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Future 500's Report on the Top 10 Stakeholder Engagement Trends of 2017. This is our sixth annual report. Each year, our team pools their expertise and perspective to identify ten social, environmental or economic trends that will shape engagement between corporations and external stakeholders in the coming year and beyond.

Each year, Future 500 releases a Top 10 report of what they predict will be the most critical issues driving stakeholder engagement in the coming year. Watch their video breaking down the Top 10 issues in just 2 minutes.

Each year, Future 500 releases a Top 10 list of what we view are the most pressing and timely stakeholder issues of the year ahead. Check out our video this year to learn more about these key stakeholder concerns that impact both the corporate sector and activist community.

Despite efforts from Washington to sideline action on climate change, a growing number of Fortune 500 companies are taking increasingly ambitious steps to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, procure more renewable energy and reduce their energy bills through energy efficiency, according to a new report released today from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Ceres, Calvert Research and Management (Calvert) and CDP.

The 2016 results from the Global Canopy Programme's 'Forest 500' have been released, and they don't bring good news. The deforestation policy analysis of the world's most influential powerbrokers, including companies, financial institutions, and countries, reveals that targets for 2020 and 2030 are unlikely to be met at the current rate of progress. 57 percent of companies in the Forest 500 have either weak policies or no policies at all.

Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) has been ranked as one of the greenest large companies in the world in the 2016 Newsweek Green Rankings, released today. LVS holds the #39 spot on the U.S. 500 list and the #74 position on the Global 500 list, while the company's subsidiary in Macao, Sands China Ltd., has been listed #62. This accomplishment makes Las Vegas Sands and Sands China Ltd. the highest ranked hospitality companies in the U.S., as well as in the world.

Hershey Co. is spending $500 million in the hopes of producing its iconic chocolate Kisses from more sustainable cocoa. Through its so-called Cocoa for Good program, the company will invest the funds through 2030 to support four key areas: nourishing children, empowering youth, building prosperous communities and preserving natural ecosystems.

Drawing on a key example of successful stakeholder engagement between Rainforest Action Network and Mitsubishi Electric, Erik Wohlgemuth, Future 500's COO, draws important connections and breaks down how NGOs and corporations must continue to work together to confront irresponsible forest management and illegal deforestation across the globe.

Each year, Future 500 releases a report of what we predict will be the most critical social and environmental issues driving corporate-stakeholder engagement in the coming year. This year, we anticipate that corporations will be challenged to go even further than last year, using their economic influence on policy and politicians while being asked to take a bigger stand on global issues.

In 2016, we predict that stakeholders will continue to organize around issues like chemicals, water scarcity and local control of resources, challenging the private sector to drive change in their supply chains, make more time bound commitments and be more transparent. We anticipate increased focus on women impacting the global economy and concern around global ocean health, an issue moving to the forefront of our list.

Starbucks announced last week that it completed the underwriting of an initial public offering of senior notes, including its first-ever U.S. Corporate Sustainability Bond. The coffee giant said it will use proceeds from $500 million in 2.45% Senior Notes to help enhance the sustainability programs centered around its coffee supply chain management programs through a variety of eligible sustainability projects.

Corporations interested in sustainability have become a major driver in the renewable energy industry, said experts at the North American Energy Markets Association meeting in Florida last month. "There is about 15 GW of latent demand for renewables that wants to be built by 2020 in order to meet the targets of Fortune 500 companies that have committed to some degree of renewable energy in their supply portfolios," said Invenergy Vice President of Sales and Marketing Craig Gordon. 3M, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft are among the companies seeking power purchase agreements with renewables in the US.

Microsoft has achieved the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council's Gold Level of Zero Waste Certification for its Redmond corporate campus by diverting at least 90% of onsite waste from landfills. Microsoft is the first technology company in the country to achieve this certification.

PAWTUCKET, R.I., Jun. 02 /CSRwire/ -  Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is proud to announce it ranked No. 1 on Newsweek's 2016 Green Rankings, released today. The ranking assesses the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States on overall environmental performance.

Philanthropy has long been a common business activity. From local restaurants sponsoring their town's little league team, to Fortune 500 companies with million dollar foundations, companies have found that it's good business sense to give back to the communities in which they operate.

The CDP Global Water Report 2013 was launched at the CDP Global WatA pair er Forum on Oct. 31. The report was produced for 530 institutional investors representing about $57 trillion in assets, and is based on information submitted to CDP by 180 Global 500 companies. It notes that "companies are more aware of the breadth and significance of water-related risk, such as business interruption due to inadequate infrastructure, supply chain disruption due to water scarcity and reputational damage."

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey is ending more than a century where elephant acts were a defining mark of the circus. It is a smart business and political move, one that reflects a deeper change in cultural preferences. Even if animal rights activists motivated the change, in the long run it will likely attract more people more frequently to the circus, and reduce political and reputational risks to the company.

Gap, HP and Dr Pepper Snapple Group are among the S&P 500 companies facing climate change related risks and costs, according to a CDP report.

The commitment is one of several new sustainability initiatives, part of a 500 million Swiss francs ($547 million) program called The Positive Cup. Nespresso says it will invest the money over the next six years to shrink its environmental footprint. Part of this investment will be used to establish a new Sustainable Development Fund.

FedEx, Walmart, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and UPS - five of the country's biggest trucking fleets - could cut their fuel use by 500 million gallons a year under the new heavy duty truck fuel efficiency standard, saving $1.7 billion on fuel, according to a Union of Concerned Scientists study.

The North Face today announced its Fall 2016 line, including more than 500 down product styles that feature certified responsible down through the Responsible Down Standard (RDS). Officially launched in January 2014, the RDS is the most comprehensive, global, third-party certified animal welfare and traceability standard for down and feathers available for use by any company. The North Face initially committed to include 100 percent certified responsible down in all retail and wholesale down products by Fall 2017, and was able to achieve the increase a year sooner than anticipated.