UN-ESG

WHO Forum Puts Pressure on Drug Companies over Pricing

May 30, 2019

At the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Forum on Medicines in April, governments and nongovernmental organizations called for policies forcing pharmaceutical companies to reveal more information about their pricing decisions, while a WHO official referred to drug pricing a human rights issue.
Foundation Launches Global Registry of Apparel Suppliers

May 30, 2019

The C&A Foundation has launched an Open Apparel Registry as a public tool that seeks to identify every apparel factory in the world to permit nongovernmental organizations to investigate alleged violations of labor rights in the complex supply chains of fashion brands.
GRI Seeks State Push for Corporate SDG Reporting

May 30, 2019

At a recent event in Bombay, Eric Hespenheide of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) called for a greater push by governments around the world toward corporate reporting on contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
NGO Criticizes Banks over Confidentiality of Customer Information

May 30, 2019

The nongovernmental organization BankTrack has criticized large banks for declining, for reasons of client confidentiality, to disclose the existence of financial links to customers and projects in response to NGO demands for data on connections to human rights and environmental abuses.
NGOs Seek UK Corporate “Due Diligence” Law

May 01, 2019

A group of nongovernmental organizations has published a demand for the UK government to introduce a law requiring companies to perform “human rights and environmental due diligence” relating to their operations and global supply chains or face lawsuits over their negative social and environmental impacts.
Report Examines Corporate BHR Due Diligence Mandates

April 29, 2019

The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and law firm Clifford Chance have published a briefing examining how corporations should set up “human rights due diligence processes” and reporting mechanisms to ensure their compliance with legal and regulatory requirements shaped by the business and human rights (BHR) agenda.
EU Agency Welcomes Addition of Climate Impacts to Corporate Reporting Rules

April 29, 2019

The European Securities and Markets Authority has praised the European Commission’s proposal to include in non-binding Guidelines on corporate non-financial reporting a supplement on “climate-related disclosures” and issued a set of recommendations on further ways to improve the quality of EU businesses’ non-financial disclosures.
Standard Setters Seek Global Alignment of “Sustainability” Reporting

April 04, 2019

Standard setters and others participating in the Corporate Reporting Dialogue are engaged in an international consultation process considering how best to align frameworks for corporate reporting on “sustainable development” and how to integrate social and environmental data into financial reports.
EU Institutions Agree to Standards on Financial Sustainability Disclosures

March 08, 2019

The European Parliament and Council of the EU have agreed to uniform EU standards governing how financial firms must inform investors of the environmental and social impacts of their investment decisions.
Extractive Initiative Implements NGO Demands in Disclosure Policies

March 07, 2019

The nongovernmental organization Oxfam has applauded the board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, a platform for the disclosure of payments by oil, gas, and mining companies to governments, for responding to activist pressure by requiring the disclosure of extractives contracts and mandating gender-based reporting in employment figures.