Surveillance Capitalism

NGOs Criticize Funding for "Extreme Fossil Fuels"

July 14, 2017

A group of environmental organizations has released a report warning that bank funding of "extreme fossil fuel" projects, such as coal mining and “dirty oil” extraction, will push greenhouse gas emissions beyond what is required under the obligations of the Paris Climate Accord.
Dutch Official: Companies Must Push Countries on BHR

July 13, 2017

In a recent speech, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen touted her government's expansive commitments to furthering the global BHR agenda in its trade policy and called on businesses to go beyond their own supply chains in pushing foreign governments to bolster their BHR policies.
FIFA Joins Human Rights "Steering Committee"

May 24, 2017

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) has announced that the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has joined the Steering Committee of the IHRB's Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights, a consultative body intended to pressure sports bodies and companies to implement the business and human rights agenda.
Skeptics Question "Sustainable Finance" Products

May 18, 2017

Reuters reports that, while a report from an alliance of organizations advocating "sustainable investment" indicates a growing movement toward "ethical, sustainable and socially responsible" finance, skeptics of such investment products question whether they actually contribute to the global "sustainability" agenda.
Microsoft, UN Partner on Rights-Monitoring

May 17, 2017

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and technology giant Microsoft have announced a five-year partnership to use enhanced technology to monitor human rights violations around the world and to promote broader corporate adoption of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Utility Company Pursues "Green Bond" Market

May 15, 2017

French utility company Engie has announced its release of a second "green bond," valued at 1.5 billion euros and aimed at investments in renewable energy projects that will help fulfill the UN's climate change and "sustainable development" agendas.
Lawyers: CSR Statements Heighten Legal Risks

May 09, 2017

Miles Pittman and Rick Williams of the law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP write that Canadian courts are increasingly accepting business statements in favor of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and participation in business and human rights initiatives as grounds for holding companies responsible for alleged harms caused by their foreign subsidiaries.
Company Launches "Next-Gen" Platform to Advance SDGs

May 03, 2017

Global software company SAP has launched a Next-Gen Global Challenges platform through which it is soliciting ideas, for public release at a New York summit in October, to pressure industry leaders into fulfilling the UN's comprehensive Sustainable Development Goals.
Activists Demand Transparency in Textile Supply Chains

April 26, 2017

A coalition of unions and advocates has published a report calling for apparel and footwear companies to disclose the overseas factories used in their supply chains to increase transparency and ensure compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
ILO Workers: Governments Should Protect Rights in ‘Gig Economy’

April 19, 2017

Janine Berg and Valerio De Stefano of the UN’s International Labour Organisation have argued that traditional government labour protections should be applied to workers who obtain platform-based work such as that found via mobile phone apps like Uber.