ESG

Paper Promotes Global Governance of Tax System

July 29, 2015

A paper published by the Global Summitry Project argues that countries should cooperate under standards produced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ("OECD") to push the global governance of tax policy and require the public reporting of companies' international financial information.
US Companies Announce Investments in UN Climate Agenda

July 29, 2015

As pressure from environmental activists, international organizations, and the US government for business implementation of the UN climate change agenda ramps up, a group of US companies has joined a pledge produced by the US State Department committing financial and operational support for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
EU Considers Binding BHR Reporting Proposal

July 29, 2015

Consultancy EcoVadis has published a blog post discussing support from activists and the French Government for a proposal in the European Parliament that seeks mandatory corporate reporting on business and human rights ("BHR") issues for companies throughout the EU.
NGO Report Calls for "Climate Economy," Reporting Requirements

July 29, 2015

A recent report from the nongovernmental organization the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate calls for a "New Climate Economy" in which companies agree to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and standards on reporting and verifying emissions.
Consulting Firm Pushes Fossil Fuel Divestment Agenda

July 28, 2015

The global consulting firm Mercer has joined environmental activists and UN officials in a report warning that investors in companies and assets that are reliant on fossil fuels are taking on large risks as governments and international organizations ramp up efforts to take on climate change.
Proposal Seeks Mandatory EU Conflict Minerals Reporting

July 28, 2015

Dynda Thomas of Squire Patton Boggs writes that a proposal from the European Parliament would require nearly 900,000 European companies to issue public reports on their use of conflict minerals from war-torn areas in their products and would not provide a geographic limitation on the source of minerals that trigger the requirement.
NGOs Seek EU Measure on Tax Reporting

July 22, 2015

Two nongovernmental organization ("NGO") representatives have published an article in which they call for the European Parliament to adopt a measure seeking to require multinational corporations to report on their profits and taxes paid on a country-by-country basis, in order to cut down on alleged "tax dodging" by businesses.
Panel at UN Event Calls for Climate Finance Rules

July 21, 2015

At a recent UN event, panelists called for governments around the world to adopt new rules for financial institutions, including environmental reporting requirements, that they argued would drive forward substantial private funding of the UN's climate change agenda.
MEPs Develop Comprehensive EU Product Reporting Proposals

July 15, 2015

The Guardian reports that a group of Members of the European Parliament ("MEPs") have developed a proposal for requirements, by the year 2019, for industries across the bloc to report on the environmental footprint of all their products, as officials seek to create "binding targets on resource efficiency."
Denmark Transposes EU Reporting Requirements

July 15, 2015

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has announced that the Danish Government is the first to transpose the EU corporate non-financial reporting directive, which requires companies to report on their social and environmental impacts, into national law, and has applauded Denmark for permitting businesses to issue their reports using GRI guidelines.