Search

This article is sponsored by Procter & Gamble 

For more than five decades, Pride Month has brought millions of LGBTQ+ individuals, advocates and allies together to celebrate the impact of the LGBTQ+ community. But as the world grapples with COVID-19, the past two Pride Months have certainly looked different. 

Many in the LGBTQ+ community continue to face unique challenges as a result of the pandemic, including loss of livelihoods, lack of access to critical life-affirming healthcare, increased domestic violence and social isolation with the closure of local community services. LGBTQ+ individuals are more likely than the general population to live in poverty and lack access to adequate medical care, paid medical leave and basic necessities. In addition, a disproportionate number of LGBTQ+ people work in restaurants, retail, arts and entertainment, and education — industries impacted greatly by COVID-19. 

Plus, Pride Month is typically a critical time to raise funds to support LGBTQ+ organizations year-round, which can be impacted when events are canceled. 

At P&G, we believe in leading with love, the power of our differences, and the impact our brands and company can make when we come together united by shared values and purpose.  When we act as a force for good and a force for growth, there is a positive impact not only for our business, but for the communities we serve. After the year that it’s been, there has never been a more critical to find new ways to reach LGBTQ+ people, raise their visibility, and reaffirm our commitment to equality and inclusion while helping those that need it most. 

Can’t Cancel Pride 

For the past two years, P&G and iHeartRadio have joined forces for Can’t Cancel Pride, a virtual relief benefit that brings together some of the biggest names in culture and entertainment to raise funds and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. In 2020, we were able to donate more than $4 million to six LGBTQ+ organizations: GLAAD, SAGE, National Black Justice Coalition, The Trevor Project, CenterLink and OutRight Action International.  

This year’s event, which can be viewed through June 30, demonstrated that nothing can cancel the heart of Pride and the spirit that the LGBTQ+ equality movement embodies while focusing on the issues that continue to impact the LGBTQ+ community, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Hosted by Bebe Rexha and on-air personality Elvis Duran, the hour-long event also featured performances and appearances from Demi Lovato, Elton John, Jojo Siwa, Leslie Odom Jr., Lil Nas X and more. Our goal is to raise even more support than last year's event, as the pandemic continues to have a damaging effect on the fundraising efforts that LGBTQ+ organizations rely on to survive — and we’re proud to share that since the program premiered on June 4, we have already surpassed last year’s donations.  

Can’t Cancel Pride may have initially been created to drive visibility and support for the LGBTQ+ community impacted by COVID-19, but the truth is, this community faces complex and significant obstacles every day, whether we’re in a pandemic or not. 

While this year’s Pride Month features fewer masks and more in-person celebrations, the meaning and purpose behind advocating for and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community is just as, if not more, important. 

Be seen, be heard, be proud

LGBTQ+ inclusion is expanding every day in the media landscape, but not in advertising. A recent study found that only 1.8 percent of characters in ads at the Cannes Lions festival were LGBTQ+. What people see and hear in media and advertising impacts decisions made in schools, hospitals, boardrooms, newsrooms, courtrooms, homes and at the voting polls. Simply put, there is still significant work that needs to be done to ensure that companies and brands are including LGBTQ+ people in their ads and marketing to the LGBTQ+ community in authentic, positive and impactful ways.

That’s why we teamed up with GLAAD to launch The Visibility Project, a new campaign to drive and sustain LGBTQ+ inclusion in ads and marketing and to leverage the power of these mediums to accelerate LGBTQ+ acceptance. With The Visibility Project, P&G will commit more than $1 million over the next three years and partner with GLAAD to bring together the world’s top brands and ad agencies working to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion in media by creating and providing tools, techniques, and resources for industry executives to inspire other communities, companies, and organizations to harness the power of advertising to create a more inclusive world. The Association of National Advertisers’ Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM) is also working with us to expand The Visibility Project and create LGBTQ+ resources for the greater ad industry.

If you can’t be seen, you can’t be heard — and there’s no doubt that media and advertising affect perceptions, culture and ultimately, how people see each other and themselves. While we can see progress in many areas, we still have work to do. My hope is that as more brands and businesses meaningfully engage in supporting equality and inclusion, the experience of equality and the feeling of belonging are achievable for all. 

Learn more about joining The Visibility Project.

This article is sponsored by Procter & Gamble 

Image credits: Unsplash/Norbu Gyachung and Procter & Gamble 

(Image: T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announces the winners of the 2019 Changemaker Challenge, a nationwide contest that mobilizes young leaders with seed money and mentorship.) 

From globally organized protests to individual acts of courage that spark national dialogue, the efforts of young leaders and activists have commanded attention around the globe in recent years. The power of youth-led solutions to address the world’s most pressing issues has not only garnered headlines, but it has also led to meaningful conversation and targeted action on topics as varied as climate change legislation, economic inequality and racial justice. 

That’s what two seemingly unrelated issues — sustainable agriculture and healthcare equity — have in common: They’re the focus of Aqua-Pods and Medicine Encompassed, two organizations started by young leaders who were recently named winners of the 2021 Changemaker Challenge, a nationwide contest sponsored by T-Mobile, the T-Mobile Foundation, and Ashoka that mobilizes youth who have trailblazing ideas on how to change the world for good with seed money and mentorship. 

Challenge as opportunity

When Aarushi Wadhwa was in 7th grade, she made a connection that would lead her to found a water conservation startup that helps community farmers across the globe. After learning in science class about diffusion and osmosis, she noticed that she and her classmates, who volunteered to water campus greenery as part of the school’s environmental club, were unintentionally overwatering plants. Gallons and gallons of water used to moisten the soil around trees, for example, were actually evaporating into the air. This overwatering was wasting water and also killing plants.

“I did research and realized that overwatering is actually a global problem,” said Wadhwa, now a rising high-school senior. “Once I realized how big of an issue it is, I knew I had to do something about it.” 

After building a team of fellow teens from local schools in San Jose, California, and beta testing an initial product, Aqua-Pods was born. Aqua-Pods is a plant-based, biodegradable sponge filled with pre-curated natural fertilizer that combats water waste and leads to more fertile soil. It is placed around the periphery of the root of a plant to deliver water and nutrients. “Sometimes the simplest thing can make a big difference,” Wadhwa added.

When the pandemic hit, Wadhwa identified an immediate need for her product when she learned that people were tending their community gardens less due to stay-at-home orders, and therefore plants were not getting the water they needed. This was of particular concern in water scarcity-prone areas, so she decided to donate Aqua-Pods to international efforts in Nairobi, Kenya, and New Delhi, India, through partnerships with existing on-the-ground organizations.

A similar can-do attitude is clear in what Aliza Lopez and Gael Gonzalez-DeLaLuz have created in response to the lack of diversity in the medical field. They started Medicine Encompassed, a student-run nonprofit organization working to solve the problem of underrepresentation in medicine, to highlight the inequities and underrepresentation of all minorities in the medical field and prepare youth to bridge that gap.

“It’s really important for us to include diverse perspectives in the medical profession,” said co-founder Gonzalez-DeLaLuz, a rising junior in high school in New Brunswick, New Jersey. “We need to level that playing field.”

Collaborative from the start

Gonzalez-DeLaLuz and Lopez met in 6th grade and have considered themselves a dynamic duo ever since. Having collaborated on projects in the past that integrated their inherent love for the sciences, they decided to launch Medicine Encompassed last year after discovering something else they had in common. As first-generation, low-income students who speak a language other than English at home, both have visited hospitals with family members on multiple occasions, finding themselves unable to communicate with doctors due to the language barrier.

With the rise of the pandemic last year, which disproportionately affected people of color, they saw their mission as more important than ever.

Medicine Encompassed increases access to medical careers for underrepresented minorities and students from low-income backgrounds. Offering free medical career readiness resources on their website, the Medicine Encompassed community includes 1,500 members from 50 U.S. states and 35 countries around the world. All of the educational resources provided online are sourced from and shared with their community.

“One thing I’ve been surprised with is our output,” said Lopez, also a rising high-school junior in New Brunswick. “We’ve managed to produce over 500 articles, resources and supplemental worksheets in one year. I think two heads are better than one, and this [has been] accelerated by having an entire community. What started with two people has expanded to thousands of people around the world.”  

This level of collaboration is inherent in the work of this generation, dubbed Generation Z. 

Wadhwa, who has partnered with everything from local nurseries to Starbucks to maintain a steady supply of natural fertilizer ingredients for her product, views collaboration as a key tenet of Aqua-Pods  success. Through various events and international collaborations, Aqua-Pods has reached approximately 2,500 people with information about the global water crisis. Along with providing a product that supports water conservation, she and her team of fellow high-schoolers share educational materials on over and under-watering with the hopes of inspiring people to take water-saving steps in their own communities. 

Going global

Wadhwa, Gonzalez-DeLaLuz and Lopez view their recent Changemaker Challenge win as just the start of what they hope to contribute to their respective causes.

Already thinking of her role in addressing the global water crisis, Wadhwa hopes to turn Aqua-Pods into a scalable solution for all agricultural market segments — from house plants to commercial nurseries and farms around the world.

Gonzalez-DeLaLuz and Lopez are thinking big, too. They are planning the first Medicine Encompassed virtual conference, a four-day global event later this summer featuring a series of panels aimed at further educating its community on different careers in medicine and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

“We are a global community,” Gonzalez-DeLaLuz said.

Even more, these winners know their global scope demonstrates that age is not an obstacle for young leaders, but an asset.

“Age does not define impact,” Lopez added. “Regardless of how old or young you are, you can still pave an avenue to create impact in your community as long as you have the capability to do so. Winning this challenge says a lot about how much we are able to do in spite of our age.”

This article series is sponsored by T-Mobile and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team. 

Images courtesy of T-Mobile, Aqua-Pods and Medicine Encompassed 

As space exploration becomes commonplace and more sophisticated space equipment is set to soar above Earth, therein grows the risk of more space junk coming back to the planet’s surface. At last count, there are more than 3,000 satellites orbiting the planet. Meanwhile, more rockets have been launched into space, and we’re not far away from the private sector starting trips into outer space on a regular basis.

For a while it may be only the wealthiest who can afford decadent trips aboard spacecraft, but concern over space junk and what that means for the planet keeps increasing. And no, we’re not talking about billionaires’ unwanted gadgets being tossed out of some random spacecraft’s cargo hatch. With more rockets being launched and more outdated satellites living out their usefulness, there is a greater chance, even if very slim, that space debris could become a problem – witness the attention given earlier this year when many let out a sigh of relief after a Chinese rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean instead of a nearby continent.

Now a coalition wishes to get ahead of space junk before it comes anywhere close to becoming a problem.

A group of organizations including the World Economic Forum (WEF) recently developed the Space Sustainable Rating (SSR), which seeks to get a handle on space junk. The standards seek to ensure that future – and more numerous – outer space missions launch, orbit and return to Earth safely and sustainably.

Organizations involved in space exploration will be able to measure their missions’ responsibility and safety based on several factors including data sharing, their missions’ choices of orbit, steps they take to avoid collisions, how they will decommission satellites once they are no longer useful and finally, how well such missions will be monitored and identified from Earth.

The SSR initiative took two years to develop, with input coming from WEF, the European Space Agency (ESA) as well as a team that included the Space Enabled Research Group within the MIT Media Lab, the engineering firm BryceTech and the University of Texas at Austin.

SSR comes in the wake of other plans to de-clutter Earth’s orbit. For example, the ESA has in the works a mission that will clean up some space junk in 2025, to be completed through a partnership with the Swiss startup ClearSpace.

It’s true that for now, the risk of space debris hitting an urban area are less than very slim. Nevertheless, concern for what could happen if such an event occurred does have precedent: A nuclear-powered satellite belonging to the Soviet Union that crashed in a remote area of Canada in 1978 left behind radioactive debris that resulted in environmental remediation costs of more than $11 million. Canada asked the Soviet Union’s government to pay for that cleanup project; reportedly the Canadian government received less than half that amount.

Hence any environmental risk is matched by reputational risk should a company’s property cause mayhem here on Earth at ground level. Sure, international space law in theory protects you if an obsolete satellite or wayward rocket lands on your property, but the reimbursement process isn’t as seamless as filing a claim with your homeowner’s insurance policy. “Basically, if a piece of space junk from China landed on your house, your own country's government would make a claim for compensation through diplomatic channels and then pay you,” wrote Timiebi Aganaba for Salon earlier this month, adding: “if they chose to make the claim at all.”

Image credit: Bill Jelen/Unsplash

They’ve long had a vegetarian menu, have had on- and off- and then on-again flirtations with potatoes, and thereby considering the fast food industry’s overall reputation, Taco Bell locations have long been the plant-based go-to choice for many vegetarians and even vegans.

While other chains have hopped aboard the plant-based filling bandwagon, Taco Bell has been one notable holdout, though evidence suggests that is changing with some of the brand’s recent dalliances, such as a recent one with Beyond Meat.

Now Taco Bell has taken another step in its plant-based dance, this time with a pilot that just wrapped up, literally, in Orange County with its popular chalupa menu item.

In case you don’t know what a chalupa is, that is understandable, as the editorial board did not know either and therein the team undertook some extensive research. For Taco Bell, a chalupa is a fried flatbread, similar to  Navajo fried bread or funnel cake, only it’s curved like a gringo hard-shell taco and packed with fillings of your choice. And for those on a keto or high-protein kick, there’s another option available at times, one for which the fried shell is made of chicken meat and the fillings include cheese, vegetables and sauces. Think of it as an inside-out taco, only that it truth it really isn’t.

“Oh, those? They are made from fried masa (cornmeal) and then filled with whatever,” said a Mexican-American friend of 3p in an email exchange. “Pretty sure they are originally from Oaxaca in the south, but maybe another state, and while they are supposed to be boat-shaped, they are usually flat, like an American-style tostada.”

If Google Translate is your phrasebook of choice, you’ll find the English translation for chalupa,  as in “shallop,” which is a light sailboat generally only used in shallow waters.

Okay, so what does all this history have to do with potential plant-based options at Taco Bell? Bottom line, the company has been testing out a plant-based chalupa shell made from pea protein. So, if you want that protein fix from a chicken shell but wish to have none of the guilt, there is a chance this could be a future menu item at a Taco Bell near you.

For now, this American Vegetarian Association-approved fake chicken, pea protein, plant-based taco shell was only available until yesterday, June 27 (or until they ran out) at a location in Irvine, California (the one off the 405 and the 55, near the Costco). As of press time, the company has not committed to a company-wide rollout for this or other new plant-based protein items, but in a press release the company said it “remains excited about teaming up with Beyond Meat” as it considers ideas for new menu items.

Image credit: Taco Bell

The effects of the decades-long systematic denial of mortgages to people of color, called redlining, are undeniably visible across the country. One effect has been the persistence of poverty in predominantly Black communities across the United States. Another is a distinct lack of tree cover in these communities. For the first time, the inequality in neighborhood vegetation has been quantified through the Tree Equity Score, developed by the nonprofit conservation organization American Forests.

Assessing nearly 500 municipalities representing more than 70 percent of the U.S. population, staff at American Forests found that neighborhoods consisting mostly of people of color have an average of one-third less tree canopy than majority white communities.

What’s the issue with tree equity, or lack thereof?

The prevailing problem with having too few trees in an urban area is the heat. Some neighborhoods have so much exposed concrete absorbing sunshine that they become heat islands, which can be up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than nearby areas with natural cover. One study found that urban heat islands can experience warming up to twice as strong as that caused by global warming.

In the face of elevating heat, the Tree Equity Score opens new opportunities for effective planting. Its tally puts an exact number on the trees needed to achieve equity amongst neighborhoods, leading to better health and livability. American Forests has calculated a total of 522 million trees needed nationwide, but not planted just anywhere. The online, publicly-accessible map shows exactly where cities need to plant trees — the goal, after all, is community uplift through equity.

“We don’t just need more trees in America’s cities. We need tree equity,” Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests, told Fast Company.

500 million trees create four million jobs

How exactly would the nation benefit from planting over 500 million trees? American Forests outlined the benefits, including over nine million tons of carbon absorbed each year, equivalent to 92 million cars removed from the road. Communities across the nation would be able to mitigate over 56,000 tons of particle pollution each year as well, the organization announced in a press release.

As communities and cities, regions and states set about planting trees, they would create almost four million jobs in the process, American Forests estimated, notably in neighborhoods that tend to have the highest unemployment rates.

Putting a monetary value on savings, the nonprofit claims urban tree equity would save the nation over $5 billion each year through the climate, air quality and water services trees provide, not to mention an appreciation in property values (which could result in more Black Americans build intergenerational wealth, long denied to many families) along with more recreational opportunities.

Cities are putting the tree database to use

Some cities are already leading the way to greater equity through green infrastructure. Earlier this year, with support from the new data, Phoenix became the first city in the U.S. to pledge to achieve tree equity. Scores, such as the one available on the American Forests site, helped persuade the city council to take that step in April. As a whole, Phoenix has a Tree Equity Score of 80 out of 100, but individual communities can vary from 83 to 26.

Tucson is also leading the way by using tree equity to guide investments in urban forestry and stormwater management, American Forests reported. Phoenix and Tucson were among the pilot cities for the Tree Equity Score.

How can other cities follow Arizona’s lead? With applications from planning to fundraising to policymaking, the Tree Equity Score gives detailed insight into each census block group within a metropolitan area, as American Forests notes on its website. One block group in Phoenix’s Avondale community, for example, has a score of 29. Factoring into that score include a canopy cover of three percent (with an 18 percent goal), a high number of children, a 16 percent unemployment rate, high temperatures and poverty. Just east of that block group, still in Avondale, neighbors enjoy a score of 85, with nine percent canopy cover, two percent unemployment, lower temperatures and minimal poverty.

American Forests has recommended that localities use the nonprofit’s detailed Tree Equity Scores to estimate and compare the climate and health impacts of different planting scenarios. Each city, community and neighborhood are different, needing a unique strategy for planting. In a press release, American Forests names Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Philadelphia among the cities that would benefit the most from taking action on tree equity.

Image credit: Jimmy Conover/Unsplash

In another sign that the great pivot to net-zero emissions is well under way, the legacy aerospace and defense contractor Rolls-Royce Holdings has just announced a raft of new programs aimed at bringing down the carbon footprint of its products. The company’s ramped-up focus on clean technology could also make a significant impact on the global aviation sector as well as other hard-to-decarbonize industries.

A shift toward net-zero

Recently, Roll-Royce announced that it is firming up its decarbonization goals over multiple branches of the company. The latest Rolls-Royce announcement reflects the diversity of its operations, and its potential ability to interconnect with other sectors to accelerate the global net zero movement.

For example, Rolls Royce is currently developing a more efficient, next-generation version of its large-scale Trent XWB aircraft engine, with the expectation that the improvement will help make sustainable aviation fuels more economical, more quickly.

On its power systems business, Rolls Royce has also launched a microgrid system that can apply to industrial processes, and it is part of a small nuclear reactor (SMR) consortium that aims to decarbonize entire cities of up to 1 million people.

Meeting the expectations for next-level sustainability

Improvements in aircraft engines (such as the one pictured above) and nuclear reactors may (or may not) be a necessary part of the global net zero journey, but they also represent modifications of existing technology in which shortcomings have already been exposed.

Bio-based aircraft fuels, for example, raise food supply and land use issues that have become even more fraught as the climate crisis worsens and a global biodiversity implosion looms.

In a similar vein, the emerging cybercrime crisis has highlighted vulnerabilities in the security of nuclear energy, exacerbating public fears about nuclear accidents and firming up local opposition to new nuclear power plants.

Though wind and solar projects may still attract local opposition, and routes for new transmission lines may also be matters of contention, those technologies do not carry the kind of cultural freight that conventional biofuel farming and nuclear energy have accumulated.

Accordingly, Rolls-Royce says it is also focusing on the parts of its business that could take advantage of the falling costs of wind and solar power. Some of its projects have already moved beyond the demonstration phase to enter the commercial market.

“We are investing in battery storage technology, demonstrating fuel cells and building a leading position in all-electric and hybrid-electric flight,” the company explains.

All-electric flight is still in the early stages, but the company has set a goal of more than 100 miles of flight on a single charge.

In addition, Rolls-Royce has built a new zero-emission fuel cell demonstrator project at its Friedrichshafen plant. The new demonstrator is designed to proof stationary power sources that could be used for emergency backup power, or to restart a system that has gone completely offline, in addition to serving as a main power source.

Turning the R&D ocean liner around

Rolls-Royce currently lists 50 percent of its gross R&D spending on “lower and net-zero carbon technologies,” and the new pledge will boost that total upward by 75 percent in less than five years, by 2025.

That will help bring Rolls-Royce’s own operations down to zero-emission status by 2030, according the company.

A far more challenging task is reducing the impact of Rolls Royce products across other segments of its business. That area is more formidable, partly because of the company’s role in the military sector where both performance and logistics are twin priorities that can present hurdles to new technologies. Nevertheless, the company has pledged to make its future combat-grade systems compatible with net-zero goals in only two years.

The maturing of a zero-emission military market could make an enormous difference in the rate of global decarbonization. The U.S. Department of Defense is legendary for its lavish spending on R&D, and in recent years that has included copious spending on new solar cells, energy storage systems, and other aspects of clean technology.

Rolls-Royce’s net-zero plans stand to gain from its military contracts in the U.S. Though domestic firms like GM are better known as suppliers to the U.S. military, Rolls-Royce also plays a key role. As of Fiscal Year 2020, the company ranked 36th in a field of 100 top U.S. Department of Defense's preferred contractors.

With Rolls-Royce firmly planting its feet in decarbonization mode, look for more legacy transportation, power systems and defense firms to dive into the net-zero pool.

Image credit: Rolls-Royce/Twitter

While legions of fans already consider the iconic Lego bricks objects of perfection, the company is preparing an upgrade that would maintain the bricks' special locking prowess and improve their sustainability performance.

This week, the Lego Group introduced a prototype brick made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic used to make beverage bottles. 

“We are super excited about this breakthrough,” said Tim Brooks, vice president of environmental responsibility at the Lego Group in a prepared statement. “The biggest challenge on our sustainability journey is rethinking and innovating new materials that are as durable, strong and high quality as our existing bricks – and fit with Lego elements made over the past 60 years. With this prototype we’re able to showcase the progress we’re making.”

Company researchers spent the past three years testing and retesting more than 250 versions of PET materials and other types of plastic to find one to make the perfect brick. The results are bricks that meet what Lego says meet both safety and play requirements, such as that coveted clutch power, which allows the bricks to solidly lock together, according to the company. 

The recycled PET that is the base of these bricks comes from suppliers that adhere to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) protocols for safety and quality. The PET material has been combined with additives to make it more durable.

A one-liter plastic PET bottle provides approximately enough material for 10 Lego bricks with two bumps across and four lengthwise. About 60 billion Lego bricks are produced each year; the world is home to more than 400 billion Lego bricks.

New materials would be a big change for the long-time familiar product. For almost 60 years, a plastic called ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) has been used to make the majority of Lego pieces. ABS provides Lego bricks with their easily-recognizable colors, shine and famous locking ability.

Reworking its brick formula is one aspect of Lego Group’s ongoing sustainability efforts. The company revealed a three-year plan in 2020 to spend up to $400 million on social responsibility and sustainability programs. By 2022, manufacturing operations are expected to be carbon neutral.  The company also has its sights on converting all of its packaging to sustainable materials by the time 2025 ends;  last year plans were announced to start removing single-use plastic from all boxes. And three years ago, LEGO Group began making accessory pieces from bio-polyethylene (bio-PE), developed from sustainably- sourced sugarcane. bio-PE is used for LEGO trees, branches and accessories for mini-figures. 

Existing Lego sets also can get an extended life through the Replay program, which helps owners pass on their used bricks. Donors put their bricks in a box and print out a free shipping label, and put the box in the mail. Lego Group is collaborating with organizations such as Teach for America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston to pass the bricks on to new eager builders.

Recycled plastic bricks are still a long way from hitting the shelves, however. Another round of tests on the new material could take up to a year, the company said. After further assessments, Lego’s team of researchers will decide whether to launch pilot bricks.

“We know kids care about the environment and want us to make our products more sustainable,” noted Lego’s Brooks. “We’re committed to playing our part in building a sustainable future for generations of children. We want our products to have a positive impact on the planet, not just with the play they inspire, but also with the materials we use. We still have a long way to go on our journey but are pleased with the progress we’re making.”

Image credit: Ryan Quintal/Unsplash and Lego

The failed insurrection of January 6 is not the first existential threat faced by American democracy, and it will not be the last for many years to come, with implications for corporate citizens along with everyone else. The attempted bloodless coup continues to spin out in the form of new state-based voter suppression laws that threaten to cement minority rule as a permanent feature. So far, business leaders have stood by to let it happen, but a new movement suggests that they could be stirred into action by motivated consumers.

From bloody insurrection to bloodless coup

The corporate response to the events of January 6 was tepid at first. Although 147 Republican members of Congress publicly supported the insurrection, only a handful of business leaders initially pledged to stop funding their election campaigns.

The violent part of the coup was over by the evening of January 6, but the insurrection continued to spin out as hundreds of new voter suppression laws were introduced in almost every state. More recently, legislation trackers have noted that at least 14 Republican-dominated state legislatures have been taking steps to exert partisan control over the administration of state election offices.

Though some business leaders continued to raise concerns over the looming threat to the democratic process, many others refrained from speaking out publicly, and continued to provide financial support for lawmakers who support insurrection, voter suppression, or both.

The ALEC connection and brand reputation at risk

There is at least one explanation for the sweeping, seemingly coordinated precision of these state-based actions.

Several watchdog groups have noted that ALEC, the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, has been applying its well-known “bill mill” practice to craft state legislation that makes it more difficult for Democratic-leaning voters to cast a ballot. That’s bad news for the brand reputation of ALEC’s remaining corporate members, who were already tarnished earlier this year when reports surfaced that an ALEC-affiliated lawyer was advising Trump on his “election fraud” strategy leading up to the events of January 6.

ALEC’s impact on brand reputation actually dates back years earlier than the failed insurrection. The organization lost many corporate sponsors during the Obama administration, when its hard line stance on gun control and vigilantism encountered growing opposition from grassroots groups like Moms Demand Action. Other leading brands have recently dropped their ALEC membership over the organization’s reputation as a leading opponent of climate action.

Top brands called to account on ALEC and voter suppression

As it turns out, many leading corporations did follow through on their pledges to cut donations to the federal lawmakers who voted in support of the insurrection on the evening of January 6.

However, that still leaves some of those same corporations vulnerable to criticism over their continued support for state lawmakers who sponsor repressive bills.

Publicity surrounding Pride Month has helped to expose that disconnect. Independent journalist Judd Legum has been tracking patterns of corporate donations related to the failed insurrection, and during Pride Month he turned his attention to spotlight 25 top corporations that profess to support Pride Month, and which score high on human rights indexes, but have donated money to state legislators who support anti-trans bills.

Editor's note: Be sure to subscribe to our Brands Taking Stands newsletter, which comes out every Wednesday.

Now a group of more than 300 voting rights organizations has upped the ante.

In a public letter posted last week on yubanet.com, Common Cause, Fair Fight Action and approximately 300 other voting rights organizations called out leading corporations for continuing to fund lawmakers who support repressive state legislations, through their association with ALEC.

One activist behind the letter is Cliff Albright, the executive director and co-founder of Black Voters Matter.

“We have repeatedly said that corporations must stop funding the elected officials who sponsor and vote for voter suppression, and this demand is equally important in regards to conservative groups and think tanks who fuel the Jim Crow-era approach of creating and replicating racist legislation,” Albright said, adding that “Companies are complicit if they are creating a pro-business environment by supporting anti-democratic organizations and policies.”

In addition to posting the letter publicly, the new campaign is sending it individually to a group of top corporations, and to several trade organizations as well. 

A turning point for corporate social responsibility and American democracy

In the past, corporations could safely provide financial support to Republican state law makers, even as they sponsored Pride Month activities, professed to support Black Lives Matter and promoted get-out-the-vote initiatives.

Now that safe space has been shredded by Republican extremists who sponsor legislation that decimates LGBTQ rights, blocks education on structural racism and attempts to silence the votes of anyone who disagrees.

The news media is already taking note of a backlash against right wing authoritarianism by the public in other countries including Russia, China, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Myanmar and Brazil — and some are lumping former president Trump in a similar category.

The new letter organized by Common Cause and others is a warning shot that public opinion in the U.S. is coalescing around the preservation of democracy, not the installation of authoritarian rule via these ongoing bloodless coup attempts.

Corporate citizens who wish to maintain the nation’s reputation as a showcase for both democracy and free enterprise have an opportunity to get ahead of the curve by publicly supporting voting rights organizations with real dollars, not just words.

Image credit: Manny Becerra/Unsplash

Most would assume that someone would have almost nothing to fear in life if that person is 6’ 7”, weighs in at 275 pounds and can run a 40-yard dash in 4.84 seconds. But tell that to Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib, who earlier this week came out as gay on Instagram, becoming the first active NFL player to ever do so.

“Sadly, I have agonized over this moment for 15 years,” Nassib wrote in his public statement. Perhaps it shouldn’t be a shock or headline-grabbing news that an NFL player, or any professional athlete for that matter, comes out as LGBTQ. Then again, one reason why Pride Month is important to many in the LGBTQ community in the first place is to recognize the fact that it was not too long ago when not being straight was something to hide.

To those who still insist that one’s “personal life” should be kept out of the professional world, check in on that belief the next time straight colleagues in the office talk about their families or how they were palling around with their friends over the weekend. On that point, the personal responses of love and support from various athletes and teams to Nassib’s news have been almost more headline-worthy than his very personal announcement itself. Not long ago, there would have been posts with reactions like “I had no idea” or “I’m shocked.”

Editor's note: Be sure to subscribe to our Brands Taking Stands newsletter, which comes out every Wednesday. 

Take the reaction of whoever manages the Raiders’ Twitter feed, which issued a simple, “Proud of you, Carl.” That is a step forward for a team with a history of being far from gifted in public relations — just follow the team’s sordid history of moving from Oakland to Los Angeles then back to Oakland and, now, to southern Nevada.

Of course, the team’s current owner, Mark Davis, for some odd reason had to make the point to ESPN that “it doesn’t change my opinion of him as a Raider.” (Shouldn’t any news be about Nassib anyway, not Mark Davis?)

Davis’ comment is a gentle reminder that we still have a long road ahead until people who identify as LGBTQ feel accepted in any setting. Sure, we are largely past the point at which being LGBTQ is a surprise, but we are still in a reality in which employers are quick to tell the community that “yes, we stand by you,” while donating to political leaders who prefer this community stays in the closet.

We have not quite reached the end of the road. Until then, many LGBTQ employees will still feel as if they need to question whether they can be their true selves in the physical or virtual office. And therein lies a reminder for companies that continue to see Pride Month as more of a public relations opportunity than showing a commitment to making their employees feel welcome and comfortable in the workplace. It’s not a huge ask: Ask them about their experiences, listen to them, let them share their stories and, finally, learn from them.

We’ll wrap up by mentioning Nassib’s $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, an organization that offers free and confidential crisis counseling in its push to prevent suicide by LGBTQ youth. Click here to learn more and to donate to this organization that is saving lives.

Image credit: Daniel Álvasd/Unsplash

More than a year after the murder of George Floyd, we have seen plenty of companies jump on board the racial equity, equality and diversity trains. But according to a recent report issued by The Conference Board, much work lies ahead in closing the racial wealth gap. In a nod to the CEOs who publicly said they have seen the problem and want to address it, the report’s authors say, “Acknowledging the problem is an important step in solving it.”

Nevertheless, the data overwhelming shows that companies, notably those in tech, have a long way to go.

The Conference Board cites statistics that aren’t encouraging. For example, in 2010, Black men on average earned 18 percent less than white men. A decade later, that gap had widened to 24 percent, much of which the report’s authors attribute to the decrease of Black workers in higher-paying sectors and jobs.

The racial wealth gap is even more prominent when looking at the wider tech sector. As we’ve seen in many headlines over the past decade, technology companies have generated a huge increase in top earners. But only 4 percent of those highest income earners in tech are Black Americans, compared to 6 percent across other industries.

The numbers aren’t stacked against all Black Americans. In the smaller tech hubs of Atlanta and Washington, D.C., for example, Black employees in tech who are included within the highest income earners are at a respective 12 and 13 percent of those cities’ total tech workforce. But move farther west, and the numbers crater: 2.3 percent in Austin, 2 percent in San Francisco, 1.6 percent in Seattle and an embarrassing 0.8 percent in the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose. “The tech industry employs relatively few women, Black and Latinx people,” one Bay Area business journal reported this spring. “But Silicon Valley does a worse job than the rest of the country.”

Underrepresentation is in large part what is behind the stubborn racial wealth gap. Tech companies often tend to hire from what they feel are the top U.S. universities, overlooking the potential in hiring from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Apple is one tech giant that says it will tackle this oversight.

The bottom line is that if companies lack the will to hire Black workers, and continue to lose more of them through attrition, the chances are slim that any of them will rise through the ranks and be promoted for jobs with more responsibility and, of course, a more lucrative paycheck.

But as mentioned earlier, geography also plays a part in the racial wealth gap. “The new willingness of firms to hire remote workers could help employers located in areas with small Black populations to recruit and retain Black workers anywhere in the U.S.,” the report’s authors concluded. “As evidence from Washington, D.C. and Atlanta shows, these workers exist. Adjusting the geography of recruitment to target Black workers can make a difference.”

Another way for tech companies to meet their hiring goals is to open offices, or remote hubs, in regions that have a high concentration of Black workers. That could further dismiss the oft-cited myth that “these workers don’t exist.” They do exist and have for a long time. Perhaps it’s a matter of recruiting where they live rather than limiting a search to the metropolitan area surrounding a company’s headquarters.

Finally, this is a time that should be less about setting far-off diversity and inclusion goals and more about tech companies taking a deep look within. If a company is unsure whether pay disparity is a problem, the only way leadership can know for sure is to undertake a pay audit. Completing such an exercise can help locate and correct those salary gaps — tech companies that have already done so include Amazon, Apple, Cisco and Microsoft.

“Without a significant change, racial wage gaps may continue to increase in the coming years,”The Conference Board’s Report concluded. “It will be critical for CEOs to continue to prioritize diversity as a means to close racial wage gaps.”

Image credit: Daniel Thomas/Unsplash