Businesses and brands are increasingly beholden to healthy communities and constituents for their bottom-line growth.

Coca-Cola just released its ninth annual Sustainability Report and second Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Report, making the point that sustainability and corporate citizenship aren't sidebars to the company. "We're working to embed sustainability-minded innovations into every aspect of our business, from sourcing ingredients to increasing beverage options to aspiring to be water neutral and recovering packages for recycling," stated Muhtar Kent, Coca-Cola's CEO.

"Coca-Cola is intent on growing our business by making a difference wherever our business touches the world and the world touches our business,” added Bea Perez, the company’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, who was hired in July 2011.

The company's Sustainability Report is presented as a fully interactive website (tagline: "Every bottle has a story") features videos, social media capabilities, third-party opinions on global challenges and an updated digital design accessible through smartphones, tablets and mobile devices.Continue reading...

UPS, which is donating $1.5 million in cash and in-kind support to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts, shared this video today (taken by Michael Sober) showing a UPS truck making its way through flooding in Hoboken, NJ. Sober is asking media outlets that run his video to mention http://www.partywithpurpose.org to donate to relief efforts in Hoboken.

There is much misinformation being spread about #Sandy's impact on #NYC. You can get reliable info from @nycmayorsoffice, @notifynyc & us.

— FDNY (@FDNY) October 30, 2012

Emily Rahimi has emerged as a heroine in Superstorm Sandy’s wake. As social media manager for the New York Fire Department's Twitter account, she tweeted messages of comfort in response to New Yorker’s in peril from Monday night as the storm approached until 6 p.m. Tuesday.

"You could see the panic and fear in the words they were typing," said Rahimi to Firehouse News. "People were so scared they were reaching out to anyone they thought might listen. It really struck a chord with me. I tried to help them as best as I could."

As callers jammed 911 (despite Mayor Bloomberg’s constant plea to use 311 for non-life threatening issues), Rahimi responded to every tweet, “took their information and called our dispatchers myself to make sure they sent an emergency crew."Continue reading...

Here's to the many brands that have been stepping up in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's devastation on the U.S., providing everything from money to food to power and their employees, products and services to help disaster relief efforts. A partial list of charitable first-responders follows (and if we miss any, please let us know in the comments):

AT&T will extend late-payment windows for wireless and wireline customers, waive late payment fees and not disconnect services because of non-payment, and in an unprecedented open-network arrangement with T-Mobile, will enable roaming to customers of both companies in the impacted areas. AT&T wireless customers can make a $10 donation (up to $50) for Hurricane Sandy relief by texting to relief organizations. AT&T and T-Mobile also joined forces on a wireless roaming agreement, while Verizon Wireless is offering free charging for all cellphones.Continue reading...

According to the company's press release, "Anheuser-Busch will begin packaging 44,000 cases of emergency drinking water – or 1,056,000 cans – this week for residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy and other natural disasters. More than 4,000 cases of canned water are already en route to Anheuser-Busch distributors Harrison Beverage in Pleasantville, N.J., and Ritchie & Page Distributing in Robbinsville, N.J., and will be available to American Red Cross and other local disaster relief organizations later today. More than 10,000 cases have been requested for Brooklyn, N.Y., alone.

The Anheuser-Busch Foundation also announced a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross to assist in on-the-ground support for disaster relief workers and victims of Hurricane Sandy. "The devastation left by Hurricane Sandy is significant, and we hope our donation will bring some relief to those impacted by the storm, especially those hardest hit in New Jersey and New York," said Margarita Flores, VP of Community Affairs at Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch is the founding sponsor of the American Red Cross Ready Rating Program through a $2.1 million grant. Ready Rating is a program that helps businesses, schools and organizations become prepared for disasters and other emergencies. Anheuser-Busch continues to support Ready Rating by encouraging businesses, schools and organizations to familiarize themselves with the Ready Rating Program to help ensure the safety of their teams. Helping communities cope with disasters has been an Anheuser-Busch tradition since 1906 when the company made a donation to victims of the San Francisco earthquake.

Today, in addition to providing monetary support, Anheuser-Busch packages fresh drinking water and donates it to emergency relief organizations for distribution to those in need. Since 1988, Anheuser-Busch has donated more than 71 million cans of emergency drinking water following natural and other disasters."

Turns out Gen Y is “greatly misunderstood, and for those looking to connect with them — whether a political campaign or a consumer brand – it is critical to understand that Gen Y cares deeply about the world around them, even if they have their own unique ways of expressing it,” according to Joe Kessler, President, The Intelligence Group, whose latest survey was just released.

“Generation Y: Slacktivism or Social Consciousness?” finds that Millennials are not only socially aware but also uniquely positioned, as digital natives, to meaningfully impact the world of today.Continue reading...

It took years of work and sacrifice to win seven straight Tours de France, but it only took a minute for all seven to be taken off the record of the now-disgraced Lance Armstrong.

The announcement finally came Monday morning that cycling’s governing body, the International Cycling Union (which couldn't catch Armstrong red-handed through 218 tests) was erasing the famed rider’s slate since there was plenty of evidence that Armstrong himself hadn’t exactly been clean during his cycling days, and was banning him for life from competing in the sport.

The man who made the Nike anti-doping commercial above has denied it vehemently, of course, but his fellow riders have one by one decided to talk about what they saw him do and how they were, well, Strongarmed into cooperating, as the New York Times reported in a damning recap of their testimony.In the wake of the ICU decision, one of Armstrong's last remaining sponsors — Oakley — announced it's severing ties with the cyclist.Continue reading...

Today is Génifique Day (formerly Genes Day), a one-day national event benefitting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and Lancôme will donate $7 from in-store or online sales of select Génifique products to St. Jude. Last year’s events and activities helped raise over $300,000 in support of lifesaving research and treatment.

"Our three-year partnership stands as a testament to Lancome's commitment to supporting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, an organization that shares many of our core values," says Serge Jureidini, president of Lancome USA, in a press release.

Lancome, the world's largest luxury beauty brand, sold at 2,000 counters across the U.S., applied ten years of research to Genifique, introduced in 2009, which “re-plumps, refines and re-illuminates the skin as if infused with life.” Fans of the product include "Mad Men" actress Christina Hendricks, Lancome ambassadress Julia Roberts, British songbird Lily Allen, supermodel Veronica Webb and star makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury.

Making it easy for people to spread awareness of Genifique Day, the Lancome Facebook page is inviting users to create and share photo booth photo strips about “occasions when they feel their best.”Continue reading...