ESG

GRI Establishes Review Service for Corporate Disclosures

January 17, 2018

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched a Disclosure Review Service through which it will evaluate corporate reports produced using GRI's Sustainability Reporting Standards to ensure they contain information helpful to readers in determining whether these companies are contributing to the global "sustainable development" agenda.
GRI Calls for Companies to Report on Poverty Alleviation

January 17, 2018

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has published a paper containing recommendations on how businesses should include information regarding their efforts to alleviate poverty in public reports on their contributions to the "sustainable development" agenda.
Australian Companies Face Legislative Push for Labor Reporting

January 16, 2018

An article in The Sydney Morning Herald highlights the concerns from some retail businesses regarding the scope of and penalties contained in a proposal for an Australian law that would require large companies to publicly report their efforts to rid their global supply chains of forced labor.
Corporate Initiative Counters Climate Lawsuits

January 09, 2018

The Washington Examiner reports that the National Association of Manufacturers has announced a new legal initiative, called the Manufacturers' Accountability Project, through which it will counter litigation from activist groups and government officials pushing a broad new theory of "public nuisance" to sue manufacturers for their alleged contributions to global warming.
EU Committee Calls for Permanent Panel on Tax Evasion

January 08, 2018

Joe Kirwin reports that the European Parliament's investigative committee on the Panama Papers has called for the creation of a permanent panel to probe alleged tax evasion by multinational companies and the adoption of regulations and mandatory public reporting to prevent banks and accounting firms from helping businesses escape taxes within the EU.
GRI Touts 2017 Progress on "Sustainability" Standards

January 05, 2018

In a year-end review, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) explained its introduction of corporate reporting standards on the UN's "sustainable development" agenda to companies around the world and previewed its launch in 2018 of new "sustainability" standards on water, occupational health and safety, and corporate taxation.
Analysis Roots out Gaps in EU Non-Financial Reporting

January 05, 2018

Law organization Frank Bold has published an analysis of the implementation of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive in the UK, France, Germany, and Italy, finding that, while the new rules have extended corporate non-financial reporting in each country, governments must be clearer about which data is "material" and must therefore be included in reports.
Report Tracks Progress of EU Corporate Reporting

January 05, 2018

CSR Europe and the Global Reporting Initiative have produced a report tracking the implementation by EU member states of the supranational organization's corporate Non-Financial Reporting Directive, in a bid to analyze the success of the initiative in forcing businesses to publicly disclose their social and environmental impacts.
Canadian Investors Push for Corporate Climate Reporting

January 05, 2018

An article in The Globe and Mail highlights how pension funds and other investors are responding to pressure from nongovernmental organizations and others by pushing companies in which they invest to report on how they are preparing for a "low-carbon" future, despite a lack of consistent corporate disclosure guidelines on climate risks.
Google Seeks to Block Publication of Gender-Pay Data

January 05, 2018

The Guardian reports that, in a case highlighting the complications and costs involved in broad corporate reporting requirements, tech giant Google is calling on a federal US court to block a motion requiring it to turn over data on alleged pay disparities between men and women working for the company in a class-action suit launched by female employees.