ESG

Article Calls for Expanded Mandate on "Sustainability Reporting"

July 18, 2014

Professors Adam Sulkowski and Sandra Waddock call for governments to broadly interpret current corporate reporting laws to require reporting on human rights, environmental impacts, and other issues and to provide more explicit standards mandating that companies report on "sustainability" in their operations.
Coke, Pepsi Adopt UN Guidelines on Land Rights

July 14, 2014

Following the decision of Coca-Cola to support the UN Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure, which seek to pressure businesses to avoid violation of land ownership rights in developing countries, Pepsi has agreed to promote the Guidelines and carry out impact assessments in its supply chain.
Shift Calls for Embedding of Human Rights Culture in Corporations

July 14, 2014

The nongovernmental organization Shift has published guidance on steps it believes corporations should take to embed human rights due diligence, including reporting on and protecting human rights in business operations, in company culture.
Corporate Reporting Organizations Form Joint Initiative

July 11, 2014

A group of organizations that seek to standardize corporate reporting in a variety of areas, including climate and financial accounting, recently launched the Corporate Reporting Dialogue in Amsterdam to increase "integrated reporting" on such issues by businesses around the world.
Committee Drafts International Standard on Security Providers

July 11, 2014

The International Organization for Standardization has created a new "Project Committee" to develop a set of standards it will push private security providers to follow with regard to human rights and humanitarian law.
NGO Criticizes Conflict Minerals Reporting as Insufficient

July 10, 2014

As U.S. companies release their first legally required reports on the use of "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas in Africa in their products, the nongovernmental organization ("NGO") Global Witness has complained that these reports do not sufficiently assess companies' use of these minerals.
BP Publishes 2013 "Sustainability Review"

June 23, 2014

As nongovernmental organizations ramp up their pressure on transnational corporations to provide human rights and environmental impact assessments, the oil and gas company BP has released an assessment of its impacts on the environment and societies in which it operated in 2013.
Unilever Commits to International BHR Standards

June 23, 2014

Consumer goods company Unilever has announced that it will report on its progress in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights ("BHR") in its operations and that it will produce impact assessments reviewing activities in its supply chain.
ECCJ Seeks Stricter Corporate Reporting Requirements

June 20, 2014

Despite praising the EU non-financial reporting directive as a "significant step" toward requiring business human rights and environmental reporting, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice ("ECCJ") indicates the EU and member states should tighten requirements on businesses to report on these issues.
LSEG Joins UN Sustainability Initiative

June 19, 2014

The London Stock Exchange Group ("LSEG") has announced that it will join the UN Sustainable Stock Exchange initiative, which seeks "sustainable" investment opportunities and corporate reporting on environmental, social, and corporate governance issues.