ESG

Google Case Shows Cost of Salary Reporting

August 09, 2017

Signaling the complexity and expense involved in complying with government reporting requirements, tech giant Google recently argued in a case launched by the US Department of Labor alleging "systemic compensation disparities" between male and female employees that it would be too timely and costly to comply with the government's broad request for salary records.
Shell Announces Shift from Oil

August 08, 2017

Amid proliferating activist pressure and government policies implementing the global climate agenda, Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden has announced that the company is planning for a shift from crude oil to natural gas and other alternative energies to help fulfill the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
US Communities Sue "Carbon Majors" over Sea Level

August 08, 2017

Two coastal California counties and one California city have sued a group of oil, gas, and coal producers, claiming that these “carbon majors” conspired for decades to hide the negative environmental effects of fossil fuels and should be required to pay “for the current and future costs of adapting to sea level rises linked to climate change.”
Oil Company Shareholders Adopt Climate Reporting Measure

August 04, 2017

Showing the significant impact activist shareholders can have on business and human rights and climate policies at large companies, the California Public Employees' Retirement System has touted the passage by shareholders in Occidental Petroleum of its resolution requiring the energy company to report the impacts of climate change on its future business.
Research Funders Agree to WHO Reporting Rules

August 04, 2017

The UN has announced that major funders of medical research and nongovernmental organizations involved in such research have agreed to global standards issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish the results of all clinical trials they fund or sponsor in a publicly available database.
UN Official Seeks Small Business Support on SDGs

August 03, 2017

A statement from the UN Secretary-General's Chef de Cabinet Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti to a "Small Business Knowledge Summit" at the UN signaled the international organization's intention to enlist small and medium-sized businesses in its efforts to achieve the comprehensive social and environmental targets of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
UN Meeting Aims at "Sustainable Insurance" System

August 03, 2017

An article by Christopher Swope describes a conference hosted by the UN Environment Programme focused on pushing leaders from cities and the global insurance industry to collaborate on a "sustainable insurance" system that takes into account the potential impacts of climate change on urban areas.
UN Agent Pushes Panama to Enhance Financial Reporting

August 03, 2017

After an official visit to Panama, UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human rights Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky called on the country's authorities to require financial institutions to exercise "due diligence" in monitoring and reporting tax evasion to ensure they are not shielding corporate and individual funds that could be used to advance economic and social human rights.
ISO Develops Global Standard on Climate Action

August 03, 2017

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced its development of a global standard on "greenhouse gas management" that will guide businesses and other organizations on developing a framework for action toward and public reporting on efforts to meet the UN's climate change and "sustainable development" targets.
Businesses Push G20 on Climate Action

August 03, 2017

Business recommendations from a corporate-sponsored "B20 Summit" in Berlin in May called on the Group of 20 countries (G20) to expand global governance initiatives to take on a wide range of cross-border issues, including implementation of the UN's 2015 Paris agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.