UN-ESG

EU Ministers Advance Reporting Mandates for Tax Planners

March 30, 2018

EU economic and financial affairs ministers have reached a deal on new rules requiring financial intermediaries, such as accountants and tax planners, to report to tax authorities "complex cross-border financial schemes" they have constructed to help lower their clients' tax bills, and establishing a central EU database containing information on these structures.
EC Sets out "Sustainable Finance" Action Plan

March 29, 2018

The European Commission (EC) has produced an action plan describing how it will encourage the alignment of the EU finance sector with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including by pushing for recognition of a "duty" of investors to take the SDGs into account in their investment decisions and for corporate reporting on "sustainability" issues.
Shareholders Push Rio Tinto on Coal Lobbying

March 27, 2018

The Guardian reports that shareholders in Australian-British mining group Rio Tinto, including large, institutional investors, are pushing the company to end its membership in various trade groups that lobby for government policies in favor of coal production that they say threaten the global climate-change agenda.
GRI Presses Companies on Gender Reporting

March 23, 2018

Marking International Women's Day, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) issued a press release calling on companies to include in reporting on their implementation of the "sustainability" agenda the ways in which they are addressing gender inequality and identifying gender parity in business as a major factor in achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Launches Pilot Project on Climate Reporting in Finance

March 21, 2018

UN Environment has partnered with nine institutional investors to pilot the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures to pave the way for expansive public reporting on investors' exposure to the catastrophic risks of climate change across the finance industry.
NGOs Launch BHR Reporting Project for Garment Sector

March 20, 2018

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles have signed a letter of intent to coordinate their efforts to develop reporting and verification systems for due diligence and reporting of social and environmental impacts by companies in the garment industry in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (BHR).
Class Action Targets Nestlé over Labor Reporting

March 20, 2018

Highlighting the potentially high costs of laws requiring public corporate disclosure of human rights and environmental risks, Reuters reports that a Massachusetts resident is seeking to open a class-action lawsuit against Nestlé accusing the company of deceptive practices for failing to disclose instances of child and forced labor in its global supply chain.
Australian Investors Ramp up Support for BHR, Climate Disclosure

March 19, 2018

The Brisbane Times reports that international efforts to advance the business and human rights (BHR) and climate change agendas are paying off in Australia in the form of growing investor support for shareholder resolutions requiring corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance issues.
OSCE Guidelines Seek Corporate Supply-Chain Reporting

March 09, 2018

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has issued a set of model guidelines for governments to pressure companies to rid their supply chains of forced labor through such measures as requiring public reporting on their efforts against unethical labor practices and sanctions against businesses that do not comply.
Total Pledges Public Reporting of Extractives Contracts

March 09, 2018

Highlighting the trend of companies in the extractives industry bowing to activist pressure seeking more data to underpin their criticism of lucrative oil, gas, and mining deals, French energy company Total has announced that it will publish details from all its government extractives contracts and has called on all governments to do the same.