Corporate Social Responsibility
Keeping up with the latest news in all four corporate social responsibility categories: environment, human rights, philanthropy, and economic responsibility.
How nightclub outings help older adults fight loneliness
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM It was after midnight at Mirano, one of Brussels’ iconic nightclubs. The bass pulsed through the air, red lights swept across the floor, and young partygoers sipped drinks under the spinning disco ball. But this night was different. Among the crowd in crop Read More...
Turning ashes into action: how memorial reefs could restore Britain’s seabeds
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Funerals are surprisingly polluting. A single burial emits around 833 kilograms of CO2, while a typical cremation releases about 400. Add in the environmental toll of concrete, steel, and embalming chemicals, and the traditional funeral industry starts to Read More...
Spain leads on LGBTQ+ workplace rights
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM As diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs face growing political resistance in the United States, Spain is charting a different course that is grounded in comprehensive workplace protections for LGBTQ+ people. In October, Spain’s center-left Read More...
Free school meals expanded to 500,000 more children under new UK government policy
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a move set to benefit half a million more young students, the UK government announced that beginning in September 2026, all children in England whose families receive Universal Credit will be eligible for free school meals regardless of income level. This Read More...
The tortilla that doesn’t need a fridge will help Mexico’s most vulnerable
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a brightly lit lab at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), food scientist Raquel Gomez peers through a microscope at microorganisms doing some heavy lifting: enriching tortillas with probiotics and preserving them for weeks without a Read More...
Emergency contraception just got a lot more convenient
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM If you can grab a wireless phone charger and a pack of gum at 2 a.m., why not emergency contraception too? That’s the question Cadence, an Oakland-based health company, is answering with its no-nonsense product: the Morning After Pill. The company has Read More...
Massachusetts millionaires multiply, thrive, and boost public services under new tax
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When Massachusetts voters approved the Fair Share Amendment in 2022—a four percent surtax on income over $1 million—critics warned it would send high earners fleeing the state. But two years later, a new report tells a very different story. According Read More...
Scientific societies take charge as U.S. climate report faces political uncertainty
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM When leadership falters, science finds a way forward. That’s the message from two of America’s most prominent scientific societies, which have pledged to carry on critical climate research after the Trump administration sidelined the team behind the Read More...
Scotland's largest community solar farm moves forward on the Isle of Arran
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM A brighter, community-powered future is on the horizon for the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Plans for what will become the country’s largest entirely community-owned solar farm are officially moving ahead, with the Glenkiln solar project recently securing Read More...
This plant-based leather alternative is plastic-free and ready to scale
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM In a breakthrough for sustainable materials, Australian startup Alt. Leather has unveiled a fully plant-based leather alternative that contains no plastics and is made entirely from natural fibers and agricultural waste. The innovative material promises a Read More...