brands.”

Tallahassee Democrat | ESG is not “woke” capitalism; it is just capitalism | Mark McNees

Interested in history of value driven businesses? Well, lucky you Harvard Magazine has the information for you. Professor Geoffrey Jones has a book for you: , Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership . The calls we’re seeing now for corporations to participate in saving society also occurred in the 1920s. Yes, the Roaring 20s roared to support corporate responsibility.

Harvard Magazine | A Higher Degree of Responsibility

Harvard Business Review is telling us that empirical data shows that pay transparency requirements can lead to overall lowered pay, lower productivity, and limit the ability to attract & retain high achievers. They say how the transparency requirements are structured matters.

@harvard_business_review

Ever wonder how these 2 terms fit together? sure there is sustainability in ESG, but sustainability is bigger, bolder, broader.

Let’s consider this view of sustainability brought to us from MIT’s Sloan School Management Review: “Sustainability is a much broader idea, focusing on a company’s role in society, how it creates value by managing its environmental and social impacts (both positive and negative), and how its actions affect a wide range of stakeholders.”

MIT Sloan School | ESG Is Going to Have a Rocky 2023. Sustainability Will Be Just Fine.

88% of employees want to work for a purpose driven company. 69% say they wouldn’t work for a company that didn’t have a social purpose driven. When you think about those stats, Top Down isn’t the right approach, but rather start your corporate social responsibility with your employees and work your way up.

Fast Company | How to reimagine corporate social responsibility from the bottom up

Colorado is a considering H23-1020 (2023 |CO) that would improve social equity among cannabis businesses by providing funding and assistance with permitting.

Some scientists are saying that sheep that can graze among solar panels will have respite from heat, more rest, and high nutrition grass growing in the shade under the panels. Agrivoltaic farms, partnerships that think outside the box.

New Scientist | Putting solar panels in grazing fields is good for sheep

@good

Colorado Governor awards a Corporate Citizen Medal to corporations that step up for their communities. A recent example is the 143 year old company, Ball Corp. The name might sound familiar as Ball Corp. has its name on the stadiums for the Avalanche and the Nuggets, stepped up with volunteers and relief when its community experienced a devastating fire.

Denver Gazette | Governor’s Corporate Citizenship Medal: Ball Corp. steps up for Marshall fire victims

Who should pay for the cost of recycling packaging? In Washington State HB 1131(2023| WA) shifts the cost of recycling packaging materials on the entity that packaged the good. Like chip bags or water bottles. This idea of responsible packaging decision legislation isn’t that off the wall. Maine, Colorado, Oregon, and California have enacted legislation. Tennessee is poised to also consider legislation.

Key messaging: producer responsibility.

Route Fifty | A New Bill in Washington State Seeks to Reduce Unneeded Packaging

Harvard Business Review poses this question- How good is offering meditation time for stressed managers when their teams are chronically understaffed and/or underpaid and/or undervalued? Micro solutions like meditation are important. Equally important is solving for organizational deficiencies.

Blackrock, Bank of America, and State Street CEOs talked about the vilification of ESG at Davos. Let’s look at some industry quotes from the events:

“Let politicians punch it out between themselves; we’re focused on finance,” said Elysabeth Alsano, CEO of VegTech Invest

official global standards on sustainability and climate were needed to “align capitalism with what society wants from it,” – Bank of America CEO

“The attacks are now personal. They are trying to demonize issues.”  – Blackrock CEO

ETF Stream | BlackRock, State Street CEOs highlight ESG backlash at Davos

Atlanta created 22 miles of park land and trails along a defunct rail loop around the city. Sounds great- more parkland and then you realize that it drives up property values and forces low-income households to move to the suburbs. A lesson in thinking both short term and long term.

Route Fifty | Atlanta’s BeltLine Shows How Parks Can Drive ‘Green Gentrification’

Toyota announced that it will retrofit its older models to be either electric vehicles or to run on hydrogen.

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Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee has issued an executive order to ban state agencies from using the term “Latinx” in favor of “Hispanic,” “Hispanics,” “Latino,” “Latinos,” “Latina” or “Latinas,”

NPR | Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is banning ‘Latinx’ from state documents

What is happening? 13 states still tax groceries. 5 have reduced or limited this regressive tax that impacts low income families the most. Norbert Wilson, a professor of food, economics and community at the Duke Divinity School and director of Duke University’s World Food Policy Center found a correlation between grocery taxes and increased food insecurity.

Route Fifty | States Put Grocery Taxes on Ice

What is happening? Claiming a limited impact, Amazon is ending its Amazon Smile, which began operations in 2013. “AmazonSmile directed donations equaling a half-percent from each purchase to a charity of the customer’s choice.”

@WashingtonPost

What is happening? ESG advertisements. An ad by the country of Qatar caught my attention with the message: Why Qatar Is Your Next Destination for ESG Investment. It highlights that 15% growth of sustainable investment in the last 2 years with a global market sector value of $35.3 trillion. Qatar stresses its commitment to global partnerships and will make $75 billion for sustainable investments by 2030.

Why Qatar says this is important: In March 2022, Qatar’s Finance Minister committed to green finance and partnerships with global banks. According to Invest Qatar’s latest ESG report, at least $75 billion will be made available by 2030 for sustainable investments. Economic developments include the Qatar Stock Exchange joining the UN’s Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative (SSEI) in 2016; Qatar National Bank $600 million+ issuance of green bonds (2020) and launching the first Qatari ESG tradable index with MSCI (2021). The finance sector also works with investors to produce guidance on ESG reporting as new sectors open.

WSJ Partnership Eye on Qatar | Why Qatar Is Your Next Destination for ESG Investment

What is happening? A gaming company, Dream 11, will begin fining employees $1200 if they bother other employees during off times (vacation or before or after hours). Cream 11 says it wants to promote healthy work life balance. Before we dismiss this as some small firm, it has an $8 Billion valuation, so there’s that.

Why is this important? Spain has passed laws about this. This is on its way to be the new normal.

CNN Business | This company will make employees pay a hefty fine if they bother colleagues on vacation

What is happening? Compared to 40 years ago, the U.S. workforce has more people of color and more people over 55 years of age. The nonwhite workforce has doubled to 40% in this time. Today 1 in 4 workers is over 55, and 40 years ago it was 1 in 7. In the last 10 years the number of workers over 75 has doubled. Diversity managers have become common place, hiring strategies include historically Black universities and Hispanic students, retaining employees through mentorship programs, work life balance, and preventing the bullying of older workers.

Why is this important? Some say the only option for employers to retain diverse workforce is to promote and embrace flexibility.

Route Fifty | Diversity of US Workplaces Is Growing in Terms of Race, Ethnicity and Age – Forcing More Employers to Be Flexible

What is happening? The German transportation group, Deutsche Bahn, will stop wasting valuable resources by ceasing to use single use cups, flatware, plates and containers. Why? The company says these single use items waste water and wood and contribute to road and water pollution. “We offer our customers a sustainable eating experience just like at home.”

Why is this important? Not only is the company walking the walk, but it is also talking the talk and applying the same sustainability rules to itself.

Goodnet! | These Train Passengers Will Eat Out in Style in 2023!

The E.U. “reached an agreement to impose a tax on imports based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them.” The is the first time that global trade meets climate regulation.

WSJ | Europe Strikes Deal to Tax Imports Based on Greenhouse-Gas Emissions

Grocery stores in the Netherlands are offering some checkout lines that offer conversation “chat checkouts” to help improve community mental health. Here we have Trader Joes that hires the best conversationalists, but conversations in checkout lines in Europe are not as common as they are at your local Trader Joes.

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Spain became the first country to pass a menstrual leave law.

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