ESG

Bloomberg Publishes Financial Companies' Gender Data

May 11, 2016

Fortune reports that Bloomberg has published a Financial Services Gender Equality Index to provide ratings for potential investors on the commitment of participating financial companies to gender diversity and "women-friendly policies."
GRI Seeks Expansion of Reporting Agenda to Small Businesses

May 11, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative has announced that it will use its partnership with the International Organisation of Employers to push its reporting standards on the UN's climate agreement and sustainability agenda among small and medium sized enterprises.
MEPs Seek Robust Non-Financial Reporting in EU Member States

May 05, 2016

Members of the European Parliament ("MEPs") Sergio Cofferati and Richard Howitt, who claim a role in the agreement of EU legislation that will require corporate reporting of social and environmental impacts, call for EU member states to go beyond the requirements of the Directive in imposing robust non-financial reporting requirements on businesses operating in their territory.
Attorney General Subpoenas Exxon's Contact with Civil Society

May 04, 2016

As a coordinated campaign continues among US state attorneys general to hold energy company ExxonMobil liable for allegedly false communications on the science of climate change, Attorney General of the US Virgin Islands Claude Walker has subpoenaed communications between Exxon and 90 organizations "engaged in research or advocacy" on global warming.
GRI Examines Materiality in Sustainability Reporting

May 04, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI"), in affiliation with investment specialist RobecoSAM, have published research scrutinizing whether reporting by companies on the social and environmental impacts of their operations matches the needs of investors and calls for businesses to use GRI's sustainability reporting standards to ensure the relevance of such reports.
GRI Encourages Expansive Action on UN Climate Goals

April 28, 2016

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has called for businesses and governments to look beyond carbon emissions to address the "human rights" impacts of global warming in implementing the UN climate deal signed in New York last week and predicts that the UN will use GRI's reporting guidelines as its standard for government emissions reporting under the deal.
EU Ministers Seek Strong Response to "Panama Papers"

April 28, 2016

NDTV reports that, at recent talks in Amsterdam, national finance ministers from EU member states coalesced around a number of proposals in the wake of the release of off-shore financial information in the "Panama Papers" to shame so-called "tax havens" and require more reporting on taxes paid by companies throughout Europe and around the world.
Norway Fund Divests from Companies Active in Coal

April 27, 2016

Bloomberg reports that, to begin its compliance with a ban on coal investments passed last year by the Norwegian Parliament, Norway's sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank has removed its financing from 52 companies with over 30% of their activity or sales in coal.
WWF Pushes Sustainability Standards for Consumer Goods in Asia

April 26, 2016

The nongovernmental organization WWF has published a guide for Asian companies dealing in "fast moving consumer goods" on how to implement the UN's sustainability agenda through international supply-chain and environmental standards.
NGO Responds to Apple Report with Packaging Critique

April 26, 2016

Greenpeace's response to technology company Apple's annual Environmental Progress Report praises the company on its greenhouse gas emissions pledges but criticizes the company for reliance on what the nongovernmental organization considers the wrong global standards for sourcing sustainable packaging.