ESG

CIGI Considers Global Governance of BHR in Finance Sector

December 24, 2014

A Centre for International Governance Innovation ("CIGI") report discusses how to improve the international Equator Principles for project finance, and other principles related to business and human rights ("BHR"), to better pressure financial institutions to advance the international BHR and environmental agenda.
Activists Praise U.K. Extractive Transparency Law

December 03, 2014

The nongovernmental organization Publish What You Pay has praised the U.K.'s enactment of legislation requiring companies in the extractive industry to report all payments to governments, as it argues the measure will pressure developing countries to provide more money for economic and social rights.
Turkish Stock Exchange Launches Sustainability Initiative

November 19, 2014

The Turkish stock exchange Borsa Istanbul has established a "sustainability index" that will evaluate how companies perform in their operations regarding such issues as climate change and human rights.
U.K. Joins International Extractive Transparency Initiative

October 22, 2014

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative ("EITI") has accepted the U.K.'s application to become a candidate country in the initiative, which will bind the Government to report the revenues it receives from oil, gas, and mineral companies and to require financial reporting from these companies.
Activists Call for Global Governance of Corporate Reporting

October 17, 2014

Citing a study's findings that a low number of large corporations around the world report how they advance the "sustainability" agenda, some activists are calling for the development of consistent reporting standards in a global body to push businesses to publicize this information.
U.K. Announces Corporate Reporting on Supply Chain Labor Rights

October 17, 2014

The British Government has announced the development of a bill that will require U.K. businesses to report on the steps they have taken to make their supply chains free of forced labor.
DIHR Seeks to Standardize Corporate Impact Assessments

October 15, 2014

The Danish Institute for Human Rights ("DIHR") has published a paper promoting "best practices" among businesses in performing due diligence on human rights through impact assessments of their operations and those of actors in their supply chains.
UN Launches Initiative to Bind Companies to Development Goals

October 08, 2014

The UN Global Compact has announced a partnership with the Global Reporting Initiative and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development to guide businesses on performing impact assessments and tailoring their operations to achieve a set of UN "sustainable development goals" to be released next year.
EU Adopts Directive on Corporate Non-financial Reporting

October 01, 2014

The Council of the EU has adopted a directive providing for the reporting of non-financial information, on human rights, environmental, and other impacts, by large corporations across the bloc, paving the way for its entering into force in 20 days.
NGOs Seek Binding EU Conflict Minerals Rules

October 01, 2014

A group of nongovernmental organizations ("NGOs") have called on the European Parliament to overhaul a proposal of the European Commission in order to require a large number of European companies to investigate their supply chains and report on the use of so-called "conflict minerals" in their operations.