Stakeholder Capitalism

Refinery Cuts Ties with Artisanal Mines over Due Diligence Costs

July 10, 2019

Signaling industry blowback to “due diligence” initiatives requiring companies to address human rights impacts in their global supply chains, Swiss gold refinery Metalor Technologies has announced it will cease importing gold from artisanal mines due to the cost of tracking impacts of such mining operations.
Facebook Audit Spotlights Alleged Rights Impacts

July 02, 2019

Facebook’s recent update on its civil rights audit, led by a former director of the American Civil Liberties Union, highlights the social-media giant’s broad acceptance that it must report on and address the alleged influence of content on its platform on the global human rights agenda, including through the promulgation of “hate speech.”
UN Series Focuses on National Action on SDGs

June 26, 2019

The UN Global Compact has announced a series of events seeking to push national governments to work with the private sector in achieving the comprehensive social and economic targets contained in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Cities, NGOs: Total Violates French “Duty of Vigilance” Law

June 26, 2019

14 cities and 4 nongovernmental organizations have threatened litigation against French energy company Total for allegedly failing to comply with a new French law imposing a “duty of vigilance” on companies by declining to publicly report how it plans to address its impacts on climate change.
UN, NGOs Call for Substantial Carbon Emission Reductions

June 19, 2019

A coalition including the UN Global Compact network of companies committed to the “sustainable development” agenda has issued a press release aiming to avoid the “catastrophic consequences” of climate change by calling on businesses to set “science-based” targets for the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions.
NGO Criticizes OECD Contact Points for Limiting Remedies

June 19, 2019

The nongovernmental organization OECD Watch has issued a report concluding that National Contact Points (NCPs) set up under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises have not been fulfilling their role in granting remedies to alleged victims of corporate abuse and calls for a revision of the Guidelines to boost the remedial function of NCPs.
Canadian Court Will Hear Case on Guatemala Mining Subsidiary

June 19, 2019

The Narwhal reports that a case in a British Columbia court against a Canadian mining company over its subsidiary’s alleged human rights violations in Guatemala is one example of plaintiffs currently testing the limits of Canadian courts’ jurisdiction over corporate subsidiaries’ conduct in foreign countries.
OECD Celebrates Global Initiative Identifying Targets for Taxation

June 12, 2019

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has issued a press release lauding its Automatic Exchange of Information initiative for providing an “impressive” level of transparency on global assets “that can now be effectively taxed by authorities worldwide.”
G7 Ministers Pledge Promotion of “Responsible Business Conduct”

June 12, 2019

Labor and employment ministers from G7 countries and the EU Commissioner for employment have issued a communiqué that includes a pledge to promote “responsible business conduct” in global supply chains and strengthen National Contact Points for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
UN Initiative Calls for Corporate Action on “Ocean Health”

June 05, 2019

The UN Global Compact business network has published a report calling on companies to address “the rapid deterioration of ocean health” by implementing international ocean regulations in keeping with the comprehensive UN Sustainable Development Goals.