ESG

UN Official Seeks Small Business Support on SDGs

August 03, 2017

A statement from the UN Secretary-General's Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti to a "Small Business Knowledge Summit" at the UN signaled the international organization's intention to enlist small and medium-sized businesses in its efforts to achieve the comprehensive social and environmental targets of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Meeting Aims at "Sustainable Insurance" System

August 03, 2017

An article by Christopher Swope describes a conference hosted by the UN Environment Programme focused on pushing leaders from cities and the global insurance industry to collaborate on a "sustainable insurance" system that takes into account the potential impacts of climate change on urban areas.
UN Agent Pushes Panama to Enhance Financial Reporting

August 03, 2017

After an official visit to Panama, UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky called on the country's authorities to require financial institutions to exercise "due diligence" in monitoring and reporting tax evasion to ensure they are not shielding corporate and individual funds that could be used to advance economic and social human rights.
ISO Develops Global Standard on Climate Action

August 03, 2017

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced its development of a global standard on "greenhouse gas management" that will guide businesses and other organizations on developing a framework for action toward and public reporting on efforts to meet the UN's climate change and "sustainable development" targets.
Businesses Push G20 on Climate Action

August 03, 2017

Business recommendations from a corporate-sponsored "B20 Summit" in Berlin in May called on the Group of 20 countries (G20) to expand global governance initiatives to take on a wide range of cross-border issues, including implementation of the UN's 2015 Paris agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
US Activists Target New Sectors in Carbon Fight

August 03, 2017

Time reports that, while the energy sector usually receives the most attention in climate change debates, some US-based environmental activists are arguing that government regulation should begin targeting other carbon-producing sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture to reach global warming targets set by the UN's 2015 Paris Agreement.
Companies Adopt Reporting of SDG Progress

August 02, 2017

An article on the website Eco-Business documents the growing success of the UN and activist organizations in convincing businesses to use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a benchmark by which to measure and report their contributions to the global social and environmental policy agenda.
NGO Calls for Canadian "Due Diligence" Reporting

August 02, 2017

The Shareholder Association for Research and Education, a Canadian shareholder advocacy group, has called on the Canadian government to impose on companies mandatory reporting on their "due diligence" efforts toward combating violations of the business and human rights (BHR) agenda in their supply chains, similar to requirements in the UK, EU, and other jurisdictions.
Palm Oil Company Obtains "Sustainability" Certification

August 01, 2017

Demonstrating the growing success of nongovernmental groups in pushing businesses toward global "sustainability" and human rights standards, the Colombian palm oil company Daabon Group has touted its certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil as a company that shows "sustainability across the entire organisation."
GRI Seeks "Sustainability" Reporting on Supply Chains

July 31, 2017

In a recent article, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) explains how corporations should use its "sustainability" reporting framework to increase transparency among activists and others regarding the human rights and environmental impacts of their complex, global supply chains.