UN-ESG

UN Calls for Finance Regulators to Aid "Sustainability" Agenda

September 16, 2015

Prior to the expected adoption of the UN's proposed Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), the UN Environment Programme has produced a study urging national financial regulators to adopt "policy tools," including regulations for "sustainable" investment and disclosure obligations, that advance the implementation of the SDGs in the global financial sector.
Lawyer: Due Diligence Is Path to Corporate Responsibility

September 16, 2015

An article by Marie Wilke of WTI Advisors explores the world of multiplying, complex laws and standards under which companies make due diligence efforts to ensure that their supply chains are "responsible" and identifies such due diligence as the best path to countering social and environmental harm by businesses.
NGO Pushes for Climate Disclosure by Food Companies

September 16, 2015

Frances Way of environmental data-collecting organization CDP has called for food, beverage, and tobacco corporations to publicly disclose how much their operations and the operations of producers in their supply chains add to worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and thus contribute to warming the planet.
GRI Program Trains Businesses on Reporting

September 16, 2015

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") describes how it pushes companies to begin reporting on their implementation of international activists' "sustainability" agenda through its "Business Transparency Program."
GRI Places Pressure on Companies over Development Goals

September 16, 2015

The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has called on businesses to use its reporting mechanisms in order to advance the implementation of the UN's recently proposed Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), set to be adopted in September, and has announced that it will track corporate progress on achieving the SDGs.
NGO Praises "Sustainability" Focus of Asian Stock Exchanges

September 15, 2015

Teresa Fogelberg of the Global Reporting Initiative applauds Asian stock exchanges for issuing guidance that pressures companies involved in these exchanges to report on their implementation of the global environmental and social agenda.
Disclosure Rules Present Problems for Business

September 09, 2015

The New York Times reports that US rules requiring corporate disclosure of the use of "conflict minerals" from war-torn areas of Africa increasingly force businesses to navigate complex supply chains and seek help from lawyers, consultants, and others who can guide them through the disclosure process.
Businesses Face Litigation over Disclosure Rules

September 02, 2015

Highlighting a lawsuit accusing Costco of violating the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act by selling prawns from Southeast Asia that were allegedly farmed using forced labor, attorneys from Squire Patton Boggs warn that businesses are increasingly at risk of litigation under multiplying corporate disclosure legislation and international standards.
Academic Seeks Corporate Reporting to Aid BHR Lawsuits

September 02, 2015

Dr. Anil Yilmaz Vastardis of the University of Essex in the UK writes on a recent US case that demonstrates how public corporate reporting on business and human rights ("BHR") issues will force companies to provide information that may be helpful to the lawsuits of alleged victims of BHR violations.
GRI Presses Business Leaders on Sustainability Reporting

September 02, 2015

An invitation from the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") to business leaders to join its "Corporate Leadership Groups" demonstrates how the organization is seeking members of the business community who will promote its message on how a corporate disclosure regime can promote a global "sustainable economy."