UN-ESG

EU Commissioner Seeks Corporate Tax Clampdown

April 11, 2016

European Commissioner for taxation Pierre Moscovici has elaborated the Commission's plans for halting corporate tax avoidance, including by imposing entry and exit taxes for the shifting of corporate earnings to low-tax countries, country-by-country reporting of financial figures, and an exchange of tax information by EU member states.
US Forces Exxon Vote on Climate Resolution

April 11, 2016

Reuters reports that, rejecting the energy company's claims that it already provides sufficient disclosure on its greenhouse gas emissions, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has denied Exxon's request to keep a resolution that would require full disclosure of the risks of climate change to the company from a shareholder vote.
ISO Publishes Standard on Environmental Statements

April 11, 2016

The International Organization for Standardization ("ISO") has published a new edition of a standard, aimed in part at pushing for more environmentally friendly production techniques, that seeks to standardize statements on product labels containing assertions on the product's environmental impact.
NGO Launches UNGP Reporting Database

April 07, 2016

Nongovernmental organization Shift has developed a UN Guiding Principles ("UNGP") Reporting Database in which it compile information from corporate websites and reports relating to their implementation of the UN's business and human rights agenda.
UN Pushes Sustainability Reporting by Small Companies

April 06, 2016

The UN Global Compact has announced an initiative through which it will support efforts by companies with fewer than 250 employees in publicly reporting their progress in implementing the UN's "sustainable development" agenda.
US Agency: Amazon Cannot Omit Gender Pay Proposal

April 05, 2016

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected a request from technology company Amazon to exclude from its shareholder ballot a proposal from an activist investor, which has submitted the same proposal to eight other technology companies, calling on Amazon to report any difference between men's and women's pay and how it plans to resolve any disparity.
Oxfam Scrutinizes French Banks' Use of "Tax Havens"

April 04, 2016

Using data generated under a new French law requiring banks to publicize their finances on a country-by-country basis, the nongovernmental organization Oxfam has published a report on the use by French banks of subsidiaries in so-called "tax havens," or jurisdictions that permit corporations to store money at advantageous tax rates, to increase their profits.
NGOs Release Corporate Climate Reporting Guidance

April 04, 2016

In line with the outcome of the UN climate negotiations in Paris and the Financial Stability Board's creation of a Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, the Global Reporting Initiative and climate reporting organization CDP have published new guidance for companies on how to report their implementation of the global agenda on climate change.
GRI Sets out Goals for Expansive Data Reporting

April 04, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has published a report that outlines its vision for future corporate reporting of data on environmental and human rights issues, including an immediate "sustainability data exchange" in place of annual reports and real-time interactions with stakeholders.
World Bank Pushes More Accessible Extractive Data Reporting

March 31, 2016

At the recent Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ("EITI") Global Conference, the World Bank released a report calling on countries to engage in reporting practices regarding the financial and other information they publish as part of EITI that make it more accessible for civil society and academia.