UN-ESG

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.
Google Case Shows Cost of Salary Reporting

August 09, 2017

Signaling the complexity and expense involved in complying with government reporting requirements, tech giant Google recently argued in a case launched by the US Department of Labor alleging "systemic compensation disparities" between male and female employees that it would be too timely and costly to comply with the government's broad request for salary records.
Shell Announces Shift from Oil

August 08, 2017

Amid proliferating activist pressure and government policies implementing the global climate agenda, Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden has announced that the company is planning for a shift from crude oil to natural gas and other alternative energies to help fulfill the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
US Communities Sue "Carbon Majors" over Sea Level

August 08, 2017

Two coastal California counties and one California city have sued a group of oil, gas, and coal producers, claiming that these “carbon majors” conspired for decades to hide the negative environmental effects of fossil fuels and should be required to pay “for the current and future costs of adapting to sea level rises linked to climate change.”