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In the midst of a global pandemic, an economic recession, and a historic racial equity and justice movement, the idea of business-as-usual has become obsolete as many deal with feelings of isolation and concern about the future.     

The workplace itself has become a reflection of the current environment, requiring leaders to reimagine how they strengthen and sustain inclusive work cultures where employees feel like they belong and can thrive, a function typically led by the diversity and inclusion (D&I) teams within a company. 

Researchers at McKinsey and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business have identified belonging as another key component to building true inclusion within companies — and one firm putting those findings into practice is Capital One. This year, Capital One expanded its D&I activities to intentionally include belonging as a core concept, starting with renaming itself the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIB).

“We know our diversity makes us all stronger - more resilient, nimble and innovative,” says Rolddy Leyva, vice president of diversity, inclusion and belonging for Capital One. “Diversity is about who we are. Inclusion is a choice, often made by the person who is including, rather than the person being included. And belonging is about our individual experiences.”

It’s human nature to want to belong: among family, with friends, in your local community and at your workplace. That’s why it's important for companies to create a culture that embraces and celebrates individuality within their organizations.

“It is not enough to have representation. And it's not enough to invite people to the table, especially if those people do not feel welcome, seen, heard or valued,” Leyva added. “Belonging is about creating a culture where individuals feel safe to speak their truth and be their best, most authentic selves. By creating an environment together — where everyone feels a sense of connection, meaning and inspiration — creativity, purpose and impact will be limitless.”

While belonging is not a new concept in diversity and inclusion, there is mounting evidence regarding its importance in the workplace. When workers feel like they belong, companies reap substantial bottom-line benefits. 

For example, in a 2019 survey, professional coaching firm BetterUp found that an increased sense of belonging is linked to a 56 percent increase in job performance, a 50 percent drop in turnover risk, and a 75 percent reduction in sick days. For a 10,000-person company, this would result in annual savings of more than $52 million. Employees with higher workplace belonging also reported a 167 percent increase in willingness to recommend their company to others. They also received double the raises and 18 times more promotions.

Understanding the importance of belonging is what propelled Capital One’s formal shift to DIB earlier this year. Then, when the pandemic hit and over 40,000 Capital One associates were forced to work from home overnight, ensuring employees maintained their sense of belonging while working remotely became a fundamental but challenging task. 

“We’re firm believers that creating space for dialogue encourages greater awareness and understanding among associates," Leyva explained. "As we managed through the pandemic, we decided to enhance our existing DIB programming by weaving in more virtual touchpoints across the company. We also invested in educational programs that empower our leaders to be more inclusive in their day-to-day interactions with their respective teams." 

But just as the organization was adapting its DIB programming to support a near fully remote workforce, the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd ignited a historic global movement for racial equity, justice and inclusion. Leyva and his team responded with powerful, relevant programming that quickly became a cultural touchpoint for the organization. 

In the days after the killing of George Floyd, Capital One organized a company-wide Town Hall event that hosted more than 24,000 associates on the topic of race. It was a defining moment in the company’s DIB journey and the single largest DIB event in its history. Following the success of the Town Hall, two additional discussions on race took place with speakers like Michele Norris of the Race Card Project and Ijeoma Oluo, author of So You Want to Talk About Race. In total, over 50,000 associates participated in one or more of the racial equity and inclusion events that the Capital One DIB team hosted over a seven-week period in June and July, with additional events and resources scheduled throughout the remainder of the year. 

“We saw tens of thousands of associates come together to grow their awareness and understanding of the issues, share their own personal stories, and commit to the work we must all do to achieve our belonging ambitions,” Leyva said. “As we pressed forward on our DIB strategy, our focus to create lasting change remained the same. I believe our efforts have been effective because we’ve coupled strategically bold ideas and powerful programming with thoughtful action and accountability to ensure we achieve our stated diversity, inclusion and belonging ambitions.”

"I don't recall a time when we were able to have such personal conversations so freely,” said one Capital One associate. “I've seen associates become more comfortable with engaging in dialogue while sharing their own vulnerability as the weeks continue on the topic of DIB and allyship. It's been emotional and I'm hopeful for continued social progress.”

Companies are now accepting new responsibilities as champions for change. Adapting your organization’s D&I initiatives to include belonging can be a simple transition with lasting impact. 

To make a step toward progress, Leyva believes that culture starts with you. “Understand where your blinders are, and then take the steps needed to educate yourself,” he advised. “Take inventory of what you know and don’t know. Listen to the voices of others — employees, customers and your communities — and know that by considering their values, attitudes and beliefs within your day-to-day, you are doing the necessary work on the path to creating a culture of belonging.”

This article series is sponsored by Capital One and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: Shane Rounce via Unsplash

U.S. President Donald Trump swept into office on the wings of a simple formula: He provided racists with a bottom-line excuse to cast their vote in his favor. On the campaign trail, he excoriated Mexicans and Muslims while promising to save coal jobs and “make America great again.” That promise of the Trump presidency had fallen flat before the COVID-19 virus hit the U.S., and it rings most hollow in the fossil energy sector as the nation struggles in the grip of the crisis.

Saving all your coal jobs — not

All throughout the 2016 campaign cycle, Trump made bringing back coal jobs the centerpiece of his rhetoric. As coal employment is overwhelmingly white and male, the focus on coal covered both the racial and the bottom-line sides of Trump’s campaign coin.

The rhetoric appealed to a bygone era when structural racism, segregation and Jim Crow laws were considered acceptable by the white majority, but it had no footing in reality. When Trump took office in January 2017, the U.S. population was already trending toward a majority comprised of a diversity made up of ethnic and racial minorities. Meanwhile, the nation was steadily pivoting its energy profile toward renewable resources.

Trump did make some gestures that would seem to force a reversal of course for renewable energy. For example, in June 2017 he announced that the U.S. would pull out of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

However, he ignored the 800-pound gorilla in the room. By the time Trump took office in January 2017, leading global businesses and popular U.S. brands were already advocating vigorously for taking action on climate change through renewable energy and a national net-zero goal. They have continued to leverage their influence all throughout the Trump presidency in their support of clean power trends.

In addition, at least two broadly influential federal agencies, the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense, have continued to support and advocate for clean power throughout Trump’s time in office. To cite just two examples: The Energy Department is promoting a goal of making solar power affordable for all U.S. households by 2025, and the Air Force just announced a call to for public- and private-sector innovators to put the entire Department of Defense on a trajectory toward carbon-negative status.

Overall, the impact on coal employment has been devastating. The Trump presidency has presided over an era of coal power plant closures, mining company bankruptcies, and job losses, a trend that began accelerating even before the COVID-19 crisis gathered force.

The Trump presidency pivot to oil and gas falls flat

Trump himself apparently saw the writing on the coal wall, as evidenced by his State of the Union address on Feb. 5, 2019. With barely more than two years in office behind him, Trump indicated he had given up on the idea of saving coal jobs. In fact, he didn’t mention coal at all.

“We have unleashed a revolution in American energy — the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy,” Trump said.

If Trump’s track record on coal was any indication, oil and gas executives should have begun making alternative plans for the future.

For that matter, oil and gas executives could have taken a cue from the Defense Department’s continued commitment to renewable energy. After all, the agency is the single largest institutional user of oil in the world.

However, the damage is already done. Earlier this week, the news organization Politico drew a portrait of the once-great U.S. oil industry in a state of collapse.

Reporter Ben Lefebvre noted that a wave of bankruptcies began surging in 2019 as global oil prices softened, but that was just a hint of things to come.

“Though some of those industry woes were emerging last year as companies grappled with a glut of oil, people in the business say they were made worse by the president’s trade wars and mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic,” he wrote. “So far least 40 U.S. oil companies have sought bankruptcy protection in 2020 while dozens of others have slashed spending and cut tens of thousands of jobs.”

Ominous signs are also brewing for gas workers. Once touted as a cleaner alternative to coal, natural gas is beginning to lose its footing in the electricity generation market as the cost of wind and solar power continue to fall. The petrochemical market is also beginning to show signs of weakness. Bio-based alternatives, next-generation recycling, and consumer preferences are gathering force and influencing C-suite decision makers, including top executives at BP and other leading oil and gas producers.

In one recent red flag for U.S. gas exporters, the Trump administration’s rollback of regulations for methane emissions has compelled the government of France to question a 20-year, $7 billion liquid natural gas contract brokered by the firm Engie. As reported by Reuters, Trump’s trade policies were also a factor in the government’s reluctance to approve the deal.

Businesses on red alert after four years of Trump

At the beginning of the Trump presidency, U.S. business leaders responded forcefully to his anti-immigrant policies. Unfortunately, the lessons of those first months did not take hold.

Many business leaders have stepped up their voter participation activities during the 2020 election cycle, but aside from a few notable exceptions, they have been reluctant to advocate publicly for booting Trump out of office.

Meanwhile, with his bottom-line case for re-election fading to the background, Trump has doubled down in his appeal to racist voters. He has whipped up white supremacist violence while hurling accusations of widespread voter fraud and threatening to hold office regardless of the results of the election.

The ramped-up racial strategy marking the Trump presidency has also involved the full weight of the federal government under a new Executive Order that effectively halted diversity training among federal agencies and contractors.

The wall of silence may be about to break. Last week, Expensify CEO David Barrett fired off a public letter and emailed it to his company’s 10 million customers, calling out Trump by name and making a powerful bottom-line case for electing his challenger, Joe Biden.

The results of the election may help determine whether or not Barrett’s letter influenced any votes. What the Trump presidency has made certain, though, is that business leaders need to raise their voices more forcefully in support of the democratic process, not just in the run-up to Election Day but in the days and months following.

Image credit: Filip Urban/Unsplash

A small Dutch nonprofit made a big step for ocean health and a circular economy this month. The Ocean Cleanup, which is collecting and repurposing the plastic floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, has created sunglasses from its first catch.

It certainly is one way to raise awareness about the ocean plastic crisis among consumers.

“We chose to make timeless sunglasses as our first product because they are durable, useful and, since we’re dependent on word-of-mouth to spread our mission, we hope that by making something that is often carried around, they can also help create awareness,” The Ocean Cleanup said in a press release.

Sunglasses meant to last, spread awareness and fund ocean cleaning

The sunglasses were made using the nonprofit’s first plastics catch from last December and are meant to be both durable and treasured. Though made from trash, this premium product was designed to be kept forever. The glasses were conceived by industrial designer Yves Béhar and created in Italy by the eyewear company Safilo. Frames are made from certified high-quality plastic. Even if a pair turns out to be neither durable nor treasured, it can be easily disassembled and recycled.

According to The Ocean Cleanup, each pair carries with it a higher purpose to raise awareness and fund further cleanups. A unique QR code on the frame links to the specific story of the plastics used to create it and also enables a lost-and-found feature. This is all possible because the 2019 catch was immediately tracked and audited.

This nonprofit also says it is reinvesting all proceeds to cleaning up more trash from the ocean. Simply selling a single pair, The Ocean Cleanup says, funds clearing 24 football fields of plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Selling all available sunglasses has the potential to clean the equivalent of 500,000 such fields worth of plastic.

Reversing the flow of plastics, catalyzing comprehensive change

The amount of plastic reaching the oceans could nearly triple by 2040, Pew Charitable Trusts and the think tank SystemIQ revealed earlier this year. But if we embrace a circular economy centered on reusing and recycling, plastic pollution could be reduced by 80 percent over the next two decades, according to their the report.

A complete overhaul could cost $600 billion, but procrastinating would cost $70 billion more, Pew estimates.

While The Ocean Cleanup is only a small organization, it aims to collect 90 percent of ocean plastic pollution by 2040 through its cleaning technologies and circular innovations. Of course, it won’t achieve this feat alone, but its fervent example may inspire companies, even industries, to shift their practices.

It’s not always clear what can spur change. Two years ago, plastic straw bans began to sweep the world, partly due to a marine biologist recording and posting the removal of a plastic straw from a turtle’s nose. Eliminating plastic straws may not have been the end-all and be-all for solving pollution, but there’s no calculating the impact increased awareness of the larger plastics crisis had for plastic bag bans, a growing zero-waste lifestyle movement and amplified corporate sustainability commitments.

A long road ahead for ocean cleanup

Stopping the flow of plastic from product to trash to microplastics will certainly require a multi-tiered solution. A "Blue Paper" published this summer by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy emphasized that counteracting ocean pollution effectively will require going upstream to sources like stormwater runoff. One reason The Ocean Cleanup is beginning with the trash gyrating in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is because the plastic already trapped there will simply continue to break down, becoming more of a hazard to ocean life. “Once trapped in a gyre, the plastic will slowly break down into microplastics and become increasingly easier to mistake for food by sea life,” The Ocean Cleanup writes on its website.

This first simple product has been seven years in the making — since the nonprofit was founded by an ambitious college dropout in 2013. If anything, sporting ocean plastic sunglasses will support a persistent effort to both preserve the health of our oceans and reverse the course of our linear economy.

Image credit: The Ocean Cleanup media gallery

Here is something you don’t hear from the mainstream or fringe media about the 2020 election that has profound relevance to all of us as citizens and business leaders. In fact, maybe it is the birth of a new fringe “conspiracy” theory.

Contrary to how divided a nation we seem to be, the majority of Americans, regardless of political party affiliation, do agree on the most pressing issues of our time. Climate change, the environment, social and income inequality, health care, and immigration, are primary. New essential roles are required of the government and the private sector to create positive change.

Addressing these important concerns is paramount to preserving our leadership in the world. It is required in order to sustain an adequate and healthy workforce and work environment. And preserving democracy and our leadership can help spark innovative solutions that will drive government and business investments in technology and human capital for years to come.

The 2020 election, climate change and the environment

In a new survey conducted in August by Resources for the Future and Stanford University, over 80 percent of American adults believe that the climate has warmed over the past 100 years, and that human activity is responsible. Over 65 percent feel that the government and U.S. businesses should do more to deal with global warming.  

In a Pew Research Center survey published in May, 80 percent of Americans agree there should be tougher restrictions on power plant carbon emissions, and 84 percent agree there should be incentives for businesses to develop carbon capture and storage technology and renewable energy sources.

Such overwhelming agreement on climate change and the environment transcends partisan politics and political party affiliation. 

Social and economic inequality

Income inequality leads to greater health problems and social discord, which directly impact on a society’s productivity. In 2019 the World Bank ranked the U.S. as having one of the higher inequalities of wealth distribution in the world.

A Pew Research Center study published in January found that 61 percent of Americans agree that social and economic inequality in the U.S. is a major problem. 81 percent say racial and ethnic discrimination is a problem in the U.S.

American’s overwhelming agreement on the need to pursue greater racial, social and economic equality transcends partisan politics and political party affiliation.

Healthcare and why it’s important for an efficient workforce

Access to affordable health care is critical to a functional society and high-performing workforce - it's also been one of the more important issues to voters in the 2020 election as this pandemic takes it toll.

According to a Commonwealth Fund Healthcare poll conducted in June, months into the COVID-19 pandemic, 74 percent of Americans – 81 percent of those who vote more with Democrats and 65 percent of citizens who vote more in alignment with Republicans – agree that all Americans should have the option of securing health insurance coverage through government-regulated and -subsidized health plans when other options are not available or unaffordable.

Such overwhelming agreement on the government’s responsibility for assuring that all Americans have access to health care coverage transcends partisan politics and political party affiliation.

Immigration must be fixed

Although the majority of Americans support a temporary ban on immigration to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, according to a recent Gallup poll, 77 percent of Americans agree that immigration makes the U.S. stronger. Only 19 percent believe that immigration is bad for the country.

The data make it clear: Americans’ consensus on immigration policy transcends partisan politics and political party affiliation.

Americans’ perception of the direction of the U.S.

According to the most recent polls compiled by Real-Clear Politics, only 30 percent of Americans agree that the country is headed in the right direction.

62 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Lack of government action that aligns with majority positions on the issues can be considered a major cause.

What can we do about it?

If you are passionate about one or more of the issues that most Americans agree on, and you believe that the essence of our democracy is majority rule, be sure you vote in the 2020 election if you haven’t done so yet. It is imperative for citizens to vote in this election and again in the 2022 mid-term elections. Vote for federal, state and regional candidates who will enact legislation that represents the positions of a majority of Americans.

We can make change happen when we choose to vote. In addition to practicing good corporate stewardship, the most important thing we in business can do is to assure that majority rule indeed drives the U.S. legislative agenda, which will take us on a path. With our legislators and private sector aligned we will experience sustainable economic growth while embracing the environmental and social challenges we face as a nation united.

Image credit: Shutterstock

In the past two years, two large global cities - Chennai in India and Cape Town in South Africa - nearly ran out of water. The day when the water was predicted to run out was dubbed “Day Zero.” Both cities managed to avoid the catastrophe, but the crises brought a couple of huge challenges to the forefront: more than one city in the world is balancing on the razor’s edge of water availability, and low-income communities will struggle the most when clean water becomes scarce.

Water scarcity in the 21st century

As many other cities around the world will experience in the future, both Chennai and Cape Town were hit by a perfect storm of droughts, climate change and disorderly water management. In 2018 and 2019, Cape Town and Chennai, respectively, had each gone through three consecutive years without adequate rain. And while climate change is making droughts around the world more likely and more intense, both of the situations would never have been become so dire they had employed better water management. Disjointed management of resources and ineffective water management are not just a problem for cities in developing countries – such a challenge affects cities across the economic spectrum.

In many cities around the world, including ones located in the U.S., unchecked urban growth is leading to increasing stress on water utilities and infrastructure. Coupled with climate change, it’s a recipe for disaster. For example, the western U.S. - a region undergoing explosive population growth - has reached levels of water stress considered to be a megadrought. With water infrastructure already in bad shape, governments and the private sector - industries and investors - will need to be creative about how they make water supplies sustainable and resilient into the future.

Water scarcity has the harshest impact on the world’s poor

Wealthier cities and communities generally have the resources to access water. But the impending Day Zero for Cape Town highlighted just how severe the dividing line is between rich and poor in the South African city of over four million people. The wealthy were able to hire companies to dig boreholes or to order household desalination systems, and they could continue to fill their swimming pools. The poor had to wait hours in line and hope that the government was able to provide some clean water at a reasonable price so they wouldn’t have to decide between clean water and food.

In both Cape Town and Chennai, the crisis was averted, due in large part to civic leaders taking emergency action and the cities’ citizens changing their habits. Nevertheless, such emergencies shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Now is the time to improve water management practices and invest in sustainable water solutions, before the next drought and water crises hit.

Ecolab’s commitment to clean water

Ecolab is one company working on the ground in India to build economic and community resilience through smart water management in a way that engages local communities. The company has partnered with Water.org to improve access to clean water for 100,000 people living in poverty in India. The organizations’ partnership focuses their efforts around social responsibility, accessibility and water quantity.

Meredith Englund, Ecolab’s Vice President of Water Partnerships, said that with its smart water management for companies, the company knew they wanted to partner with an organization like Water.org. The NGO seeks to make equitable access to water possible through microfinancing in local communities, the results of which can enable investments in both rain catchment systems and toilets for homes or communities.

Ecolab says it will bring those loans to scale. “By supporting the ability of individuals, families and communities to invest in their own infrastructure solutions,” Englund said, “we feel confident that our support is leading to solutions that are both relevant for the local context and sustainable and scalable over time.” The program gives communities an active role in making their water systems more resilient.

In addition to climate change, water management and infrastructure woes, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of equitable access to clean water to the forefront. While bringing loans to communities, Ecolab says it will also contribute 100 million liters of water to watersheds subject to high stress across India.  

Water is a complex, hyper-local issue, but investments and partnerships can help bring more innovative solutions that can address the myriad of water scarcity challenges that civic leaders need to address. Engaging with low-income communities to ensure input into, and ownership of solutions, together provide an essential cornerstone of ensuring all citizens have access to clean water.

Image credit: Tobias Fischer/Unsplash

The business expense management firm Expensify touched off a media firestorm last week, when CEO David Barrett sent an email that reportedly reached all of the company’s 10 million customers with a powerful get-out-the-vote message. Expensify also shared the message on its website and social media. Corporate action in support of voter engagement is nothing new, but the Barrett email went one giant step forward, by specifically urging voters to boot President Trump out of office.

When not voting for Joe Biden and democracy is not an option

Barrett’s advocacy for presidential candidate Joe Biden has touched a nerve with some critics.

However, that misses the point. In his message, Barrett makes no case for supporting Biden from a policy or party loyalty perspective. Instead, he makes a compelling case for preventing Trump from achieving another four-year term in office.

His argument is a simple one. There is no strong third-party candidate in 2020, so it all boils down one person, and Biden happens to be it. He is the one - and the only one - who can prevent Trump from serving as the U.S. president for another four years, or longer as the case may be.

As Barrett emphasizes, there are other ways to not vote for Trump. Writing in a candidate, voting third party, or not voting at all are options, too.

Nevertheless, if the goal is to prevent a second Trump term, then the only action that matters is casting a vote for the candidate named Biden. It’s as simple as that.

The bottom line, existential case for Biden and democracy

Of course, the message is an empty one unless Barrett can convey just why it is so important to keep Trump out of the White House after his first term expires.

Barrett could cite a litany of Trump policies that have harmed businesses, especially those in the tech sector, from immigration bans to a new executive order that places onerous restrictions on diversity training. Withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change also puts domestic businesses at a disadvantage as the global marketplace pivots to sustainable technology.

However, Barrett is careful to steer clear of Trump’s policies or experience when making his case, just as he is when referencing Biden.

Instead, his case against Trump rests on the argument that the President poses an existential, bottom-line threat to Expensify, its customers, and other U.S. businesses.

The evidence consists of the president’s own words before and during the 2020 Election cycle, in which he calls into question the very bedrock of democracy: the peaceful transfer of power after an election.

Concurrently, Trump has fostered an environment that encourages intimidation by gangs of armed thugs, who identify as “militia.” That includes encouraging his followers to act as unauthorized poll watchers.

In addition, the current president has repeatedly lied to his followers about his prospects for winning, and has encouraged them to believe that anything other than a Trump victory is a fraudulent outcome.

All of this contributes to the fear, held by Barrett and many others, that widespread violence will break out during Election Day on November 3 and perhaps continue indefinitely.

“Expensify depends on a functioning society and economy; not many expense reports get filed during a civil war,” Barrett emphasizes.

The last word on voter suppression from Expensify

In addition to citing bottom line concerns, Barrett offers an additional, policy-neutral framework for understanding the 2020 election.

He frames it as a referendum on voter suppression, stating that “this election will decide if widespread voter suppression is an acceptable governing tactic.”

“A vote for Trump is to endorse voter suppression, it really is very basic. This isn’t about party politics: if Biden were advocating for half of the voter suppression that Trump is actively doing, then I'd be fighting against Biden, too,” he explains. “This is bigger than politics as usual: this is about the very foundation of our nation.”

Like others who are concerned about Election Day violence, Barrett advocates for the highest possible voter turnout. The thinking is that a Biden victory of overwhelming proportions would counteract any attempt by Trump to thwart the will of the voters through the courts. A wide margin of victory would also help put a damper on any Trump supporters who are planning murder, mayhem, and domestic terrorism.

In that regard, Barrett’s message is not much different than conventional get-out-the-vote efforts supported by business leaders.

After all, these efforts are intended to express the will of the voters to the fullest extent possible, regardless of party policy.

Examples from the 2020 election cycle abound, including the NBA’s offer of arenas for polling places, Levi’s public outreach campaign, and Business for America’s “Time to Vote” campaign, which advocates for companies to provide paid time off for voting.

The only real difference is that Barrett has said the quiet part out loud.

“As CEO of this business, it’s my job to plot a course through any storm -- and all evidence suggests that another 4 (or as Trump has hinted -- 8, or more?) years of Trump leadership will damage our democracy to such an extent, I’m obligated on behalf of shareholders to take any action I can to avoid it,” he concludes. “I am confident our democracy (and Expensify) can survive a Biden presidency.  I can’t say the same about Trump. It’s truly as simple as that.”

Image credit: Suzy Brooks/Unsplash

As of press time, over 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots, a level of civic engagement unthinkable just a year ago. 

Much of this is because of the passions on both sides of the political divide. But we also have to give credit to the civic leaders, nonprofits and even companies that have supported efforts to get out the vote this election cycle.

To that end, last week we wrapped up the 3BL Virtual Forum by speaking to leaders from both the private and nonprofit sectors to weigh in on why it’s so important to them that anyone eligible to vote in the U.S. does so.

One common thread you’ll find is that several of these individuals are advocating for either citizens who often find too many barriers to vote (as in, essential workers), or one stakeholder group that doesn’t have a voice, the environment. Here's what they had to say last Thursday during the Forum.

Sarah Bonk, founder and CEO of Business For America

“There are activities that businesses can do right now — whether it’s using their products or using their resources, staff or funds — to help run elections with integrity this year. Businesses care about a lot of things; we have all these purpose-driven businesses that want to create good in the world — brands with purpose.

“Our democratic process is crucial to achieving that. We’re not going to make progress on climate, on racial equity, on protection of essential workers without having government policies that are aligned with those outcomes.”

Delia de la Vara, SVP of development and strategic initiatives for UnidosUS

“The clients and the community that our organizations serve are those frontline workers, essential workers, who don’t really have a choice and an option to work from home and are going into a day-to-day workforce or an environment where they are uncertain what they may be bringing back to their households.

“We also want to make sure that the issues we think are important — about the economy, about healthcare access, about education and immigration — are part of the political discourse. So often, the issues we get to talk about or that make it to the light of day as it relates to Latinos are only about immigration reform. But the top issues for our community in poll after poll, for years, have been jobs and the economy, and right behind that is healthcare access. Those are three defining factors for how we succeed and how we move in the country.”

Claudia Bojorquez, director of strategic partnerships and corporate social responsibility at Univision

“We’re continuously seeking to play a role in creating campaigns on issues that are most important to the Hispanic audience. If you look at our history, getting involved in social impact issues is really part of our DNA. It’s really who we are and who we’ve stood for over the past 60 years. Because of this, our audience has grown up watching Univision and really trusts us, and that special connection to our audience is really unparalleled.”

Maxwell Zoric, senior director of social impact at MTV and Comedy Central

“We have been working over the last year, even before the pandemic, to think about a new strategy to get younger people, first-time voters, to really understand their options to vote early ... We started with about 10 partners and now we have more than 2,500, including big brands like Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook and stores like REI. There are going to be big brands getting their audiences’ attention on voting early, but also working at the local level.”

Michael Martin, founder and CEO of Effect Partners

“Voting is the most important thing you can do to tackle climate change, and there’s two main reasons for this. First: Over the last two elections, if you average the number of people who care about the environment who voted, there’s only about 35 percent. You compare that to the NRA — 80 percent of NRA members voted. If all those voters who cared about the environment had voted in the last election, that would have been 10 million voters, and as we all recall the last election was decided by about 77,000 votes, and we all know what that led to.

“The other reason it’s absolutely critical is because pollsters poll people who vote — they don’t poll people who don’t vote. What that means is that politicians will introduce legislation that has to do with what people care about in polls, and if the environment doesn’t show up, they don’t introduce that legislation. So, it’s critical if you care about climate change to get out and vote.”

David Dietz, social responsibility program director for the NBA

“We view this as our civic duty. Our society and our democracy work best when everyone can have their voices heard. It’s 2020, and as we as a society are dealing with COVID-19 and the ongoing impacts of systemic racism, we feel we all have a responsibility to step up and find ways to support one another. Everything we do, we do collaboratively with our players and teams, and we really try to lead with our values. This is no different. We’re essentially trying to do our part and help encourage folks to get engaged.”

Be sure to sign up for the weekly Brands Taking Stands newsletter, which arrives in your inbox every Wednesday.

Image credits: Jennifer Griffin/Unsplash; Pexels 

Last year, an Impossible Whopper — next year, reusable packaging? Burger King has been leading the charge on food service sustainability and is now taking a step into the circular economy. The fast food chain announced earlier this month that it will begin offering reusable packaging, starting next year. A trial will begin at select restaurants in New York, Portland and Tokyo for sandwiches and drinks.

Making this move possible is Burger King’s partnership with TerraCycle’s Loop initiative, which facilitates corporate transitions to reusable packaging.

The trial is part of Burger King’s goal to source all packaging from renewable, recyclable or certified sources by 2025. And this step forward couldn’t have come at a better time, as many restaurants have resorted to single-use options during the coronavirus pandemic.

Easy, reliable reusability with Loop

Burger King isn’t alone in joining Loop and striving to find its niche in a circular economy. Last month, McDonald’s announced it would be testing reusable cups in the United Kingdom next year. Coffee chains on both sides of the Atlantic Oceans have also experimented with rolling out reusable cups.

Loop, currently available in the United States, France and the United Kingdom, makes reusability doable by creating practical, even enhanced, packaging designs and providing a sanitizing system that rivals the sterility of single-use options, Heather Crawford, Loop’s global VP of marketing and e-commerce, told TriplePundit earlier this year.

Though 2021 will start with a trial, Burger King is confident in Loop’s system, and hopes it will encourage a transformation in the industry.

“As part of our Restaurant Brands for Good plan, we’re investing in the development of sustainable packaging solutions that will help push the food service industry forward in reducing packaging waste,” Matthew Banton, Head of Innovation and Sustainability, Burger King Global, said in a statement. “The Loop system gives us the confidence in a reusable solution that meets our high safety standards, while also offering convenience for our guests on the go.”

Customers who request reusable packaging at participating stores will be charged a deposit and encouraged to claim their refund by returning the cups and boxes to an in-restaurant collection system where they will be safely sanitized.

Cleaning cups, engaging customers with the circular economy

Burger King’s push for reusability has the potential to make a dent on the plastic waste crisis threatening the oceans, but it can also engage consumers in a new way. Reuse: Rethinking Packaging, a book from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, highlights how deposit and reward schemes can increase brand loyalty. The book also notes how an improved design can improve customer experience, especially as reusable containers are more durable and potentially more leak-proof.

Data has also revealed the revenue potential in sustainability. Half of the growth consumer packaged goods (CPG) saw between 2013 and 2018 came from sustainability-marketed products, according to research from NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business, using data from market research company IRI.

Currently, food and packaging collectively account for almost 45 percent of landfilled waste in the U.S., according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Fast food, by its very nature, has contributed massive amounts to this accretion, especially as containers are rarely getting recycled.

Reusability almost sounds like an oxymoron in the context of fast food — that is, until Loop entered the picture, making reusability fast in its own way, and showing that innovation unlocks new views of the circular economy. Restaurants like Burger King are helping to bring the milk man to the 21st century — the land, the climate and the ocean will thank us for buying in.

Image credit: Burger King/Business Wire

When President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, perhaps he forgot to notify the Department of Defense. The U.S. military is more determined than ever to shed fossil fuels in favor of a carbon-negative future, and its efforts provide a roadmap for business leaders to follow.

Treat an existential threat for what it is — an existential threat

At the bare minimum of competence, any CEO would acknowledge the reality of circumstances that threaten their company’s very existence, and act on them with urgency.

During the Barack Obama administration, the Department of Defense did just that. It issued a planning document titled, “Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap.” That roadmap took note of climate impacts on global resources, leading to an intensification of conflicts around the world and an increased demand on humanitarian intervention. DoD also formally classified climate change as a national security risk in its Quadrennial Defense Review.

The Defense Review was a time-limited document that ceased publication several years ago. It was more or less replaced by a classified document titled "National Defense Strategy." A brief, unclassified version published in 2018 provides little hint of concern over climate change specifically, though it does emphasize resiliency, readiness and modernization, especially in the area of advanced technology.

Nevertheless, the Defense Department’s climate concerns continued into the first days of the Trump administration when the President tapped James Mattis to lead the agency. In July 2017, Mattis informed Congress that climate change is a “driver of instability” that can have an impact on "areas of the world where our troops are operating today.”

Though Mattis was forced out in December 2018, his concerns have continued to resonate. Last year, the Defense Department issued a new document titled, “Report on Effects of a Changing Climate to the Department of Defense.”

Though issued through the somewhat obscure office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, the report is forceful in its identification of climate change as a national security issue “with potential impacts to Department of Defense missions, operational plans and installations.”

Recruit top talent, support it organizationally, and deploy it effectively

The unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy may be thin on climate change, but it does dwell at length on the urgent need to “change Departmental mindset, culture, and management systems.”

To that end, the document calls for “establishing an unmatched 21st-century National Security Innovation Base that effectively supports Department operations and sustains security and solvency.”

Specifically, the Defense Strategy states that “recruiting, developing, and retaining a high-quality military and civilian workforce is essential for warfighting success,” adding that the “creativity and talent of the American warfighter is our greatest enduring strength, and one we do not take for granted.”

The Defense Department has taken that message to heart in the area of climate action. Whether by consensus or self-appointment, the U.S. Air Force appears to have taken the lead role in the effort.

The Air Force is calling for a “carbon negative Department of Defense” through its AFWERX hub, which connects Air Force personnel with private-sector innovators and financial resources.

Collaborating with other agencies for a carbon negative future

Business leaders are already beginning to form global collaborative efforts in support of climate action, clean power, plastic pollution reduction and other environmental issues.

The Defense Department provides a model for funneling this energy into effective action. It is the lead agency in the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which aims to coordinate scientific research among cabinet-level federal agencies as well as NASA, the National Science Foundation, the Smithsonian Institute and USAID.

While acknowledging the absence of a formal mission on climate research, the Global Change program has tasked itself with “developing policies and plans to manage and respond to the effects of climate change on DoD missions, assets and the operational environment.”

Through Global Change, the Defense Department recognizes that its future survival depends on a coordinated, holistic effort that extends beyond the grounds of its own assets.

“Because the performance of DoD systems and platforms are influenced by environmental conditions, understanding the variability of the Earth’s environment and the potential for change is of great interest to the Department,” Global Change explains. “DoD is responsible for the environmental stewardship of hundreds of installations throughout the U.S., and must continue incorporating geostrategic and operational energy considerations into force planning, requirements development, and acquisition processes.”

Aim high and leverage available resources

At first glance, the idea of a carbon-negative Department of Defense may seem out of reach. Researchers have described the agency as “the world’s single largest institutional user of petroleum and, correspondingly, the world’s largest institutional producer of greenhouse gases.”

However, the agency already has a running start in biofuels, clean power, energy efficiency and other areas, and its buying power can help push the market for new clean technologies throughout the civilian supply chain.

More significantly, the agency’s enormous geographical footprint — including massive training grounds as well as built infrastructure — can be called into play for carbon recycling and sequestration.

The popular tree-planting movement is one example of the potential for leveraging Defense Department property for carbon sequestration. Researchers are also considering shorter cycles of growth, such as deploying captured carbon to cultivate algae for biofuels.

Soil sequestration is another pathway. In 2017, a U.S. Army research team took a look at the potential for achieving carbon neutral status on land owned by the Department of Defense through soil sequestration, and advocated for following up with additional research and data to optimize the practice.

As for the Navy and the Air Force, the sea and air can also become powerful resources for climate action and becoming carbon negative.

As recently noted by the office of U.S Rep. David Schwiekert (D-Ariz.), the Defense Department can explore the potential to harvest carbon from the sea and air and convert it into fuel. Schwiekert successfully advocated for research funding to be included in the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

The U.S. Navy has a head start in that regard, partly through a 2016 patent for a device that extracts both carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater, providing “all the raw materials necessary for the production of synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels.”

Regardless of White House policy, business leaders would do well to take their direction from the U.S. Department of Defense and ramp up a collaborative effort on climate action.

Image credit: JP Valery/Unsplash