UN-ESG

GRI, China Launch CSR Initiative

August 06, 2014

At a conference in Beijing, the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") and the State Information Center of China launched the China Corporate Social Responsibility ("CSR") Monitoring and Evaluation System to pressure Chinese businesses to abide by and report on their performance regarding CSR in their operations.
NGOs Push for Mandatory EU Conflict Mineral Due Diligence

July 23, 2014

In response to a European Commission proposal for voluntary corporate reporting on conflict minerals from war-torn countries, a group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs") is pushing the European Parliament to adopt stricter standards that require mitigation of the use of such minerals.
Article Calls for Expanded Mandate on "Sustainability Reporting"

July 18, 2014

Professors Adam Sulkowski and Sandra Waddock call for governments to broadly interpret current corporate reporting laws to require reporting on human rights, environmental impacts, and other issues and to provide more explicit standards mandating that companies report on "sustainability" in their operations.
Coke, Pepsi Adopt UN Guidelines on Land Rights

July 14, 2014

Following the decision of Coca-Cola to support the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, which seek to pressure businesses to avoid violation of land ownership rights in developing countries, Pepsi has agreed to promote the Guidelines and carry out impact assessments in its supply chain.
Shift Calls for Embedding of Human Rights Culture in Corporations

July 14, 2014

The nongovernmental organization Shift has published guidance on steps it believes corporations should take to embed human rights due diligence, including reporting on and protecting human rights in business operations, in company culture.
Corporate Reporting Organizations Form Joint Initiative

July 11, 2014

A group of organizations that seek to standardize corporate reporting in a variety of areas, including climate and financial accounting, recently launched the Corporate Reporting Dialogue in Amsterdam to increase "integrated reporting" on such issues by businesses around the world.
Committee Drafts International Standard on Security Providers

July 11, 2014

The International Organization for Standardization has created a new "Project Committee" to develop a set of standards it will push private security providers to follow with regard to human rights and humanitarian law.
NGO Criticizes Conflict Minerals Reporting as Insufficient

July 10, 2014

As U.S. companies release their first legally required reports on the use of "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas in Africa in their products, the nongovernmental organization ("NGO") Global Witness has complained that these reports do not sufficiently assess companies' use of these minerals.
BP Publishes 2013 "Sustainability Review"

June 23, 2014

As nongovernmental organizations ramp up their pressure on transnational corporations to provide human rights and environmental impact assessments, the oil and gas company BP has released an assessment of its impacts on the environment and societies in which it operated in 2013.
Unilever Commits to International BHR Standards

June 23, 2014

Consumer goods company Unilever has announced that it will report on its progress in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR") in its operations and that it will produce impact assessments reviewing activities in its supply chain.