ESG

Google Partners with UN on Monitoring SDG Progress

July 30, 2018

NDTV reports that tech giant Google has agreed with the UN Environmental Programme to develop a platform enabling the public, through satellite and other technology, to track government and industry progress toward achieving environmental targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Sovereign Funds Push Companies to Consider Climate Risks

July 30, 2018

A group of six sovereign wealth funds, organized under an initiative established at the recent One Planet Summit in Paris, has announced that they will only invest in companies that consider risks related to climate change in their long-term strategies and account for the need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to fulfill the UN’s Paris climate deal.
Initiative Seeks Investor Support for Fossil Fuel Divestment

July 30, 2018

According to the UN-supported initiative Climate Action 100+, the growing number of investor signatories to the initiative, aimed at placing pressure on “systemically important greenhouse gas emitters” to reduce their climate impacts, demonstrates the budding commitment by the financial industry to help fulfill the UN’s Paris climate deal.
ISO Standard Aims for Global Emissions Reduction

July 26, 2018

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has released a global standard aiming to help fulfill the UN’s Paris climate agreement and Sustainable Development Goals by providing a common framework for governments and businesses to consider policies for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Academic Questions Global Impact of “Social Bonds”

July 26, 2018

Professor David Kinley of Sydney University writes that, while “social bonds, which seek to encourage investment in “socially responsible” activity, are making an impact on global bond markets, they have so far failed to realize a substantial “halo effect” that leads to “sustainable” investing in other areas of these markets.
Dutch Insurers Sign “Social Responsibility” Agreement

July 26, 2018

As part of a broad initiative to bind Dutch industries to global social and environmental standards, a group of Dutch insurers has signed an agreement with nongovernmental organizations, the Dutch government, and others to engage in “socially responsible investing” and to avoid financing negative impacts to the environment.
NGOs Laud Impacts of EU Extractives Reporting Regulations

July 24, 2018

The nongovernmental coalition Publish What You Pay UK has touted the conclusions of a British government review of reporting by oil, gas, and mining companies on what they pay to governments on a country-by-country basis under EU regulations, finding that this reporting “does not disadvantage” business interests.
NGO Calls on Facebook to Set up Data-Processing Audit

July 23, 2018

The nongovernmental organization Access Now has released an open letter calling on Facebook to submit to an independent audit of its data-processing practices and agreements on data disclosure, to perform a global human rights impact assessment, and to promote “comprehensive data protection” regulations.
Businesses Seek UN Approval for Climate Plans

July 18, 2018

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change reports that over 114 companies around the world have submitted their action plans to combat global warming to the UN for approval under the Science Based Targets initiative, aimed at pressuring corporations to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions in line with the UN’s Paris climate accord.
NGO Blames Supermarkets for Global Labor Rights Abuse

July 12, 2018

The nongovernmental organization Oxfam has launched a campaign pressuring major supermarket chains to end “brutal working conditions” and labor rights violations in their global supply chains and “to radically improve transparency around their food sourcing policies.”