ESG

NGOs: French Companies Failed to Comply with “Duty of Vigilance”

June 19, 2019

A coalition of nongovernmental organizations has published a report criticizing French companies for their failure to fully comply with the country’s new “duty of vigilance” law and calling for the introduction of a binding global business and human rights (BHR) treaty to remedy shortcomings in BHR enforcement.
EC Introduces Guidelines for Corporate Climate Reporting

June 19, 2019

The European Commission (EC) has published guidelines on how businesses should publicly report their climate impacts as well as the impacts of the climate on their operations under the bloc’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive and welcomed the publication of three reports from an expert EU group on ramping up “sustainable finance.”
NGO Organizes Investor Call for Climate Reporting

June 18, 2019

Bloomberg reports that the Carbon Disclosure Project, a nongovernmental initiative that provides a framework for companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions levels, has corralled a group of investors managing a combined $10 trillion in assets to pressure businesses to provide more information on their climate impacts.
Investors Support Swiss Corporate “Due Diligence” Legislation

June 12, 2019

The Ethos Foundation, an organization seeking to support “socially responsible investment,” and a group of institutional investors have called on the lower house of the Swiss Parliament to support legislation imposing “mandatory human rights due diligence” obligations on Swiss businesses.
South Africa Introduces Carbon Tax to Meet UN Climate Pledges

June 05, 2019

The saga of South Africa’s attempt to introduce a tax on greenhouse gas emissions, ultimately enacted at the end of May to help the country meet its pledges under the UN’s Paris climate deal, highlights producer concerns about the impacts of such taxes on energy prices.
UK Body Seeks Enforcement Mechanism for Labor Reporting Act

June 03, 2019

Lawmakers appointed by the UK government to provide an independent review of the country’s Modern Slavery Act have published a report calling, among other proposals, for a mandatory structure regarding corporate reporting on their efforts against forced labor and the enforcement of sanctions against companies that fail to comply.
UN Body Updates Emissions Standards for Shipping Industry

June 03, 2019

At meetings in May, the Marine Environment Protection Committee of the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a series of measures aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of ships and reducing the maritime industry’s greenhouse gas emissions in line with the UN’s Paris climate accord.
French Officials Propose Audits for Online “Hate Speech” Removal

June 03, 2019

Politico reports that the French government has released a proposal to install regulators who could perform regular audits of social media companies’ removal of “hate speech” from their platforms and to force such businesses to publicize their internal processes for dealing with such content.
NGOs Push for Bolstered Rights Reporting by ASEAN Companies

June 03, 2019

A group of nongovernmental organizations recently published a report finding that human rights reporting by major companies listed on stock exchanges in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) “falls substantially short” of UN standards and urges such companies to prepare for a legally binding treaty on business and human rights.
Activists Criticize Microsoft’s Move to “Climate Leadership” Group

May 31, 2019

Environmental activists are criticizing tech giant Microsoft’s decision to join the international policy institute Climate Leadership Council due to the group’s advocacy of business legal immunity for contributions to climate change in exchange for support of a rising tax on carbon emissions.