The USDA announced it was awarding $39 million in grants to American business owners in order to increase access to domestic biofuels.
Success Stories in Community Involvement
Featured this week: ATB Financial, AT&T, Inc., Bally's Corporation, Caterpillar Inc., Collette, Delta Air Lines, DFW Airport, Farm Credit Mid-America, Goodwin Proctor LLP, Green Shield Canada, FTI Consulting, Honda, Kemper Corporation, Motorola Solutions, National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), Northern Trust, Northwestern Mutual, SAIC, SMUD, Sundt Construction, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Texas Health Resources, Wells Fargo
The member community convened by Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship is one of a kind. The 500+ companies we serve each year are leaders in environmental, social, and governance action, and the thousands of individuals who make up this network are some of the best in the field! Pictured right: team members from Farm Credit Mid-America and its rural lending brand, Rural 1st®, visit local customers’ farms where they gather fresh produce to donate to local food banks.
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Spotlight on You
Toni Townes-Whitley recently became CEO of SAIC, succeeding Nazzic Keene in a rare example of a woman CEO handing off to another woman at a large publicly-held company. Townes-Whitley also joins the SAIC Board of Directors upon assuming the role. The announcement on the SAIC website reads in part, "Townes-Whitley has a distinguished and proven track record of driving strong enterprise financial results and fostering an inclusive culture focused on entrepreneurship and high performance..."
“I am honored to bring my passion for driving our nation’s digital transformation to this extraordinary company that is positioned at the intersection of mission critical government programs at a time of evolving, multi-dimensional global threats," Townes-Whitley shared. "SAIC is on a solid growth trajectory with an expanding solutions portfolio, positive financial trends and a culture of serving its customers with integrity, and I look forward to building on the company’s momentum.”
Caterpillar Inc. recently announced that George Moubayed, current senior vice president of the Enterprise Strategy Division, will assume additional responsibilities as the Chief Sustainability and Strategy Officer, effective January 1, 2024. In his capacity as Chief Sustainability Officer, Moubayed will report directly to Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. “George has a breadth of enterprise perspective and experience in executing our strategy for long-term profitable growth,” said Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Jim Umpleby. “Sustainability is an integral part of this strategy as we help our customers achieve their climate-related objectives and build a better, more sustainable world.”
Tammi Barlow was recently appointed the Inaugural VP of Global Responsibility & Social Impact at Bally's Corporation. In a release, the company shared, "Barlow has over a decade of experience building and managing responsible gaming and corporate social responsibility programs for companies in the gaming industry. Tammi is a highly experienced executive with a demonstrated history of developing successful responsible gaming and community engagement programs that comply with regulatory requirements and enhance local communities around the world."
Danielle Mendoza Buffalino joined SMUD as the new Community Engagement Supervisor. She will oversee the team responsible for community engagement and sponsorships, employee giving, employee volunteerism, and SMUD Cares fundraising events.
Northern Trust Corporation announced last month the inaugural Northern Trust Anchor Award, which will grant up to $1 million to one Chicago-based, innovative nonprofit organization to accelerate its growth and positive impact. The Anchor Award is a new facet to Northern Trust’s nearly 135-year history of ongoing philanthropic support. Northern Trust has donated more than $170 million over the past decade with a global philanthropic strategy focused on broadening opportunities for financial success with support in four areas of fundamental need: accessible healthcare, affordable housing, quality education and food security.
“The Anchor Award aims to provide support to a highly effective 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by granting them up to $1 million to strengthen their overall organizational capacity and effectiveness,” Director of Corporate Philanthropy Shana Hayes said. “The grant may support the nonprofit's infrastructure, systems, skills, and resources or other initiative aimed at improving the organization's ability to serve individuals aged 16 to 24 on Chicago’s South and West sides.”
Earlier this month, Arizona Helping Hands renovated its foster resource shopping center. Three organizations joined forces with Arizona Helping Hands to provide complementary essential resources to children on a foster care journey and provide a relaxed environment. Thanks to funding from the Motorola Solutions Foundation, volunteers from Motorola Solutions and the Phoenix Police Department, and the support of Sundt Construction, the organization’s office space was transformed into a newly designed service boutique.
"Arizona Helping Hands is making a difference in the lives of children and foster care families every day," said Karem Perez, executive director of Motorola Solutions Foundation. "We are grateful for the opportunity to volunteer alongside local community, corporate and first responder partners to help Arizona Helping Hands continue to deliver on their incredible mission.”
Since 2016, Farm Credit Mid-America has supplemented more than 4.4 million meals to those in need through its Farms to Food Banks program. The program is one example of the financial services cooperative’s dedication to securing the future of rural communities and agriculture. Farms to Food Banks connects farmers and their products to local food banks. The goal is to ensure local community members in the states Farm Credit Mid-America serves have access to fresh produce and protein to supplement shelf-stable meals.
“This is the seventh year our team members have volunteered their time and worked alongside our customers to support Farms to Food Banks,” said Randy Barbee, community investment manager for Farm Credit Mid-America. “According to Feeding America, in 2021 alone, 13.5 million tons of farm produce was wasted, yet today, 34 million face hunger in the United States. This program is just one way we can partner with our customers to build relationships with our neighboring communities, address the issue of healthy food insecurity, and showcase the value of the agriculture industry at a local level.”
Texas Health Resources Foundation recently expanded a program that helps fight hunger with in-school grocery stores and other services. The expansion of THRIVE North Texas into Terrell’s only middle school is made possible thanks to the Texas Health Resources Foundation and its donors, including lead supporter UnitedHealthcare.
THRIVE stands for Together Harnessing Resources to Give Individuals Voice and Empowerment. In addition to addressing food insecurity, the program will increase the school’s capacity to provide mental health counseling services.
“We know children do better in school and throughout life when they have access to mental health resources and aren’t worried about where their next meal will come,” said Catherine Oliveros, DrPH, vice president of Community Health Improvement for Texas Health. “This program has a proven record of improving food insecurity and the mental health of students, impacting their health and well-being today and for generations to come.”
The Texas Health Resources Foundation is continuing its fundraising campaign to expand the program across North Texas. To date, the foundation has raised $1.84 million of its $2.6 million goal.
GreenShield Cares (of Green Shield Canada) partnered with the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Toronto to launch the Smile Research Project, improving overall health by offering cost-free dental care to people unable to afford it.
“They come from all walks of life,” says Sonica Singhal, Dental Public Health Graduate Program director at the Faculty of Dentistry, of the hundreds of people who have received care at the clinic. It was established in 2021 by a $6.15-million donation from GreenShield; its mandate is to offer dental care to people who are not able to afford it. “We're hearing positive reports about their oral health, their general health, their quality of life." says Singhal.
Northwestern Mutual, in partnership with gener8tor, a nationally ranked startup accelerator, recently announced this year's fall cohort of five Black-owned tech startups to its Black Founder Accelerator program. Research shows that Black founders receive less than two percent of venture capital. To combat this substantial funding disparity, each startup is eligible for a $100,000 investment and inclusion in a 12-week intensive program with access to individualized coaching and mentorship from industry-leading professionals. The Black Founder Accelerator program's comprehensive offerings have enabled past participants to scale their businesses and enhance diversity of the tech industry.
"As we witness the remarkable achievements of each cohort, we are reminded that programs like these are essential in fostering a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem," said Abim Kolawole, chief audit executive at Northwestern Mutual and executive sponsor of the company's SARE initiative. "We hope that the success of these founders will inspire future generations of Black entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams."
Sustainability & ESG Reports Released
FTI Consulting recently shared its third annual Corporate Sustainability Report. Within the report, the company shared, "we demonstrate our ambitions to deliver for our stakeholders and to uphold the United Nations (“UN”) Ten Principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Disclosures reflect company-specific sustainability initiatives and alignment with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Carbon Disclosure Project Climate Change questionnaire... The report also demonstrates our continued progress as a company through our goals that support our net-zero by 2030 commitment as well as goals that will help us continue building a more diverse and inclusive culture."
DFW Airport recently released its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, themed Shaping Tomorrow. The report provides transparent information and disclosures about DFW’s performance and impact on environmental, social and governance issues. report shines a spotlight on DFW’s commitment to, and progress toward, sustainable and innovative business practices reflected in the following goals and accomplishments:
- Commitment to Net Zero Carbon by 2030
- Signatory of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism
- 2022 Texan by Nature (TxN20)
- Corporation of the Year – Women’s Business Council Southwest (WBCS)
- 2022 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award for Large Hub Airports by Airports Council International (ACI)
- 1/3+ of initiatives identified in the Strategic Plan are directly tied to technology and innovation
- The Risk Management Society (RIMS) Global Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Award of Distinction Honorable Mention
- Public Risk Management Association (PRMA) 2022 Outstanding Achievement for ERM Award
Members on the Move
More Corporate Citizens Enrolling in BCCCC Certificate Programs
Many CSR/ESG professionals have recently enrolled in our upcoming certificate programs, The 2024 Spring Summit and Leadership Academy. Congratulations to these executives from ATB Financial, AT&T Inc., Honda, Kemper Corporation, Wells Fargo. Meanwhile, members from Delta Air Lines, Goodwin Proctor LLP, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have registered to attend the 2024 International Corporate Citizenship Conference.
A warm welcome to BCCCC's newest member, Collette!
We look forward to having these teams join our corporate citizenship community.
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