UN-ESG

White House Seeks Suspension of Minerals Rule

February 15, 2017

Reuters reports that a draft Trump Administration directive, citing large business costs related to a US Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring disclosure of whether companies use "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas of Africa in their products, proposes a two-year suspension of the rule and a review of its consequences.
Legal Alert Warns Retailers on BHR Scrutiny

February 15, 2017

A client alert from the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman describes comments from the UK’s Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights regarding fashion retailers' adherence to the global business and human rights (BHR) agenda and advising retailers to follow reporting and other BHR guidance on ridding their supply chains of forced labor.
US Congress Votes for Disclosure Rule Repeal

February 08, 2017

The Hill reports that the US Senate has joined the House of Representatives in voting to repeal a rule issued by the Obama Administration under the Dodd-Frank financial services legislation requiring companies in the extractives industry to publicly disclose their payments to foreign governments.
NGOs Promote US Pressure on Extractives

February 03, 2017

A letter from a coalition of nongovernmental organizations called Publish What You Pay to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations calls for pressure on the US State Department to continue policies on public reporting by extractive companies regarding the finances of their foreign operations.
NGOs Criticize AIIB Disclosure Policy

February 03, 2017

Two nongovernmental organizations have warned that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) must follow the example of its Western counterparts in improving its public disclosure regime to provide information on its compliance with the global business and human rights and environmental agendas.
NGOs Ramp up Pressure on Supply Chain Reporting

February 01, 2017

Patricia Carrier and Joe Bardwell of the Business & Human Rights (BHR) Resource Centre signal how nongovernmental organizations are scrutinizing legally mandated public reporting by UK businesses on forced labor in their complex supply chains and assert that this UK disclosure regime is part of a global wave of corporate BHR reporting requirements.
EU Financial Scrutiny Rules Face Privacy Concerns

February 01, 2017

Politico reports that the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has delayed a vote on proposed EU legislation seeking to discourage tax avoidance by requiring public reporting of the ownership of trusts, based on concerns regarding the right to privacy of the trust owners.
NGO Leader Pushes Corporate Tax as "Moral" Issue

January 25, 2017

The Guardian reports that, on a panel at the recent World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Executive Director of Oxfam International Winnie Byanyima called for governments to consider corporate taxation a moral matter and ensure businesses contribute their "fair share" to the fulfillment of the global economic, social, and cultural "human rights" agenda.
UN Official Lobbies for "Women's Empowerment" Action

January 25, 2017

In a recent press release, UN Women outlined how its Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka sought to advance expansive initiatives pushing corporate action toward and public reporting on "women's empowerment" as part of the UN's sustainable development agenda at the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland.
Companies Launch Investor Tool on Climate Action

January 25, 2017

AP reports that a group of financial companies has launched at the London Stock Exchange an online tool called the Transition Pathway Initiative to permit investors to scrutinize the actions companies have taken to prepare for measures aimed at combating global warming.