UN-ESG

NGOs Provide Corporate Guidance on Forced Labor Law

August 11, 2017

A group of nongovernmental organizations has published four briefings providing guidance for companies on complying with requirements under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 to report efforts to end forced labor, including by providing a "robust" statement on "due diligence" efforts companies make to detect and address rights violations in their global supply chains.
NGO Rates Fashion Companies on Reporting Practices

August 10, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Fashion Revolution has released a Fashion Transparency Index rating garment companies on their reporting of social and environmental policies, including their "efforts on living wages, collective bargaining, and reducing consumption of resources," in their global supply chains.
GRI Recognizes "Pioneers" on "Sustainability" Reporting

August 10, 2017

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has created a Standards Pioneers Program to recognize companies that have become the "earliest adopters" of GRI's corporate reporting standards on contributions to the global "sustainable development" agenda and to provide enhanced training sessions on "sustainability reporting" to members of the Program.
GRI Calls for Corporate Reporting on Anti-Poverty Efforts

August 10, 2017

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has issued a publication calling on companies to publicly report on their efforts to alleviate poverty around the world to permit a broad group of "policy makers, investors, civil society and other stakeholders" to examine the extent of their commitment to and impact on the anti-poverty agenda.
GRI Partners on "Sustainability" Reporting in Indo-Pacific

August 10, 2017

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has announced its partnership with the Australian government on a project seeking to promote corporate reporting on contributions to the global "sustainable development" agenda in the Indo-Pacific region, including by pressuring regional stock exchanges to require reporting by listed companies on "sustainability."
Australian Bank Faces Lawsuit over Climate Reporting

August 09, 2017

Reuters reports that nongovernmental organization Environmental Justice Australia is managing the lawsuit of two shareholders in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia alleging that the bank broke the law by failing to include in its financial statements risks posed by climate change to its investment portfolio.
Norway Fund Requires Bank Climate Disclosures

August 09, 2017

Reuters reports that Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, has announced that it will require disclosure by banks in which it invests of the extent to which their lending supports greenhouse gas emissions in violation of the global climate agenda.
NGO Warns of Litigation over Fossil Fuel Forecasts

August 09, 2017

The activist organization ClientEarth has published a letter to BP and Glencore warning the energy companies that their optimistic estimates of future demand for fossil fuels, if they turn out to be inaccurate and "self-serving," could subject them to future litigation by investors.
Exxon Shareholders Adopt Resolution on Climate Reporting

August 09, 2017

In the lead-up to US President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the UN's Paris climate deal, shareholders at Exxon Mobil adopted a nonbinding resolution calling on the company to publicly report the risks that government efforts to combat climate change under the UN deal pose to its business.
GRI, UN Event Presses for Corporate SDG Reporting

August 09, 2017

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the UN Global Compact convened a meeting of global investors in Stockholm to discuss how a "uniform" reporting system by companies on their contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can facilitate better private investment decisions to help fulfill the SDG agenda.