BMW, Soylent, NBCUniversal and Pinterest are finalists for this year’s Greater Good Awards

Sustainability was top of mind for the brands and companies on this year’s Greater Good Awards shortlist as they work to create a better future. Companies continue investing in several areas for betterment — and increasingly centering causes in their mission.

For instance, automaker BMW Canada earned a nomination in the Sustainability category for a campaign in support of its new electric vehicle, the iX xDrive50. The campaign aimed to increase awareness of BMW’s commitment to the environment, particularly as a leader in electric vehicles. BMW Canada worked with the agency Media Experts and the CBC to create a branded content series exploring the stories of innovators in green technology, subtly integrating the iX xDrive 50 into the campaign. BMW and Media Experts also worked with the omnichannel supply-side platform Sharethrough to fund carbon offsetting projects to compensate for the carbon emissions generated by the campaign. By leveraging Sharethrough’s GreenPMPs, BMW compensated for 685,535 grams of CO2 — the equivalent of fully charging 89,000 smartphones. 

In the World Hunger category, Soylent is shortlisted, a complete meal replacement that offers a practical and cost-effective solution for individuals facing barriers to nutritious foods. Through partnerships with charitable organizations, Soylent donates its products to food banks, shelters and communities facing food insecurity. As part of its #SoylentForGood efforts, the brand donated an estimated $2.4 million worth of product in 2022 alone.

In the Social Justice category, NBCUniversal is a finalist for its Plan Your Vote campaign and platform. Initially created in 2020 in response to pandemic challenges to voting, Plan Your Vote returned for the 2022 midterms to help Americans navigate more changes in voting rules. Plan Your Vote has become a leading destination for essential voting information in a digestible format — including a personalized, user-forward interface — to help citizens cast their ballots successfully. Teams leveraged the entire Comcast NBCUniversal ecosystem with a bilingual marketing campaign to reach mass audiences. In 2022, the marketing campaign garnered more than 764 million impressions across the platforms of Comcast NBCUniversal, with an estimated earned media value of more than $3 million.

Pinterest is among the new Better Future category nominees, which recognizes a campaign or initiative aimed at safeguarding the long-term future by funding areas such as technology, science, security and the environment. With the understanding that younger generations are getting news from digital platforms, Pinterest realized that its users were coming to the platform for ideas on how to incorporate sustainability practices. In 2022, Pinterest became the first major digital platform to unveil a climate misinformation policy. As part of the global social impact campaign, the platform partnered with Pinterest Creators to develop inspiring, action-oriented content on and off the platform and leveraged the Earth Month news cycle. The campaign generated over 350 media placements across national, local and trade publications with over 2.85 billion impressions. As part of the campaign, Pinterest also donated to environmental organizations dedicated to tackling climate change, including supporting their programmatic work and providing advertising credits to elevate their content on Pinterest. 

Altogether, the judges’ nominations in 2023 demonstrated how companies are working toward the greater good.

See the complete list of finalists below.

Animal Welfare
iHeartDogs 
Mars Petcare
Munchkin 
Yieldmo

Anti-Violence
HSBC UK
LA County Department of Mental Health & Rescue Agency
WMN by CPB LDN + thortful

Arts and Culture
Bookshop.org 
Mellon Foundation and Work & Co
Nativo

Better Future 
Beautycounter
Bowery
Colossal Biosciences
Estée Lauder Companies 
Pinterest
Salesforce and Fortune Brand Studio  

Children
Consumer Reports
Praytell 
TSET
Wattpad 
WebPurify 

Disability Awareness
Estée Lauder Companies 
L’Oréal
Lincoln Center
NBC NEWS WORLDWIDE
Vanish, Good-Loop & Zenith
Waymo
Zappar & Unilever – Accessible QR

Education
AnalogFolk Group 
Dermalogica 
FIRST® 
Hook 
Procter & Gamble & Aki
VICE Media Group & The European Union

Emergency Aid
Flexport.org
Kepler & Alight
Subtext 

Employment 
Creative Ladder Quiz & Work & Co
Geographic Solutions
ShopGoodwill.com 
Visible Wireless & Weber Shandwick 

Environment
Beekeeper’s Naturals & Erewhon 
Colossal Biosciences
MobileFuse 
Salesforce and Fortune Brand Studio 
Slate & Macy’s
Tom’s of Maine & BCW

Gender Equality
Mastercard 
Saysh 
Stacy’s Pita Chips
theSkimm

Housing
Bombas
Equifax & Ideas United
NYCFC and Midea

LGBTQ+
Absolut and VICE Media
FFFACE.ME & LGBT Tech
hireEZ and Evry1 
Slate & Macy’s
The Body Shop

Local Community Betterment
Audible 
GoodwillFinds.com
TEGNA
UBS, New York Islanders & UBS Arena x 43 Oak Foundation
VistaPrint & Boston Celtics
Vita Coco

Mental Health
Code3 x The Mental Health Coalition 
Harry’s 
LifeStance Health
The Wondermind Newsstand
TODAY All Day
Understood.org

Public Health
LetsGetChecked
McKinsey Global Publishing
Myovant Sciences
Providence Health Plan and Fort West 
Quirk Creative 
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

Racial Equality
NBCUniversal News Group x W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Spectrum Reach
Zenith & Walmart 

Social Justice
Equifax & Ideas United
Glow Recipe 
Mellon Foundation & Work & Co
NBCUniversal
Practising Law Institute & Work & Co
Saysh 

Sustainability
Dermalogica 
KEEN 
Reel Paper
Reformation
Sharethrough, BMW Canada & Media Experts
Vitamin A 

Water
hai 
Liquid I.V. 

World Hunger
Soylent
The Kroger Co.
Zurvita

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