UN-ESG

EU Parliament Seeks Mandatory Conflict Minerals Certification

May 20, 2015

The European Parliament has voted to reject an EU Commission proposal for a voluntary due diligence system for use of "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas in Africa, calling in its place for mandatory certification of European companies sourcing these materials to show they did not contribute to human rights abuses.
Nestlé Uses GRI's Corporate Reporting Mechanism

May 13, 2015

The nongovernmental organization Global Reporting Initiative has published a feature examining food and beverage company Nestlé's use of its G4 reporting guidelines to explain how it is implementing the international social and environmental agenda.
ISO Publishes "Map" of Corporate Reporting Standards

May 12, 2015

Illustrating the complexity of competing international business and human rights and corporate social responsibility standards, the International Organization for Standardization ("ISO") has published a "landscape map" to help businesses navigate various corporate reporting standards.
Unilever Pushes Activist Agenda on Climate Change

May 08, 2015

The Chief Executive Officer of Unilever Paul Polman writes in The Guardian that his company has adopted the UN's agenda on sustainability and climate change, in part by forming a new organization of businesses, governments, and activist groups called Tropical Forest Alliance 2020.
NGOs Allege Insufficient Conflict Minerals Reporting

April 29, 2015

The nongovernmental organizations Amnesty International and Global Witness have accused dozens of U.S. companies of shirking their duty under U.S. law to report on their efforts to avoid using conflict minerals in their operations by failing to sufficiently check their supply chains.
NGOs Press for Broad EU Law on Conflict Minerals

April 29, 2015

A group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs"), criticizing the European Commission's proposal for voluntary conflict minerals reporting as insufficient, are calling for Members of the European Parliament to vote for mandatory corporate reporting on a broad range of minerals used in their operations.
Bank Report Highlights Advance of Divestment Agenda

April 29, 2015

A report from the bank HSBC considering fossil fuels as risky, "stranded assets" that may lose their value as the UN's climate agenda moves forward demonstrates how climate activists' fossil fuel divestment agenda is pressuring the decisions of banks and financial companies around the world.
Letter: U.S. Should Require Business Climate Reporting

April 22, 2015

Reflecting pressure from activist groups to divest from fossil fuels, a letter from a group of institutional investors has called on the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Mary Jo White to require energy companies to report the impact of climate change on their business models.
BHR Proponents Develop Reporting "Assurance Framework"

April 22, 2015

The nongovernmental organization Shift and consultancy Mazars have published an article describing their development of an "assurance framework" that will consider whether businesses' human rights reporting efforts are consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR").
NGO Pushes Companies on Coal Use and Human Rights

April 13, 2015

Pushing the link between climate change and human rights as advocated at the UN and among climate activists, the nongovernmental organization Business and Human Rights Resource Centre has publicly contacted 20 companies regarding their generation of energy through "sub-critical coal."