UN-ESG

Insurance Company Commits to ESG Agenda

August 12, 2015

The CEO of UK insurance company Aviva has pledged to remove investments from energy companies it believes are not doing enough to counter climate change and to consider environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") factors, championed by the UN and environmental and human rights activists, in its investment decisions.
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.
South African Stock Exchange Ramps up ESG Standards

August 05, 2015

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has announced a collaboration with London exchange FTSE Russell to push environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") reporting standards among its members using "internationally leading disclosure practices."
Article Highlights Future Plans for BHR Reporting

July 30, 2015

Naki Mendoza of Devex Impact explains how several multinational companies, facing pressure from the UN and activist organizations and investors, have adopted business and human rights ("BHR") reporting tools and quotes a former business representative who predicts that using these reporting tools will become "the norm" for such companies in the next decade.
NGO Pushes Community-driven Corporate Reporting

July 29, 2015

A publication from the nongovernmental organization Oxfam America calls on companies to commit to performing human rights impact assessments ("HRIAs") to report on their implementation of global human rights standards and to hand over part of this process to communities that are allegedly affected by their operations.
Paper Promotes Global Governance of Tax System

July 29, 2015

A paper published by the Global Summitry Project argues that countries should cooperate under standards produced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") to push the global governance of tax policy and require the public reporting of companies' international financial information.
US Companies Announce Investments in UN Climate Agenda

July 29, 2015

As pressure from environmental activists, international organizations, and the US government for business implementation of the UN climate change agenda ramps up, a group of US companies has joined a pledge produced by the US State Department committing financial and operational support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
EU Considers Binding BHR Reporting Proposal

July 29, 2015

Consultancy EcoVadis has published a blog post discussing support from activists and the French Government for a proposal in the European Parliament that seeks mandatory corporate reporting on business and human rights ("BHR") issues for companies throughout the EU.