ESG

UBS Plans Social, Environmental Risk Assessments

December 14, 2018

Responding to calls from the movement for “socially responsible” investing, financial giant UBS Global Wealth Management has announced it will begin including environmental, social, and governance assessments in its 2019 reports to help clients gauge the exposure of their investments to risks like climate change.
UN, Banks Publish “Principles for Responsible Banking”

December 13, 2018

The UN Environment Finance Initiative and 28 banks recently launched in Paris a set of Principles for Responsible Banking, a framework under which the banking industry is intended to mainstream the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Paris climate deal in their operations.
Paper Explores Global Approach to SDG Financing

December 13, 2018

Olaf Weber of the Centre for International Governance Innovation writes that, to provide adequate funding to the fulfillment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the banking industry must integrate the SDGs in the operations of its members, supported by SDG-oriented financial regulation by governments around the globe.
Global Bodies Seek to Merge Corporate Reporting Standards

December 07, 2018

In November, the Global Reporting Initiative and other organizations promulgating international corporate reporting standards launched a two-year project seeking to align their standards on “sustainability” reporting to produce consistent policies for businesses to use to report on their social and environmental impacts.
Companies See Rise in Social-Activist Shareholder Resolutions

December 07, 2018

Joe Williams of the Washington Examiner writes that social-activist organizations are increasingly adopting a strategy of buying shareholder status at major companies to force businesses to respond to resolutions pursuing these activists’ social and environmental agendas.
NGO Paper Seeks Standardization of Climate Risk Disclosure

December 05, 2018

A report published in September by the Centre for International Governance Innovation offers policy recommendations on how global actors could help standardize international rules for the disclosure of climate-related risks in the financial sector.
Australia Advances Legislation on Forced-Labor Reporting

December 05, 2018

In September, the Australian House of Representatives passed legislation that would require over 3000 businesses in the Australian market to publish annual statements about the risks related to forced labor in their operations and supply chains.
Businesses Pledge “Just” Transition to Renewable Energy

December 03, 2018

At the recent Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, a group of companies signed a Pledge for Just Transition to Decent Jobs declaring their commitments to “decent” labor standards and wage guarantees while engaging in a transition to renewable energy as part of the UN’s Paris climate deal.
World Bank Launches Sustainable Development Notes

November 30, 2018

The World Bank recently announced that, in partnership with UBS, it would issue “sustainable development notes” that would underwrite risks taken by investors financing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals in line with the principles of the UN Global Compact business network and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Mattel Partners with UN on TV Show’s SDG Promotion

November 30, 2018

The Los Angeles Times reports that Mattel and the UN are engaged in a collaborative project through which UN staffers assist in creating stories for the television show “Thomas & Friends” that promote the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including by using “gender-sensitive language” and teaching children about the UN’s environmental agenda.