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.
Oil Companies Sign on to UN Methane Plan

August 31, 2015

Demonstrating pressure on businesses from activists and UN officials to implement the UN climate change agenda, a group of oil companies have agreed to a pledge, produced by the UN, to reduce methane emissions.
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.
Article Pushes Business Case for Environmental, Social Action

August 14, 2015

As companies increasingly face pressure from the UN and activists to show they are implementing the global environmental and human rights agenda, Martin Wrights argues that these companies are finding that there is a business case to push for changes in social and environmental policies.
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").
L'Oréal USA Joins Climate Change Coalition

August 12, 2015

Beauty products company L'Oréal USA has announced that it will join the Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy ("BICEP") group, a coalition of 35 businesses seeking to advance the international climate change agenda and US President Barack Obama's climate plan, as pressure from the UN and activists for corporate action rises.