UN-ESG

Jack M. Mintz: ESG Rankings are Not Reliable

July 14, 2021

Jack M. Mintz writes in the Financial Post that Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) guidelines cannot be standardized to help make investment decisions due to the fact that most component measures too subjective and goes on to warn that many companies “greenwash” their ESG results to make themselves look better.
KPMG Expands ESG Services

July 14, 2021

After working with the World Economic Forum last year to create a set of 21 core metrics for companies to disclose progress in ESG, KPMG has announced a new initiative called KPMG Impact, that will increase the companies efforts to provide environmental, social and governance services to clients.
Investors Urge SEC to Mandate Climate Reporting

July 12, 2021

According to Marcie Frost, Chief executive of CalPERS, as global investors increasingly demand climate risk reporting, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) must develop mandatory disclosure rules on climate as well as recognize independent standards to guide industry-specific disclosures and require that from companies of all sizes in all industries.
Facebook Asks: Are Your Friends Becoming Extremists?

July 07, 2021

After facing pressure from civil rights groups and lawmakers to fight « extremism », Facebook has begun testing a new program asking the platform user is they are concerned that someone they know is becoming an extremist, or alerted users that they may have been exposed to harmful extremist content.
Young: How Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Reporting Evolved

June 30, 2021

Denise Young writing for strategy-business.com explores the history of ESG and how what started out as a way to measure the environmental, social, and governance performance of a company for the purposes of gauging risk is now a major force driving business strategy.
Terranova Think Tank: “Globalization of Progressivism”

June 30, 2021

Terranova Think Tank has published a paper by Pascal Canfin who calls for the strengthening and acceleration of « globalization of progressivism », describing its features and strategic objectives of inventing a new model of prosperity.
Germany Passes Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence Law

June 23, 2021

In a move that takes voluntary compliance to mandatory, the German parliament passed the “Law on corporate due diligence in supply chains” (“Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz”) requiring companies implement policies to prevent human rights violations in their supply chains.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules for Nestle, Cargill over Slavery Lawsuit

June 21, 2021

Overturning a lower court 2005 decision, The U.S. Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit accusing Cargill Inc and a Nestle SA subsidiary of perpetuating slavery at Ivory Coast cocoa farms, but avoided a broader ruling on the permissibility of suits accusing American companies of human rights violations abroad.
Climate-Risk Disclosures on the Rise for U.S. Energy Companies

June 17, 2021

According to former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz , as the ESG [environment, social and governance standards] movement continues to be a key factor among major investors, and the government’s intention to demand more climate risk disclosures, oil and gas companies will need to increase the pace of their energy transition to a low-carbon economy.
SEC Expands Focus on ESG-related Products

June 14, 2021

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is continuing to focus on companies recommending or offering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) by creating an alert that provides greater specificity regarding issues related to ESG products and services.