Some people love New York. Others fancy London, Sydney, or Hong Kong. While preferences for cities are split, science says that all of us may in fact be hard-wired to love the natural world. Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE), the world's largest manufacturer, designer and marketer of carpet tiles, today launched a global competition named "Reconnect Your Space" that calls for architectural, interior or urban landscape design entries that put this affinity for nature, or biophilia, at the forefront. Biophilic design incorporates natural elements into manmade environments in order to help people feel and perform better.

Interface's "Reconnect Your Space" competition invites architects, designers and students of these disciplines to submit their visions for how biophilia can influence the design of a new or existing space, either inside within built environments or outside in cities. One winning submission will be selected as the most unique, inspiring and purposeful way of reconnecting this space with nature. "Reconnect Your Space" is also intended to foster dialogue, spark ideas and pique global interest in biophilic design for working, playing and living.

Evidence of biophilic design can be seen in a variety of ways – from New York's acclaimed High Line linear park built on an historic elevated freight rail line, to the growing popularity of community gardens throughout Sydney, as well as through the ecological approach to building design showcased in Singapore's Solaris high-rise project. Research has shown benefits such as productivity, emotional well-being, stress reduction, learning, healing and environmental protection resulting from biophilic design and humankind's innate psychological and physiological connections with the natural world.

"Biophilic design is 'purpose driven' design that recognizes humanity's strong link with the natural world, which can be utilized for good," said Maria Davlantes, senior vice president and CMO of Interface, Inc. "Our hope is that 'Reconnect Your Space' inspires compelling examples of leading-edge biophilic design. We appreciate the global emergence of this exciting area and how the broader design community and communities at large stand to benefit through its development."

Through the competition, designers have an opportunity to bring their biophilic visions to life and help advance biophilic design. Participating entrants can visit the "Reconnect Your Space" page via www.interfacereconnect.com to:

• Upload an image (sketch, drawing, rendering) of their vision for reconnecting a favorite space with nature; and
• Supply a description of their entry in 500 words or less.

One winning entry will be chosen by a renowned panel of judges from the global design community. Judges include: Robert D. Fox, principal at Fox Architects based in New York City; Paul McGillick, editorial director at Indesign Publishing in Sydney; and Richard Weston, professor of architecture at the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University in Wales. The panel will select the winner from six finalists determined by social media based voting at interfacereconnect.com.

The winner's prize includes travel and accommodations for four days and three nights to experience firsthand biophilia's influence in design. The winner can choose a biophilia inspired experience in one of three locations: Singapore; San Francisco in the United States; or Cornwall in the United Kingdom. Among the trip themes are discovering how Singapore is achieving its goal of becoming a "city in a garden"; exploring natural elements within San Francisco's popular monuments and dynamic architectural and design scene; and delving into the United Kingdom's Eden Project that explores humanity's dependency on nature.

Visit interfacereconnect.com to review official rules and enter the competition. Interface's "Reconnect Your Space" competition is open now through Monday, April 1, 2013 at 5:00 pm EST. The winner will be announced on May 6, 2013.

About Biophilic Design at Interface

Interface's passion and commitment to innovation has been inspired by the concept of biophilic design. A new global product line known as Urban Retreat™, for example, evokes the quiet and sanctuary of an old-growth forest floor and integrates other natural elements into the collection, while made from 79 to 81 percent recycled content. The collection reflects a worldview that includes nature as an appreciated source of inspiration and explores the intersection of natural and manmade materials.

About Interface, Inc.

Established in 1973, Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE) is the worldwide leader in design, production and sales of environmentally responsible modular carpet, manufactured for the commercial and institutional markets under the Interface® brand, and for consumer markets as FLOR™. To learn more about Interface design and sustainability principles and product innovations visit http://www.interface.com.

The Board of Directors of the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition® (EICC®) announced the appointment of Mr. Robert Lederer, Jr. as the organization’s first Executive Director. In this position, Lederer will provide strategic leadership, have oversight to the EICC’s initiatives, and manage the operations.

“The EICC has grown over 50 percent since 2007 and now includes members from all segments of the electronics supply chain, requiring a new approach to meeting organizational, membership, and stakeholder needs,” said John Gabriel, Immediate Past Chairman and Chairman of the search committee. “To support our evolution, the EICC initiated a governance review resulting in Rob’s hiring. Rob is a talented leader with deep experience and wisdom in leading associations such as the EICC. I know he will be a tremendous Executive Director to help the EICC fulfill its potential going forward.”

Lederer’s selection comes at a critical time; the EICC now is addressing human rights and environmental concerns even further upstream in the supply chain than ever before, and the organization’s expanded activities require the additional leadership this position offers. Lederer and the EICC staff will enhance the EICC’s ability to deliver support to its members, have a greater external voice, formalize relationships with stakeholders, and enable member volunteers to focus on the content, direction and strategy for the EICC’s many initiatives.

Lederer brings over three decades of experience managing industry associations, helping them to achieve strategic and growth objectives. Additionally, he was mayor of Fairfax, Virginia, USA, for ten years providing leadership and vision to the city. During his tenure, Fairfax achieved the honor of “Third Most Livable City in the United States” by Forbes and maintained its AAA bond rating.

“I am honored to be the EICC’s first Executive Director,” said Lederer. “The EICC is at an exciting inflection point in its history. I look forward to leading the organization with enthusiasm and dedication in advancing the EICC’s vision of a responsible electronics supply chain.”

The EICC members also elected a new board of directors and new Chairman to shape the three-year strategy for the EICC. The board is made up of senior leaders from companies across the electronics supply chain. Tim Mohin, incoming Chairman, is the Director of Corporate Responsibility at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in Austin, Texas, USA. The new board includes:

• Mr. Tim MOHIN, Advanced Micro Devices, Chairman
• Mr. John GABRIEL, IBM, Immediate Past Chairman
• Ms. Kate CACCIATORE, STMicroelectronics, Vice-Chairwoman
• Mr. Seb NARDECCHIA, Flextronics, Treasurer
• Ms. Deborah ALBERS, Dell
• Mr. Eric AUSTERMANN, Jabil
• Ms. Tonie HANSEN, Nvidia
• Mr. Hamlin METZGER, Best Buy
• Mr. Bob MITCHELL, Hewlett-Packard
• Ms. Judy WENTE, Intel

“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve as the EICC’s Chairman,” said Tim Mohin. “The EICC represents the global technology industry working collectively to improve labor, environmental conditions, and human rights around the world. For nearly eight years, the EICC has created an unprecedented degree of collaboration between competitors, suppliers, and customers in the high tech industry. Bound by our common interest in social responsibility, this organization has an impressive track record of accomplishment. On behalf of the entire membership, I thank the Immediate Past Chairman, John Gabriel, for the leadership he provided the EICC for the last six years.”

About the EICC®

The EICC was established in 2004 to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions in the global electronic supply chain through use of a standardized code of conduct. The EICC was incorporated in 2007 as an association to ensure greater awareness of the Code, and to expand its adoption across the industry. It includes over 75 global companies in the electronics supply chain. For more information and to view the EICC Code of Conduct, visit www.eicc.info.

The Guardian Sustainable Business Awards 2013 are looking for innovation and impact in corporate sustainability.

The Guardian Sustainable Business Awards showcase the best in corporate sustainability and recognise those who take sustainability to the next level. They reward innovative corporate initiatives that tackle the most pressing environmental and social challenges businesses face.

Previous award winners include Puma, M&S, SAB Miller and Sainsbury’s. Application is open now until 8 February in fourteen different categories.

For full details on the awards, visit Guardian Sustainable Business http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/gsb-awards.

CSRwire, the largest and longest running global digital media platform for CSR and sustainability news, and Profits4Purpose, the industry leading online corporate giving and volunteering platform, have joined hands to revolutionize the tracking, reporting and story telling of community impact.

Request a DEMO!

In a joint announcement the two organizations offered more details of their collaboration. Designed to leverage online software as a tool, Profits4Purpose has created a platform, which coordinates and streamlines corporate volunteer and giving programs, while sharing the stories of their employees through dynamic and customized reporting.

P4P has been laying their groundwork since 2008.  Since inception, they have launched innovative programs with leading companies across industry sectors including Staples, Cox Communications, Taylor-Made/Adidas Golf, and UC San Diego. Now, CSRwire, P4P and their client and partner network are on a mission to empower one million people to give back $100 million in cash and in-kind services, in addition to 10 million hours of community service.

Tracking Social Impact: What Separates Profits4Purpose

What separates Profits4Purpose from other cause-based platforms is the ability for organizations to track and report the social impacts of their pro bono and donations in real time. “Inspiring stories will be told, brands will be enhanced, communities will benefit, reporting costs will be reduced, employee ambassadors will be born and stock values will increase,” said Joe Sibilia, CEO of CSRwire.  “If employees are not engaged, corporate social responsibility becomes just an exercise in PR”.

“In addition to maximizing community impact, Profits for Purpose allows a social landing space for employees creating camaraderie, competitiveness, and employee retention. Communication of these initiatives leads to credibility, brand enhancement and ultimately, increased shareholder value," he added.

For Jason Burns, CEO of Profits for Purpose, the impact of the platform goes beyond data collection and measurement.

“These online tools are empowering companies to make a lasting impact, while strengthening their brand as a purpose driven company. Engagement is no longer exclusively an HR issue. It is a business issue because it directly affects the bottom line. Employees who are engaged are more productive, more loyal, and make better representatives for their companies," he said, adding, "Unfortunately, many inspiring stories of engagement get lost in the shuffle of excel spreadsheets."

Now companies can tell these stories as well as measure results – in one place.

Profit4Purpose’s software would also reduce reporting costs for banks satisfying mandatory Community Reinvestment Act disclosures, Global Reporting Initiative and United Nations Global Compact reporting requirements and the various requests by Socially Responsible Mutual Funds, Impact Investors and Non Profit benefactors.

Volunteerism & Shareholder Value: Is There a Link?

But can employee volunteerism directly affect shareholder value? What role does storytelling – and the ability to use data to tell the story – have in motivating employees, enhancing organizational brand and shift public mindsets? Moreover, what role can your Human Resource department play in directly contributing to the bottom line? 

Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar featuring CSRwire's Editorial Director Aman Singh in conversation with Joe, Jason and a roundtable of corporate CSR practitioners to examine employee engagement as a competitive advantage.

About CSRwire

CSRwire is the largest repository of voluntary disclosure in the world and the leading digital media platform for corporate social responsibility and sustainability news. Founded in 1999 to advance the movement toward a more economically-just and environmentally-sustainable society and away from single bottom line capitalism, CSRwire has paved the way for new standards of corporate citizenship, earning the international respect of thought leaders, business leaders, academics, philanthropists, activists and the media community.

About Profits4Purpose

Profits4Purpose exists to empower companies with the tools to effectively engage their company and employees in achieving a positive impact in the city where they live, work and play. By making it as easy and advantageous as possible for companies to get involved in community outreach, we desire to increase corporate support and create a movement of companies increasing their partnership to strengthen their local community.

ViiV Healthcare today announced that it will expand the Positive Action Southern Initiative to two additional states and issued a new request for letters of interest (LOIs). First established in 2010, the Positive Action Southern Initiative is a collaborative, community-focused program that focuses on linking people living with HIV into care and/or enhancing their treatment adherence and delaying disease progression. With today’s announcement, the Positive Action Southern Initiative will have committed over $2.5M towards funding grass-roots projects designed to address local gaps in care and services for people living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS in this hard-hit region.

“We’ve seen firsthand the positive impact of directing resources to where they are most needed, and supporting grass-roots organizations that understand the local dynamics that influence the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their communities,” said Bill Collier, Head of North America, ViiV Healthcare. “Based on the encouraging results achieved during the earlier phases of the Positive Action Southern Initiative, as well as the continued urgent need to support the HIV community in the Southern United States, we are proud to again expand this important program.”

This latest expansion will bring the program’s mission of reducing disparities in HIV/AIDS care and treatment among disproportionately-affected African-American and Latino populations to a total of 10 Southern states – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. In addition to extending the Positive Action Southern Initiative into Texas and Virginia, ViiV Healthcare also announced that next month it will be issuing new Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to current network members in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

The initiative reflects the White House National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which prioritizes directing resources to areas and populations that have the greatest need. The Southern United States is disproportionately impacted by HIV/AIDS, representing 45 percent of all new AIDS diagnoses[i], with new infection rates highest among African-American, followed by Latino populations. In 2010, 43 percent of all HIV/AIDS diagnoses in Texas were among African-Americans, and 32 percent were among Latinos.[ii] Texas also had the 4th highest number of AIDS diagnoses in the United States during 2010[iii]. In the same year in Virginia, 64 percent of all HIV/AIDS diagnoses were among African-Americans and 8 percent were among Latinos (note that 4.7 percent of the total population of Virginia is Latino).ii, [iv] Through the Positive Action Southern Initiative, selected organizations that work to tackle these disparities and their root causes will be awarded up to $50,000 per year for a provisional commitment over the next two years.

“The HIV/AIDS crisis in the South is a real one, and it needs to be addressed before the problem gets worse,” said Dázon Dixon Diallo, Executive Director of SisterLove, Inc. “The Positive Action Southern Initiative represents an important part of the solution, as it fosters necessary collaboration among the HIV community and establishes effective partnerships. Tangible results of the program have already been observed within the communities it serves, and the expansion of this support to Texas and Virginia is critical to affecting change for the most at-risk populations in these areas.”

The Southern Initiative is part of the broader Positive Action program that has empowered community organizations in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. ViiV Healthcare is committed to building on the success of the global program with efforts to support projects in the United States that address areas of greatest need.

Southern Initiative Application Process

The latest phase of the program focuses on supporting African-American and Latino populations in Texas and Virginia, and is dedicated to helping individuals living with HIV and providing linkages to care and treatment adherence. Priority will be given to projects that address gaps in services.

The funds are intended to support existing, innovative programs with strategic support of program enhancements, such as:

• Adding mental health counseling to an existing, successful Comprehensive Risk Counseling Services (CRCS) program
• Adding linguistically and culturally appropriate resources (e.g., a Spanish-speaking staff member and materials) for adherence education and counseling
• Training staff to focus on issues related to clients who have been incarcerated and funding an ongoing support group for the formerly incarcerated to address linkages to care
• Training staff in “motivational interviewing” to enhance skills and providing innovative incentives to further motivate high-risk clients to stay adherent
• Supporting efforts to address disparities and linkages to care among African-American and Latino gay men

Submitting an Initial Letter of Interest

Interested parties can receive detailed information about the two-phase proposal process and download an application form at http://www.viivhealthcare.com/community/positive-action-program/our-programmes/us-southern-lnitiative.aspx.

Questions will be publicly answered in the FAQ document located on the website. Additional questions about the process should be directed to positiveaction@viivhealthcare.com. Letters of Interest must be received by March 15, 2013, 5:00 p.m. EST for consideration to the full proposal phase.

All applicants invited to submit full proposals will be considered Network Finalists. Finalists will be invited to be a part of the ViiV Healthcare Positive Action Southern Initiative Network. Some of the Network activities include invitations to attend Southern Initiative networking meetings and related events, such as the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA). Organizations awarded grants will be notified in August. Programs receiving grant awards will be posted on the ViiV Healthcare website and, where possible, learnings and insights gained from the projects will be broadly shared.

About ViiV Healthcare's Positive Action Program

When Positive Action was created in 1992 it was the first pharmaceutical company program of its kind to support communities affected by HIV and AIDS. The program targets its funds towards community-focused projects that reach those most affected by HIV, particularly in marginalized or vulnerable populations. These include youth, women and girls, sex workers, injection drug users, MSM, the incarcerated, transgender individuals, and gay men. Positive Action works to build capacity in these communities to enable them to tackle stigma and discrimination, to test innovations in education, care and treatment, and to deliver greater and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.

For more information about Positive Action, please visit: www.viivhealthcareeffect.com.

About ViiV Healthcare

ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV. Shionogi joined as a 10% shareholder in October 2012. The company’s aim is to take a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any company has done before and take a new approach to deliver effective and new HIV medicines, as well as support communities affected by HIV. For more information on the company, its management, portfolio, pipeline and commitment, please visit www.viivhealthcare.com.

_______________________________________________________________

[i] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV and AIDS in the United States by Geographic Distribution. Accessed January 10, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/geographic.htm. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HIV in the United States: At A Glance. Accessed January 10, 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/us.htm.

[ii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NCHHSTP Atlas: AIDS diagnoses in 2010. Accessed December 19, 2012 from http://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/NCHHSTPAtlas/main.html.

[iii] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Basic Statistics: HIV/AIDS. September 2012. Accessed December 19, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm.

[iv] The Hispanic Population: 2010. 2010 Census Briefs. Issued May 2011. Accessed January 10, 2013 from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf.

Ecodesk, the world’s largest sustainability database, and CSRwire, the leading digital media platform for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news, have created a unique project to develop a compelling, data-driven business case for supply chain sustainability everywhere.

The Ecodesk Global Supply Chain Innovator Program is a VIP Project, which currently includes some of the world’s highest profile businesses including GlaxoSmithKline, MGM, CA Technologies, Eurostar, ISS, MITIE, Del Monte, Reed Elsevier and Compass Group, among over 25 global organizations, representing over one million suppliers. 

The program is designed to work closely with the world’s most innovative organizations in sustainability to develop a clear and unambiguous business case for supply chain efficiency, which precisely quantifies the savings opportunities in time, money and energy for each company individually. Microsoft, Starbucks and Coca-Cola are among thousands of organizations already using Ecodesk to maintain a single update point for sustainability information, saving time and money in supplier and customer communication.

Ecodesk has delivered data and results to many of the biggest global organizations, and now wants to widen that remit to cover a broader range of sectors.

“Supply chain sustainability questionnaires and survey programs are unsustainable, costly and annoying to most, and entirely miss the point, which is the benefit to business and society that sustainability brings. So Ecodesk is investing our own funds to aid suppliers to drive cost reduction, risk mitigation and revenue generation, which is where the real action is,” says Robert Clarke, Ecodesk CEO. “We’re excited to partner with CSRwire on this program because of their proven dedication to CSR and sustainability and for their diverse array of member organizations.”

How does The Ecodesk Global Supply Chain Innovator Program work?

Ecodesk work with top tier organizations to petition and gather data from supply chains on their behalf. Once completed and maintained, Ecodesk Innovators see a live supplier dashboard tracking fuel, energy, carbon, waste, water use in the supply chain, customer downstream flow, and even facility data. Dashboards with data visualization and tables map adherence to certification, accuracy, financial risk, conflict minerals and much more. Some Innovators are onboarding over 100,000 suppliers each to Ecodesk because of these ease and simplicity of the platform, and, of course, because it is completely free for suppliers to manage information.

“This moment reminds me of the time I discovered LinkedIn, and how it provided an instant cure for resume fatigue…Ecodesk is simple and makes sense. Having an easy-to-use and easy-to-read interface in this capacity is a breakthrough in supply chain innovation,” says Aman Singh, CSRwire's Editorial Director.

“Our goal in working with with Ecodesk is to provide a catalyst for all companies to rethink and redesign their supply chains in a sustainable way, meaning affordable as well as efficient – and be able to truly leverage data by offering critical benchmarking.”

What Can Customer and Suppliers Expect?

Benefits to suppliers include:

• Saving money and time – find fuel and electricity savings through live carbon emissions data, and much more. No more surveys!
• Keep up-to-date on sustainability information, all in one place
• Accelerating and measuring viewership of key sustainability information including reports
• Link your profile for other customers and stakeholders to see, reducing survey time, and enhancing reputation
• Demonstrate your commitment to sustainability and enhance your reputation

To sign up to the Ecodesk Global Supply Chain Innovator Program, visit www.ecodesk.com/innovator2013. Entry to Innovators is available until 31 March 2013 with a strict limit on numbers.

About Ecodesk

Ecodesk is the world’s largest sustainability database – a live, free to use, transparent, user managed sustainability communication platform for business of any size. Over 1million businesses are currently onboarding to Ecodesk. Ecodesk™ is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.ecodesk.com.

About CSRwire

CSRwire is a digital media platform and the leading global source of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news. Founded in 1999 to advance the movement towards a more economically just and environmentally sustainable society and away from single bottom line capitalism, CSRwire has paved the way for new standards of corporate citizenship, earning the international respect of thought leaders, business leaders, academics, philanthropists, activists and the media community. Through innovative techniques and strategic partnerships, CSRwire continues to expand its content, communication technology and distribution channels exponentially.

CSRwire is a Certified B Corp, United Nations Global Compact Signatory, member of Social Venture Network, and supporter of the Gasoline Alley Foundation. In 2012, CSRwire supported over 250 non-profit organizations worldwide. 

Find CSRwire on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, and get up-to-date news, views and trends in CSR and sustainability with the CSRwire Talkback blog.

Capital Link’s Forum focuses exactly on how CSR impacts a company’s valuation and cost of capital. In this context, it will cover three major topics.

• From the corporate perspective it explores how CSR can impact the valuation and cost of capital for private and publicly listed companies as investors and financiers may perceive them as safer and more sustainable financing and investment choices.
• From the investors’ point of view, it explores how CSR integrates among the investment criteria, what Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is all about and its comparative return performance.
• The third topic, explores the alignment of the CSR, IR and the overall corporate communications strategy, message and function. Also, the developments in the area of Integrated Reporting Standards and updates on Reporting Solutions, standards and guidelines.

Speakers from: NYSE, CSRwire, UBS, Carbon Disclosure Project, Domini Funds, Alcoa, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Hess Corp., Campbell Soup, Bloomberg, AT&T, Merck, G&A, IFAC, GISR, BlackRock, Con Edison, Lazard, KKR, RFK Foundation, Calvert Investments, Clinton Global Initiative, World Bank, Banco Santander, etc.

Register here.

A public voting period opens today (February 4) for finalists of the third quarterly Green America “People & Planet” award recognizing America’s best green small businesses. Each of three winners will receive $5,000. 

Voting for 10 finalists is open to the public online beginning February 4, 2013 at http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/ until 5 p.m. on February 28, 2013.

The quarterly “People & Planet Awards” recognize innovative entrepreneurial U.S. businesses that integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations. This round of the Awards will focus on green businesses that also have a strong commitment to creative recycling and waste management. Votes will be tallied and three quarterly winners will be announced during the week of March 4th.

The 10 final contenders for this round of People & Planet Awards are: American Textile and Supply, Contra Costa, CA; Compost Now, Raleigh, NC; First World Trash, Queens, NY; Green Citizen, San Francisco, CA; Grounds for Change, Poulsbo, WA; Hummingbird Wholesale, Eugene, OR; Preserve, Waltham, MA; Repurposed Materials, Denver, CO; Stay Vocal, Norwell, MA; and Urban Ore, Berkeley, CA. 

• American Textile and Supply, Contra Costa, CA.,. http://www.americantex.com. American Textile & Supply, Inc. reclaims and converts 100% post-consumer textile waste into wiping cloths (rags), reducing the environmental impact on landfills, energy use and water use. The company sources this post-consumer textile waste from charities, hospitals, hotels, commercial laundries and other recyclers. It collects used clothing, linens, sheets, towels and many other materials. However, a majority is not sellable as is and would go to the landfill if American Textile & Supply, Inc. did not make wiping cloths! They are dealing in the true dredges of textiles and helping to promote zero waste.

• CompostNow, Raleigh, NC., http://compostnow.org. CompostNow is a weekly doorstep pick-up service allowing households to divert their food scraps and compostable waste to contribute to the creation of nutrient-rich soil for home and community gardens. We've found ourselves at a gap in the urban food system that neglects these valuable resources that can be cleanly and conveniently diverted and utilized in the production of nutritionally complete produce and foods. By bridging this gap and completing this cycle, we reduce waste, improve our health, and deepen our connection to our own food system. Based in Raleigh, NC, CompostNow and its community have intercepted 50,000lbs. of compostable waste contributing to the creation of 25,000lbs. of compost made available to home and community gardens

• First World Trash, Queens, NY., http://www.firstworldtrash.com. Where others see trash, First World Trash (FWT) sees possibilities. FWT is an innovative, blossoming, socially responsible, zero waste bag and accessory company. They offer one-of-a-kind, stylish, eco-friendly accessories by re-using materials that would otherwise contribute to a landfill, such as billboards, automobile seatbelts, tents, and bicycle inner tubes. This waste tends to be out of our collective awareness and abundant. For example, the advertising industry continues to send 10,000 tons of commercial vinyl billboards to landfills annually. This material does not breakdown, it literally fills landfills around the world.  FWT provides free recycling to this industry and bring a unique, high quality product to market as a result.  They do not manufacture any new material and do not create a new waste stream.  They clean up the current waste management streams by “remanufacturing” unconventional materials with a process that is not energy intensive, does not create new waste or by products, and creates local employment opportunities for artists within the community as products are hand-made. Unlike other major “green” companies, the process of remanufacturing does not leave a manufacturing footprint! From the early stages of the remaking process to the end, FWT utilizes human energy systems, not chemical or physical processes that create more trash and pollution. 

• Green Citizen, San Francisco, CA., http://www.greencitizen.com. Electronic waste is the fastest growing, yet one of the most neglected waste streams in the United States. Lack of education, regulation, and recycling options contribute to the dumping of e-waste in local landfills and all over the world, especially in disenfranchised developing countries. These activities cause severe social and environmental consequences when toxins in electronic gadgets leach into our groundwater supply. GreenCitizen was founded to combat the e-waste crisis by developing a sustainable metropolitan model where electronics are reused and recycled within the community they are consumed in- a closed loop system. GreenCitizen adheres to a triple bottom line by deeply integrating social and environmental practices into its strategies and operations. As a result, it earned the only B-Corporation certification in the e-recycling industry. The company currently partners with many buildings in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area to perform regular e-waste pickups. Profits generated are reinvested into community eco-centers in Berkeley, San Francisco, Burlingame, and Mountain View, CA where communities can drop off  electronics (TVs, computers, cell phones, media tapes, microwaves etc.) free of charge and learn about the e-waste crisis.

• Grounds for Change, Poulsbo, WA., http://www.groundsforchange.com. Grounds for Change is a small, family-owned coffee roasting business that deals exclusively in organic, shade-grown, Fair Trade coffees. The company has made strong efforts to reduce waste in a variety of ways. All of their roasting by-product (chaff) goes to local farmers who use it as mulch. They compost all unused coffee beans, coffee grounds, filters, compostable cups and utensils, used paper towels (except any used with chemicals), and food waste. They offer compostable cups to all of their wholesale customers and The large burlap bags in which they receive unroasted coffee beans are all reused and/or donated for such activities as the annual International Coastal Clean-Up Day, for stabilizing raised beds at several local farms/CSAs, and as material to be sewn into tote bags by a local farmer to earn extra income in her off-season. In addition to waste-reduction efforts, Grounds for Change is an all-around green company with both a social justice and environmental sustainability focus. They are dedicated to producing a superior coffee product in a way that shares the monetary benefit with growers and has as little environmental impact on the planet as possible. All of their coffee is organic, which reduces the environmental toll of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and protects the health of coffee workers at the beginning of the supply chain.

• Hummingbird Wholesale, Eugene, OR., http://www.hummingbirdwholesale.com. Hummingbird Wholesale (HW) is a bulk food distributor offering organic, local and regional food crops to over 500 wholesale customers from Seattle to San Francisco.  The company is known for their Zero Waste practices, commitment to sustainability, and stellar customer service. Since 2003 Hummingbird Wholesale has established and managed a successful reuse program. One hundred percent of all liquids that are packed and distributed are in glass and plastic reusable containers with deposit for return. Returned containers are washed and reused. After three employees participated in the Lane County Master Recyclers program, they shared  this knowledge with HW staff and created an elaborate building-wide system of reuse, recycle and compost bins and accompanying signage.  The system goes far beyond what the local recycling hauler will pick up. The total waste generated by HW activities is approximately three 65 gallon containers per month; everything else is recycled or sold for reuse. All local deliveries—except when there is a barrel or orders over 1,000 lbs—are done via bicycle (tri-hauler) specifically designed to carry loads up to 1,000 lbs.

• Preserve, Waltham, MA. http://www.preserveproducts.com. Preserve® makes stylish, eco-friendly products for the home. They strive to combine socially and environmentally responsible business practices with groundbreaking design to create their products. Preserve believes that choosing eco-friendly products doesn't mean having to sacrifice quality, price, or performance. By using 100% recycled #5 plastic for their products, their approach is already one rooted in waste reduction. Beyond this, they exist to be a catalyst in making positive changes in consumer behavior so that they live within the resources of the planet. They do this through initiatives like the Gimme 5 recycling program, and more recently through the introduction of Preserve Shareware.

• Repurposed Materials, Denver, CO. http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com. Repurposed Materials is the only company in America whose entire product line is made of "repurposed" items. "Repurposing" is creative Re-use. It is not recycling, which has gotten all the buzz since the 1970s. Recycling requires huge amounts of energy to melt, grind, chip, or shred a waste stream into a useable feedstock to be used as a raw material to manufacture something new. With "repurposing," Repurposed Materials deals with byproducts and waste that get a second life because they have value "as is.

• Stay Vocal, Norwell, MA., http://www.stayvocal.com. Stay Vocal is a Green America certified ReUse apparel brand that is 100% remade in the USA. The company rescues t-shirts and gives them a second life with a new design. The apparel line is made with brand new shirts that were set to be destroyed and also pre-worn shirts, allowing Stay Vocal to offer unique items to customers. Orders and labels are printed on blank sides of scrap paper from local businesses and are shipped in used packaging like cereal boxes. All computers, equipment, displays, and other materials are pre-owned.

• Urban Ore, Berkeley, CA., http://urbanore.com. Urban Ore began in 1980 as a bootstrap business that identified value in discarded objects; sorted, cleaned, priced, and organized them; and presented them as merchandise. They started by salvaging at the dump, mining the landfill instead of the land. When the landfill closed, they moved into town. Today Urban Ore is a cultural fulcrum point that prevents waste, creates jobs, puts cash and refined resources into the community’s hands, collects and pays sales, payroll, and property taxes for the public benefit, and provides worldly goods at bargain prices. Preventing pollution supports the community’s real property and standard of living. Urban Ore diverts about 7,000 discarded tons from landfill a year.

Judges for this award include: Katie Galloway & Gigi Abbadie, Aveda; Justin Conway, Calvert Foundation; Desiree Reese, Clean Currents (fall winner!); Elysa Hammond, Clif Bar; Cheryl Newman, Honest Tea; Theresa Marquez, Organic Valley; Eric Henry, TS Designs; and Reed Doyle, Seventh Generation; Lauren Ornelas, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition; Michelle Greenfield, Third Sun Solar (fall winner!); and Fran Teplitz & Andrew Korfhage, Green America. 

Future rounds of the quarterly small business awards from Green America will focus on workplace innovations, healthy food, and other sustainability practices. 

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

A pair of key executives from New Balance will address the 2013 International Corporate Citizenship Conference to be held April 21-23 in Boston. They will provide insight into how a large global company successfully balances values, commitment to community and the bottom line.

The New Balance keynote presentation will be guided by the Boston-based company's commitment to helping build healthier, stronger communities, focusing on long-term sustainable change. The economic vitality of communities is also important to New Balance, which is the only athletic shoe company that still manufactures footwear in the United States, producing 25 percent of U.S. footwear shipments at five New England facilities.

Rob DeMartini, President and CEO, joined New Balance in 2007, bringing with him extensive knowledge and experience from a diverse background in consumer products business. Drawn to New Balance for its commitment to brand authenticity and responsible leadership, DeMartini guided the company to the development of a responsible growth strategic plan. In 2011, he was named Most Playful CEO by the nonprofit Playworks Inc. Among his civic commitments, DeMartini serves as vice chair of the board for KaBOOM! and is actively involved with the Pan-Mass Challenge that benefits the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.

Christine Madigan heads up Responsible Leadership for New Balance and directs all sustainability, social responsibility and community initiatives. She is responsible for providing strategic vision, industry collaboration and partnerships, and ensuring transparent global communication. Madigan also serves on the Board of ChopChop Magazine and is vice chair of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry CSR Committee.

DeMartini and Madigan will join a diverse group of world-class leaders from The Travelers Companies Inc., Target, Campbell Soup Company, Altria, and Pitney Bowes as featured speakers during the 2-1/2 day event that offers extensive opportunities for learning, networking, and professional development for the more than 650 professionals in attendance. Conference sessions provide insights, proven success stories, and practical takeaways that focus on how corporate citizenship can design opportunities by linking citizenship activities to core business strategy.

Don't miss this event: REGISTER now!

February 4. Student led non-profit Teens Turning Green (TTG) is launching an innovative and expansive initiative called The Conscious Collections, which highlights thoughtfully curated, ethically-produced products across many lifestyle categories. Product selections are based on health of ingredients, environmental impact, efficacy, and verified standards like USDA Certified Organic, non-GMO, Fair Trade, and data from the Environmental Working Group, among other industry and research leaders.

“This initiative is our offering – a simple, fun way to spread the word about thoughtful product choices that help to heal the planet. The Collections cover all aspects of life, for all demographics,” said Judi Shils, Executive Director, Teens Turning Green.

Phase one launches with The Conscious Collections: Care Packages, a monthly assortment of items for college students. The themed selection of products tie into school and seasonal events like Back to School, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Earth Day, Graduation, Holidays, etc. The collections will be for sale on theconsciouscollections.com. Launch date: February 4.

Themed for Valentine’s Day, the inaugural Mind Body Heart collection will be available to the first 50 donors for $50 each (valued at $150+). All proceeds support the TTG 2013 Summer Internship Program. Check out this TTG Pinterest board to view the Mind Body Heart Collection prior to the 2/4 web launch.

Products include: Acure Organics Rose and Red Tea Toner, Apple&Bee Organic Cotton Make Up Bag, Aubrey Organics Organic Lip Balm and Natural Lips Sheer Tint, Desert Essence Red Raspberry Shampoo & Conditioner, Dr. Bronner’s Rose Soap Bar, ecojot Passion for Life Journal, Guayaki Yerba Mate Energy Shots, John Masters Organics Bearberry Skin Balancing Face Wash, Alicia Silverstone for Juice Beauty Simply Nourishing Moisturizer, Kopali Organics Chocolate Cacao Nibs, Lotus Moon On the Go Hair Care Kit, and Swisspers Organic Balls, Tips, and Rounds.

Raychel Santo, a junior at Johns Hopkins University and Teens Turning Green Advisory Board member, notes the importance of mindful consumption in an eco-friendly life. “We all purchase at least some products in our daily lives. This initiative will help us make those purchases the best they can be!”

Coming Soon

A digital phase two launches with The Conscious Collections: Lifestyle, item suggestions for greening daily life. TTG will curate Pinterest boards highlighting conscious products to inform and underscore the importance of choices that lessen collective impact on the earth. Categories include body, food, sleep, style, fitness, travel, back to school, summer, cycling, green employers, green retailers, eco books, and much more. Launch date: February 15.

The Conscious Collections and display will be part of the TTG Conscious College Road Tour, stopping at twelve college campuses between March and May. Visit teensturninggreen.org for more information about 2013 programs, ongoing initiatives, and how to become involved.

Teens Turning Green is a student led global movement devoted to education and advocacy around environmental sustainability, personal health, and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools, and communities. Through student-led education, awareness-raising, and advocacy, TTG works to empower and engage youth on high school and college campuses to become informed, active, and mobilized citizens to raise awareness, encourage behavior change, and lobby for policy that will lessen local and global impact. What began in California in 2005 now has a presence at elementary, middle and high schools, universities, and student organizations across the United States, as well as a strong virtual platform and media presence. From conventional to conscious – live life, sustainably.

TTG 2013 partners include: Shaw Family Fund, Lisa & Douglas Goldman Fund, Acure Organics, Aubrey Organics, Clif Bar, Desert Essence, Dr. Bronner’s, ecojot, Eileen Fisher, Guayaki Yerba Mate, JetBlue, Juice Beauty, Kimpton Hotels, and Swisspers Organic.

Seventh Generation was recently named as one of the 2013 Best Places to Work in Vermont. The annual list of the Best Places to Work in Vermont was created by Vermont Business Magazine, the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, the Vermont Department of Economic Development, the Vermont Department of Labor, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) - Vermont State Council and Best Companies Group.

This statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Vermont, benefiting the state's economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2013 Best Places to Work in Vermont list is made up of 21 companies.

"There's no better place for the nation's leading green brand to be based than the Green Mountain State," said John Replogle, CEO of Seventh Generation. "We were born in Vermont 25 years ago and have been inspired by so many other great leaders and purpose-based companies here in the state. This is a great way to celebrate our twenty-fifth anniversary as we look forward to growing, learning and improving over the next twenty-five right here in Vermont."

Companies from across the state entered the two-part survey process to determine the Best Places to Work in Vermont. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process in Vermont and also analyzed the data and used their expertise to determine the final rankings. 

About Seventh Generation Seventh Generation is committed to being the most trusted brand of household and personal care products for your living home. Our products offer solutions for the air, surfaces, fabrics, pets and people within your home -- and for the community and environment outside of it. Seventh Generation also offers baby products that are safe for your children and the planet. The company derives its name from the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." Every time you use a Seventh Generation product you are making a difference by saving natural resources, reducing pollution, and making the world a better place for this and the next seven generations. For information on Seven Generation cleaning, paper, baby and feminine personal care products, to find store locations, and explore the company's website visit www.seventhgeneration.com. To read more about Seventh Generation's corporate responsibility, visit the company's Corporate Consciousness Report.

Ceres today announced that Adele Smith Simmons, a senior executive at Metropolis Strategies and a board member at insurance brokerage firm Marsh & McLennan Cos., has been elected to its Board of Directors.

In her current role at Metropolis Strategies, Simmons focuses on environmental and sustainability issues, and provided leadership for the 2009 Burnham Plan Centennial. She was co-chair of the Task Force that developed a Climate Action Plan for the city of Chicago, and is a member of the Green Ribbon Committee that is helping to implement the Plan. She served as a co-chair of the Council on Global Affairs study group on Chicago’s global future.

Simmons also chairs Marsh & McLennan’s board committee on Social Responsibility.

“Ceres is excited to welcome Adele Simmons to our Board,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. “Her unique experience and expertise in the private sector, as well as with leading NGOs, will help Ceres as we continue to work with businesses and investors to build a more sustainable economy.”

“I have been an admirer of Ceres and its work for many years,” said Simmons. “I look forward to working with the extraordinary staff and my colleagues on the Board to help engage the business and investor community as allies in addressing the critical issues relating to climate change.”

From 1989 to 1999, Simmons was President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 1996, she expanded the foundation’s work in the environment to include climate change. The foundation’s international programs focus on the environment, population, international peace and security, understanding inequality within and among nations and climate change.

Before joining the MacArthur Foundation, Simmons was President of Hampshire College, Dean of Students and Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University, and Dean of Jackson College at Tufts University. Simmons has served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Redesign Initiative as well as on President Carter’s Commission on World Hunger and President Bush’s Commission on Sustainable Development. She was a member of the Commission on Global Governance and the UN High Level Advisory Board on Sustainable Development.

She is also involved in a number of non-profit organizations, including the Field Museum, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Economic Club of Chicago, Demos and The American Prospect, the Synergos Institute, the Weil Foundation, and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

About Ceres

Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership. Ceres mobilizes a powerful coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups to accelerate and expand the adoption of sustainable business practices and solutions to build a healthy global economy. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 100 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $11 trillion.

For more information, visit www.ceres.org.

Ethical Sourcing Forum 2013 – Changing Expectations of CSR

ESF 2013's theme has been shaped by the changing realities of the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Landscape. Knowing your supply chain, reporting on due diligence risk factors and increasing legislation are catalysts for a change in corporate priorities, emphasizing the need for a companywide strategy for sustainability.

**Announcing Keynotes**

**March 7th**
Switching to Offense in Government – Contractors Conscripted to Join the Fight against Human Trafficking

Markus Funk,
Partner, Perkins Coie

When the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world – the U.S. government – puts its weight behind something, companies and organizations take notice. On Sept. 25, 2012 the government announced in no uncertain terms that taxpayer dollars used for government contracting were no longer to support the global scourge of human trafficking. The expectations for companies are swiftly changing and the requirements of this new order go beyond disclosure to certification of a trafficking free supply chain. By spring 2013 the new guidelines will have developed into binding regulations.

Markus Funk, a legal expert and advisor for this new regulation, will give his insights on the changing expectations for sustainability practitioners.

**March 8th**
The Role of Government and Businesses in Fighting Human Trafficking in the United States and Around the World

Congresswoman
Carolyn B. Maloney

Maloney is the co-chair and co-founder of the Human Trafficking Caucus. She has authored numerous bills to combat the scourge of human trafficking and sex trafficking, including: The Prevention of Trafficking of Tsunami Orphans Act of 2005;The End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005;The Human Trafficking Fraud Enforcement Act of 2010. In 2012 Maloney joined forces with Republican Representative Marsha Blackburn in a letter to Google questioning how the company's advertising practices addresses human trafficking.

Features Speakers: Timberland| IBM| Bloomberg LLP| American Apparel & Footwear Association| Alston & Bird LLP| Eileen Fisher| Fleishman Hillard| ILO- Better Work| McDonald's| The Walt Disney Company| US Dept. of Labor| VF Corporation| WRAP Compliance| ICCR| GC3| Foley Hoag LLP

The future of ethical sourcing is here, with progress unfolding rapidly through increasing transparency and transforming social and environmental impacts from negative to positive. ESF 2013 provides practitioners with tools and knowledge to break barriers and discover innovative new products and approaches, as well as transformative business models designed to make sustainability work for your business.

When: March 7-8 2013

Where: Sentry Centers, 810 Seventh Ave, NY 10036

Be Part of the Solution, REGISTER NOW @ http://www.ethicalsourcingforum.com/esf-2013/ or contact daisy.saukila@intertek.com / 212-803-5317.

Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM) (“Newmont” or the “Company”) today announced the appointment of Dr. Elaine Dorward-King as Executive Vice President of Sustainability & External Relations. Dr. Dorward-King will begin her new role with Newmont on March 18 and will assume responsibility for the company’s environmental, social responsibility, community and government relations functions.

Dr. Dorward-King joins Newmont from Rio Tinto, where she most recently served as Managing Director of Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) in South Africa — one of the world’s largest and lowest-cost producers of titanium dioxide and zircon. Under her leadership, RBM improved its safety performance, leadership development systems, and advanced its globally-recognized environmental rehabilitation and highly regarded black economic empowerment programs.

“Elaine is an accomplished leader in developing and implementing sustainable development, safety, health and environmental programs in the mining, chemical and engineering consulting sectors,” said Gary Goldberg, Newmont’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “I look forward to Elaine joining the Newmont team and contributing to our success.”

Prior to her role at Richards Bay Minerals, Dr. Dorward-King was the Global Head of Health, Safety and Environment at Rio Tinto for eight years where she led a step-change in Rio Tinto’s safety and environmental performance. She also held leadership positions with Rio Tinto’s copper and borates businesses. Prior to that, she worked for Ebasco Environmental and for Monsanto Company as a chemist, research specialist and product manager.

In addition to her 25 years of business experience, Dr. Dorward-King has authored numerous scientific papers, contributed to five environmental science books and received numerous awards and honors for her work in advancing safety and environmental responsibility. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Project WET, a global non-profit organization focused on water awareness education and training, and on the Science Advisory Board for The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University.

About Newmont
Founded in 1921 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont (www.newmont.com) is one of the largest gold companies in the world.  Headquartered in Colorado, the Company has around 40,000 employees and contractors, with the majority working at core operations in the United States, Australia, Peru, Indonesia and Ghana.  Newmont is the only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index and in 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.  Newmont's industry leading performance is reflected through high standards in environmental management, health and safety for its employees and creating value and opportunity for host communities and shareholders.

Companies are trying a variety of innovative approaches to help their employees reduce stress levels and relax. Many companies have instituted in-office Yoga or massage. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas earlier in the month, AOL Digital Media head Arianna Huffington even spoke about having nap rooms installed at her NY HQ; although she noted that sometimes she sees two employees leave the room at the same time. 

Also at CES this year Deepak Chopra, MD, the health and wellness, mind/body/spirit  balance expert and best selling author introduced a new product called the Dream Weaver. This electronic device automatically brings the user to the same meditative state it takes experienced meditators years to achieve although Dr. Chopra insists it is no substitute for meditation and true transcendence.

The device consists of a set of goggles with 16 LEDs facing in. A meditation or relaxation program is placed on a CD over the music and sound track at 19.2KHz, a frequency humans cannot hear, which controls the LEDs in the goggles. The user experiences this program with eyes closed. There are no subliminal messages involved.

Deepak notes that “Almost every culture in the world has a method to get people to an altered state whether it is Hindu Meditation & Kirtan, Gregorian Chanting, Hebrew Davening, Tibetan Prayer Bowls, Native American Drum Circles and Chants, Sufi Chants, Whirling Dervishes and African Trance Dancing. Psychedelic drugs such as peyote, ayahuaska, and LSD are also used to help people to go into an altered state in the direction of transcendence. Put on the Dream Weaver goggles and see what happens. I'm sure you will experience something very relaxing, very dreamlike and possibly put you to sleep as well."

The device and 3 program disks with 9 programs ranging from 6 minutes to one hour is available at www.DeepakChopra.com/DreamWeaver

Consider  having one for your company’s break room, meditation space or sanctuary.

(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY) today launched its sixth annual and most-comprehensive-to-date sustainability report, which focuses on the company's economic, environmental and social responsibility performance during Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12).

The report, titled "Good Things Are Our Greatest Responsibility," outlines Sysco's strategic approach to sustainability, including its guiding principles and three focus areas of Food, Operations and Community.

Performance highlights from the 2012 report include:

• Since 2006, overall energy usage in company warehouses decreased by 19 percent, despite warehouse volumes increasing 18 percent.
• Continued fleet improvements by adding 55 low-emission liquid natural gas trucks to the company fleet in FY12, bringing the total to 165; and since 2010, purchased more than 2,300 new trucks with low-emission engines.
• Improved load fill rate of trucks carrying product to Sysco by 180 pounds per truck in FY12, resulting in 1,400 fewer trucks on the road, compared with the prior year.
• Suppliers in Sysco's Integrated Pest Management Program reported conserving more than 700 million gallons of water in the 2011 growing season.
• Reduced recordable injuries at U.S. Sysco locations by 26 percent between FY08--FY12.

"Sysco has an established track record of balancing its business needs with stakeholder interests, and we are working to further integrate sustainability into our long-term business strategy," said Bill DeLaney, Sysco's president and chief executive officer. "We remain committed to continually improving the way we do business, while helping our customers to improve theirs, and working to make our communities stronger."

Sysco's complete 2012 sustainability report is available online and can be found at www.sysco.com. The report and various interactive features and content also will be available soon in a new app, providing ready access to information for mobile-device users. The app will be available in February for download from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Market.

About Sysco

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. The company operates 177 distribution facilities serving approximately 400,000 customers. For Fiscal Year 2012 that ended June 30, 2012, the company generated record sales of more than $42 billion. For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation or Twitter at www.twitter.com/Sysco_Corp. For investor news, follow the company at www.twitter.com/SyscoStock or download the Sysco IR app, available from the iTunes App Store and Google Play Market.

More than 600 professionals in corporate citizenship were surveyed in the fall of 2012 regarding their background, responsibilities, compensation, and overall job satisfaction. Findings from this biennial Profile of the Professionals survey by the Center for Corporate Citizenship will be published in Spring 2013. However, you can get a sneak preview of practitioner research and practitioner insights in this one hour webinar. You will hear the research results from Karen Hoff, Senior Membership Research Analyst at the Center for Corporate Citizenship; and insights from Mike Dupee, VP of CSR at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Kelly Balthazor, Director of Community Relations at US Airways Group.

In this webinar, you will hear preliminary key findings from the survey which include:

• Forty-four percent of all respondents reported having attained an advanced degree. In our 2006 survey, 38 percent had an advanced degree, and in 2010 that figure climbed to 40 percent. The average corporate citizenship professional surveyed also reported more years of corporate citizenship experience in 2012 than the average respondent in 2010.
• Respondents to the 2012 survey reported their companies sought talent mostly internally to fill corporate citizenship positions across all job levels. These positions ranged from coordinator to vice president and above. More than 70 percent of directors moved into their current position from inside the company, compared to 57 percent of the total sample.
• Respondents reported a high level of job satisfaction. The least satisfaction was reported with opportunities to advance their careers.
• When asked to name the most challenging aspect of their current position, workload was most often cited.

Featured Speakers:

• Kelly Balthazor, Director, Community Relations, US Airways Group, Inc.
• Mike Dupee, VP CSR, Green Mountain Coffee
• Karen Hoff, Senior Research Analyst, Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
• Immanuel Sutherland, Sr. Specialist, Community Relations, Corporate Affairs, Altria Client Services Inc.

Click here to register for this webinar!

The San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association (SD AMA) today announced that Carol Cone, who’s been called the “Mother of Cause Marketing,” will be the keynote speaker at the 15th Annual San Diego AMA Cause Conference, March 19-20, 2013, in San Diego, Calif. Cone, global chair of the Business + Social Purpose practice at the Edelman agency, will speak on “The Power of Purpose in a Transparent World,” providing crisp data to prove the need and power of social issues engagement for companies, as well as keen insights to nonprofits seeking partners to advance their social missions.

The 2013 Cause Conference brings together business and nonprofit professionals from throughout Southern California, and across the U.S., to focus on creating meaningful partnerships that lead to sustainable value. Attendees can choose from a variety of panels and workshops on topics such as: cause marketing and branding, partnership, sponsorship development, storytelling and communications, social media, fundraising, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, employee engagement, volunteerism, and more.

The event begins with a Kick-Off Networking Reception, Tuesday, March 19th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., at the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center (4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., San Diego, CA 92117). The full-day Conference takes place Wednesday, March 20th, 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. at NTC Venues at Liberty Station (2875 Dewey Road, San Diego, CA 92106).

Registration includes access to both the Kick-Off Networking Reception (with cash bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres) and the full-day Conference (with a continental breakfast and lunch). Early bird pricing is available through January 31, 2013 at $119 for nonprofits, $129 for AMA Members, and $159 general admission. Register at www.sdama.org/cause.

The San Diego AMA thanks the presenting sponsor of the 2013 Cause Conference: San Diego Gas & Electric.

About the San Diego American Marketing Association

The San Diego chapter of the American Marketing Association provides professional development, networking, and partnership opportunities to a diverse mix of marketing professionals. The Chapter is committed to empowering its members to take charge of their careers by consistently offering relevant speakers and topics, connecting members to people and opportunities, and providing timely and relevant programming. For more information on the local chapter, please visit www.sdama.org. For more information on the national organization, visit www.marketingpower.com.

Good.Must.Grow., a socially responsible marketing consultancy, is proud to announce its certification as a B Corporation, making it the second company in the greater Nashville, Tenn., area to achieve B Corp status.

Leading a global movement to redefine success in business, Certified B Corporations are a new kind of company with a positive vision of a better way to do business. As a Certified B Corporation, Good.Must.Grow. voluntarily meets a higher standard of transparency, accountability, and performance, harnessing the power of business to solve social and economical problems. View the company’s complete B Corp profile here: http://www.bcorporation.net/community/directory/goodmustgrowllc.

“Our mission is to help prove that there’s no business like good business, so we’re extremely excited to be a part of this community of leading companies,” said Heath Shackleford, Founder of Good.Must.Grow. “GmG was formed specifically to fuel benefit corporations and nonprofit causes by offering smart, affordable marketing support. We were born to be a B Corp.”

Nearly 700 organizations have been certified as B Corps. That number is growing daily, and includes household brands such as Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s, Warby Parker and Seventh Generation as well as a host of up and coming social enterprises who are changing the world for good.

Since its founding in 2012, Good.Must.Grow. has quickly built a local and national roster of socially conscious clients. The company commits to re-investing after-tax profits back into worthy causes and has recently begun seeking donations and strategic partners for its GmG Fund, which will serve as a marketing scholarship/subsidy program for qualifying nonprofits across the country.

Good.Must.Grow. offers clients a full range of marketing support, starting with the development of sound marketing strategies. From there, GmG helps organizations effectively shape and tell their story, while creating engaged communities of support and building promotional platforms to reach new stakeholders.

About Good.Must.Grow.

Good.Must.Grow. provides strategic marketing support for socially responsible businesses, nonprofit causes and organizations that are focused on health + wellness. We want to be part of a revolution that drives societal change by sparking increased charitable giving and community involvement as well as unprecedented levels of corporate social responsibility. See how we’re #GrowingGood at http://www.goodmustgrow.com. 

About B Corp

Certified B Corporations 1) meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance; 2) legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder interests; and 3) build collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand. As of January 2013, there are over 650 Certified B Corporations from over 60 industries, representing a diverse multi-billion marketplace.

About B Lab

B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab drives systemic change through three interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing; 2) accelerating the growth of the impact investing asset class through use of B Lab’s GIIRS impact rating system by institutional investors; and 3) promoting supportive public policies, including creation of a new corporate form and tax, procurement, and investment incentives for sustainable business.

Human capital. My career. My job.

In a game of word association, how many times would 'corporate social responsibility' elicit any of the above phrases? We'll hazard a guess and say maybe one out of 10 times.

Because most of the analysis and commentary on the importance of CSR and sustainability in recent years has leaned toward discussing the greener aspects of sustainability: it's good for the environment, a sustainable business strategy leads to profits with performance, etc.

Until recently, when Elaine Cohen, CEO of Beyond Business Ltd and a regular contributor to Talkback, published a persuasive argument for connecting CSR with a company's human resources function with CSR for HR: A Necessary Partnership for Advancing Responsible Business Practices. Having spent over 20 years in leadership positions with companies like Procter & Gamble and Unilever, Cohen's narratives come from experience and a strong belief that corporate social responsibility must begin internally--with your company's primary stakeholders: employees.

CSR for HR: A New Webinar Series

Now, in partnership with Cohen, CSRwire has launched a new webinar series to demonstrate how that can be done and provide a practical way forward. Through educational webinars focusing on skills building, implementation challenges, and connecting employee engagement with business opportunities, Cohen will lead CSR and HR practitioners through several critical issues, including:

• The business case for advancing Sustainable Human Resources Management in your business, large or small.
• The key issues that form the CSR/HR agenda and ways of addressing these in different organizations.
• The employee engagement aspects of CSR – what works, what doesn’t work and how to leverage engagement through CSR.
• The measurable business benefits of a CSR-HR approach –quantifying the financial benefit to the organization through implementing CSR-HR tools
• The CSR for HR Roadmap and Scorecard - what you can (and should) do next, and in what order.

"The CSR-HR partnership is a business imperative for organizations today.  Forming this partnership is not a natural evolution in most companies, and needs to be driven in a proactive manner. These sessions will give CSR and HR leaders practical tools to take back to their organizations for the benefit of sustainable business, people and planet.  It is time for HR to wake up to CSR, and for CSR Managers to engage with HR," says Cohen.

Each webinar will last for 90 minutes and focus on how CSR and HR managers can work more effectively together to advance corporate sustainability, do better business and satisfy stakeholder expectations. They will be recorded for future viewing and pre-webinar materials will be available for all participants to enable a real-time discussion.

"For jobseekers, employees, recruiters as well as HR managers, CSR is a critical value proposition that so far has suffered from being widely misunderstood and therefore, ignored. We are proud to offer our over 8,000 members an opportunity to train with the best and partner with Elaine on this important series. The value of human capital in growing a business and ensuring its sustainability is critical and the sooner you learn how to align the two, the better for your career and organization," says Aman Singh, Editorial Director at CSRwire.

Along with leading CSR and HR corporate practitioners joining Cohen, the webinars promise to be lively, interactive, and insightful sessions, leaving you with a desire to try out new tools and processes in your organization. We will use examples of good practice from global companies and suggest practical tools for implementation.

Register Now!

If you are a CSR Manager, a Sustainability Officer, an Organizational or Talent Development Lead or a Human Resources Manager, this mini-series is for you. Seats are limited so grab the details below and register before we sell out! 

Details:

• Session 1: Talking the Same Language: Making the CSR-HR Partnership Work: March 13, 2013; 1:00-2:30pm ET
  [Guest practitioner: Shannon L. Schuyler, Corporate Responsibility Leader, PwC]

Register for Session 1.

• Session 2: Scorecards & Implementation: Making the CSR-HR Partnership Work: March 20, 2013; 1:00-2:30pm ET
  [Guest Practitioner: Amy Hall, Social Consciousness Director, EILEEN FISHER]

Register for Session 2.

Price: $100/session; $175/series

Work at a CSRwire member or Beyond Business client company? Use code "CSRwire" to shave off 10%!

Want to register as a team? Email ann@csrwire.com for special company discounts!

Register now!