Business & Human Rights

NGO Criticizes Limited Reach of OECD Tax Proposal

October 15, 2015

The nongovernmental organization Tax Justice Network has criticized the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") for failing, in its recent corporate tax information sharing proposal, to require country-by-country reporting and to treat parent and subsidiary companies as part of a single entity.
UN, Activists Seek Leverage for Corporate Support of SDGs

October 15, 2015

An article on the website Devex Impact lists several "tools" the UN and nongovernmental organizations are using to place pressure on businesses to provide financial and other support to the UN Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), including the UN's "SDG Compass" and stock-exchange standards.
Food Companies Face Lawsuits over Supply Chains

October 15, 2015

Highlighting the complexity inherent in requiring corporate disclosure of supply-chain activity, a set of class-action lawsuits against chocolate companies Mars, Nestle, and Hershey allege these companies violated a California law requiring that they disclose the use of child labor in their supply chains.
Japan Pension Fund Signs on to UN ESG Principles

October 14, 2015

Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund has announced that it has agreed to the UN Principles on Responsible Investment, which require signatories to consider environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") factors in investments, and that it will promote these Principles within Japan's finance industry.
NGO Seeks Strong Supply-Chain Reporting Laws

October 14, 2015

In a recent analysis of a California law requiring certain businesses to report on their efforts to eradicate forced labor in their supply chains, the nongovernmental organization KnowTheChain has criticized the limited reach of the law and calls for greater public transparency on which companies must prepare reports.