UN-ESG

NGOs Seek Canadian Corporate "Due Diligence" Rules

November 27, 2017

In September, the nongovernmental organizations International Corporate Accountability Roundtable and Above Ground hosted an Ottawa symposium pushing for regulations requiring corporations to perform "human rights due diligence" for their overseas operations and to guarantee access to remedy for alleged rights victims.
EU Rules Require "Due Diligence" on Conflict Minerals

November 20, 2017

Attorneys from DLA Piper review a set of EU rules, which enter into force in the year 2021, requiring companies that import certain "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas of Africa to embed "due diligence" procedures in their supply chains to prevent human rights abuses and to publicly report on their progress.
NGO Seeks Reporting on Customs Data in EU

November 15, 2017

The nongovernmental organization Finnwatch has published a paper calling on EU authorities to force national governments to publicize customs information on products imported into the bloc to assist human rights activists in spotlighting alleged rights abuses in the supply chains of European companies.
Global Court Agrees to Hear Fashion Brand Cases

October 25, 2017

Demonstrating the risks involved in corporate agreement to "voluntary" global human rights frameworks, Reuters reports that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague has agreed to hear cases against two fashion brands alleging that they failed to force their suppliers to improve the working conditions in their facilities.
European Investors Adopt "Sustainability" Reporting

October 25, 2017

In an interview with Flavia Micilotta of Eurosif, a "pan-European sustainable and responsible investment membership organization," the Global Reporting Initiative highlights how an expanding network of European investors is adopting its agenda of corporate "sustainability" reporting.
Mars Announces $1 Billion in Climate Spending

October 19, 2017

Business Insider reports that, highlighting the accelerating adoption by global companies of the UN's "sustainable development" agenda, food company Mars has announced that it will finance a "Sustainability in a Generation" campaign promoting action against climate change in the amount of $1 billion.
NGO Criticizes "Voluntary" Australian Reporting Proposal

October 16, 2017

Komala Ramachandra of Human Rights Watch criticizes an Australian proposal for legislation requiring reporting by businesses on forced labor in their supply chains as insufficient, asserting that the law must include penalties for noncompliance, require "due diligence" on eliminating labor rights violations, and allow those who allege such violations access to Australian courts.
Commentary: US Should Quit UNHRC over "Blacklist"

October 11, 2017

Benjamin Weinthal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies writes that the US and other "morally-principled countries" should withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) if the body proceeds with publishing a database of all companies doing business in Israeli settlements, asserting that the database is part of a global, anti-Semitic boycott movement.
Lawyer: Create Global Approach to Labor Reporting

October 11, 2017

Amy Sinclair of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre writes that, rather than perpetuate an "international mishmash of misaligned laws" requiring corporate "due diligence" and reporting on forced labor in supply chains, governments, including Australia, must adopt a "consistent global approach" to mandating business reporting on these issues.
Activists Seek Accreditation of Fashion Industry on Rights

October 06, 2017

Elizabeth Winkler explains the growing effort by human rights activists to push fashion companies to halt self-monitoring of their supply chains based on their own codes of conduct and instead join accreditation schemes requiring them to investigate and report on efforts to rid their supply chains of rights violations based on global standards.