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Insurance Company Commits to ESG Agenda
August 12, 2015
The CEO of UK insurance company Aviva has pledged to remove investments from energy companies it believes are not doing enough to counter climate change and to consider environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") factors, championed by the UN and environmental and human rights activists, in its investment decisions.
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GRI Unit Seeks Better NGO Use of Corporate Reporting
August 12, 2015
The Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") has announced the formation of a "Knowledge Unit" that will use GRI's past experience in corporate reporting to determine, in part, how civil society groups and others can take advantage of companies' "sustainability" reporting to advance their work pushing companies to implement their social and environmental agenda.
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Study Indicates Mixed Results of US Conflict Minerals Law
August 12, 2015
According to an article from Cooley LLP, a recent study has shown that despite substantial time and money spent on compliance, approximately 90% of companies filing reports on their use of conflict minerals, as required under US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") rules, could not determine if their products are "conflict free."
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Exchanges Respond to Pressure on Reporting Standards
August 12, 2015
A press release from the Global Reporting Initiative ("GRI") reports that some stock exchanges are responding to growing pressure from activists, UN agencies, and investors by pushing companies to report on social and environmental issues in their operations using standards issued by GRI and other organizations.
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Former UN Official Calls for Global Tax Body
August 05, 2015
In a recent article, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs José Antonio Ocampo lamented the recent failure of countries to create a UN-controlled body to implement global tax standards and "ensure fair taxation of corporate profits worldwide."