Surveillance Capitalism

NGOs Criticize EU Relationship with Azerbaijan

September 19, 2017

As part of increasing scrutiny by activist organizations on corporate relationships with authoritarian regimes and their impacts on the business and human rights agenda, an alliance of nongovernmental groups called the CEE Bankwatch Network has criticized the EU's economic relationships with Azerbaijan in light of allegations of corruption and rights violations in the country.
ISO Standard Aims to Increase Fuel Efficiency in Ships

September 19, 2017

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has introduced a new standard for the performance of hulls and propellers on ships in order to increase fuel efficiency and thus mitigate the environmental impact of the shipping industry.
NGO Creates Tool on Harms Caused by Hydropower

September 15, 2017

Highlighting the complications faced by energy companies seeking to comply with the global climate change agenda by shifting from fossil fuel projects to hydro-electric power, a nongovernmental organization has produced an online "Hydrocalculator" tool assessing the social and environmental costs of large hydropower projects around the world.
NGO Pushes for “Environmental Justice” in Global South

September 14, 2017

The Colombian nongovernmental organization Dejusticia has released a compilation of stories on environmental controversies in the Global South as part of its effort to help environmental activists more effectively influence global public opinion on business and human rights through storytelling.
NGO Calls for UN Body to Oversee Corporate Taxes

September 14, 2017

The Association for Women's Rights in Development has released a policy brief on global corporate tax evasion and avoidance, arguing that its negative effects on women’s rights warrant the creation of a “United Nations intergovernmental tax body” to ensure corporate compliance with tax laws.
NGO Assesses BHR Policy in Sugar Industry

September 14, 2017

The nongovernmental organization KnowTheChain has released a report analyzing the business and human rights (BHR) policies and practices of ten major companies engaged in the international sugar trade, arguing that the corporations must take significant action to address human rights concerns.
NGO: Businesses Have Duty to Push Social Change

September 14, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Oxfam has published an article highlighting, in the wake of the recent violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, the growing pressure on businesses "to denounce hatred and promote diversity and inclusion" by airing their opposition to unpopular views, and the growing trend of businesses heeding this pressure in their corporate policies.
Companies Commit to BHR-based Supplier Labor Policies

September 01, 2017

Showing the expanding push for corporations to place pressure on their supply chains in support of global business and human rights (BHR) principles, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has announced commitments from five companies to include in their supplier agreements a "no fee" recruitment pledge for cross-border migrant workers.
Report Pushes Energy Industry Action on All SDGs

August 31, 2017

An "atlas" from the World Bank Group, UN Development Programme, and an international industry association describes how the oil and gas industry can mitigate its social and environmental harms while simultaneously contributing toward all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Chinese Government Promotes Green Financing

August 31, 2017

The Chinese government is seeking to expand the country’s "green finance" sector in order to pursue “sustainable growth" and fulfill commitments the country made to limit its greenhouse gas emissions under the UN's 2015 Paris climate deal.