Stakeholder Capitalism

UN Report Seeks Rights-Centered Corporate SDG Strategies

December 13, 2018

The UN Global Compact has published a report explaining how companies around the world must “adopt a principles-based approach that places human rights at the centre of their strategy” to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including through human rights “risk assessments” and supporting rights throughout their supply chains.
UN Official Warns of Global Warming as Human Rights Threat

December 12, 2018

Reflecting long-standing calls from nongovernmental organizations to jumpstart the corporate “climate action” agenda by linking it to human rights and sustainable development, UN Global Compact Executive Director Lise Kingo identifies global warming as a “new man-made threat” to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
China Requires Tech Firms to Report on Logging of User Data

December 10, 2018

Al Jazeera reports that, in a move likely to reignite controversy regarding cooperation between Western technology firms and the Chinese government, the country’s Cyberspace Administration is requiring new “assessment reports” from internet platforms showing they are logging accurate details of their users.
Australian Government Reforms OECD Contact Point

December 10, 2018

In November, the Australian Treasury Department announced a series of reforms to the country’s National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, including the creation of an “Independent Examiner” and advisory board to increase the body’s independence and reduce its accountability to government.
UN Launches Business Platform on SDG Peace, Justice Targets

December 05, 2018

The UN Global Compact recently launched a two-year “Action Platform” pushing businesses, through dialogue and international standards, to contribute to the achievement of targets under the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) relating to “peace, justice, and strong institutions.”
NGOs File OECD Complaint over Italian Factory Audit

December 04, 2018

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and other organizations have filed a complaint with the Italian National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises alleging that an Italian auditor violated the Guidelines by certifying the safety of a factory in Pakistan weeks before it caught fire in 2012.
Facebook Seeks to Hire “Human Rights Policy Director”

December 04, 2018

Tech Crunch reports that social-media company Facebook recently advertised a “human rights policy director” position whose responsibilities would include “conflict prevention” and “peace-building,” citing the company’s duty to comply with the global human rights agenda.
OECD Contact Point Receives Complaint over Coffee Production in Brazil

November 30, 2018

OECD Watch reports that a nongovernmental organization and a union recently filed a complaint with the Brazilian national contact point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises pushing for mediation with a group of food and coffee companies to resolve alleged poor treatment of workers in their supply chains.
Forum Pushes Business Action on Environment, Rights Issues

November 14, 2018

The inaugural New Business Forum, hosted by founder Michael Bloomberg in Singapore last week, pushed businesses to partner with governments around the world on “private-sector solutions” to global problems ranging from climate change to artificial intelligence to “supply chain threats.”
IKEA Faces Employment Complaint in OECD Contact Point

October 03, 2018

The UNI Global Union and other workers' organizations have filed a complaint with the Dutch National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises accusing furniture giant IKEA of failing to prevent store managers in the US, Ireland, and Portugal from interfering with employees' right to collective bargaining.