UN-ESG

MEPs Seek Robust Non-Financial Reporting in EU Member States

May 05, 2016

Members of the European Parliament ("MEPs") Sergio Cofferati and Richard Howitt, who claim a role in the agreement of EU legislation that will require corporate reporting of social and environmental impacts, call for EU member states to go beyond the requirements of the Directive in imposing robust non-financial reporting requirements on businesses operating in their territory.
Attorney General Subpoenas Exxon's Contact with Civil Society

May 04, 2016

As a coordinated campaign continues among US state attorneys general to hold energy company ExxonMobil liable for allegedly false communications on the science of climate change, Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands Claude Walker has subpoenaed communications between Exxon and 90 organizations "engaged in research or advocacy" on global warming.
GRI Examines Materiality in Sustainability Reporting

May 04, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI"), in affiliation with investment specialist RobecoSAM, have published research scrutinizing whether reporting by companies on the social and environmental impacts of their operations matches the needs of investors and calls for businesses to use GRI's sustainability reporting standards to ensure the relevance of such reports.
GRI Encourages Expansive Action on UN Climate Goals

April 28, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has called for businesses and governments to look beyond carbon emissions to address the "human rights" impacts of global warming in implementing the UN climate deal signed in New York last week and predicts that the UN will use GRI's reporting guidelines as its standard for government emissions reporting under the deal.
EU Ministers Seek Strong Response to "Panama Papers"

April 28, 2016

NDTV reports that, at recent talks in Amsterdam, national finance ministers from EU member states coalesced around a number of proposals in the wake of the release of off-shore financial information in the "Panama Papers" to shame so-called "tax havens" and require more reporting on taxes paid by companies throughout Europe and around the world.
WWF Pushes Sustainability Standards for Consumer Goods in Asia

April 26, 2016

The nongovernmental organization WWF has published a guide for Asian companies dealing in "fast moving consumer goods" on how to implement the UN's sustainability agenda through international supply-chain and environmental standards.
NGO Responds to Apple Report with Packaging Critique

April 26, 2016

Greenpeace's response to technology company Apple's annual Environmental Progress Report praises the company on its greenhouse gas emissions pledges but criticizes the company for reliance on what the nongovernmental organization considers the wrong global standards for sourcing sustainable packaging.
Oxfam Calls for Global Response to US Corporate Tax Avoidance

April 22, 2016

Pointing to the use by large US corporations of offshore subsidiaries to store their funds, the nongovernmental organization Oxfam has called for governments around the world to collaborate "to end the era of tax havens" to fund the UN's social and environmental rights agenda and has argued for US corporate financial reporting on a country-by-country basis.
GRI Releases Sustainability Standards for Comment

April 20, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has announced that it has released a draft version of Sustainability Reporting Standards, which provide a process for businesses to disclose their progress in implementing the UN's sustainable development agenda, for public comment.
GRI, IOE Sign Deal to Advance "Sustainability"

April 20, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") and the International Organisation of Employers ("IOE") have signed an agreement to collaborate on encouraging businesses to implement the UN's "sustainable development" agenda, including by pushing small and medium-sized companies to disclose their progress on sustainability.