UN-ESG

Businesses Face Litigation over Disclosure Rules

September 02, 2015

Highlighting a lawsuit accusing Costco of violating the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act by selling prawns from Southeast Asia that were allegedly farmed using forced labor, attorneys from Squire Patton Boggs warn that businesses are increasingly at risk of litigation under multiplying corporate disclosure legislation and international standards.
Academic Seeks Corporate Reporting to Aid BHR Lawsuits

September 02, 2015

Dr. Anil Yilmaz Vastardis of the University of Essex in the UK writes on a recent US case that demonstrates how public corporate reporting on business and human rights ("BHR") issues will force companies to provide information that may be helpful to the lawsuits of alleged victims of BHR violations.
GRI Presses Business Leaders on Sustainability Reporting

September 02, 2015

An invitation from the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") to business leaders to join its "Corporate Leadership Groups" demonstrates how the organization is seeking members of the business community who will promote its message on how a corporate disclosure regime can promote a global "sustainable economy."
GRI, Australia Partner on Corporate Disclosure in Asia

September 02, 2015

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has announced a new program on which it is partnering with the Government of Australia in which it will push companies to pursue GRI standards in reporting on their implementation of the UN sustainability agenda in the region of Southeast Asia.
Article Explains Competing BHR Reporting Frameworks

September 01, 2015

In a recent article, attorneys from the law firm Littler Mendelson describe two leading frameworks for corporate reporting on business and human rights ("BHR") issues and explain how companies can face difficulties navigating the competing standards of these frameworks, which go beyond the UN-endorsed Guiding Principles on BHR.
US Court Panel Re-Topples Conflict Minerals Rule

August 26, 2015

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has once again struck down, as a free speech violation, a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring the disclosure by businesses whether minerals in their products may have profited those involved in armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
GRI Develops Corporate Reporting on SDGs

August 12, 2015

In a press release extolling the link between corporate reporting on environmental and social issues and the UN's "sustainability" agenda, the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") announced that it was working with a business organization and a UN agency to create a framework to guide corporate reporting on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs").
GRI Unit Seeks Better NGO Use of Corporate Reporting

August 12, 2015

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has announced the formation of a "Knowledge Unit" that will use GRI's past experience in corporate reporting to determine, in part, how civil society groups and others can take advantage of companies' "sustainability" reporting to advance their work pushing companies to implement their social and environmental agenda.
Study Indicates Mixed Results of US Conflict Minerals Law

August 12, 2015

According to an article from Cooley LLP, a recent study has shown that despite substantial time and money spent on compliance, approximately 90% of companies filing reports on their use of conflict minerals, as required under US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rules, could not determine if their products are "conflict free."
Exchanges Respond to Pressure on Reporting Standards

August 12, 2015

A press release from the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") reports that some stock exchanges are responding to growing pressure from activists, UN agencies, and investors by pushing companies to report on social and environmental issues in their operations using standards issued by GRI and other organizations.