The UK’s major “ethical” investing index is being accused of watering down green standards by including “unethical” companies.
The FTSE4Good family of indices were launched in a blaze of publicity nine months ago to encourage investment in companies with good records of corporate social responsibility.
Two companies, Close Fund Management and Direct Line, have since set up tracker funds to shadow the UK version of the FTSE4Good index.
Close tells its investors that FTSE4Good has created a “universe of socially responsible stocks”.
But the New Economic Foundation (NEF), a think tank, says the UK index includes companies with “poor ethical and environmental reputations”.
...
lees meer
Nordic companies are the winners of all the trophies at the award ceremony for the Sixth Annual European Environmental Reporting Awards (EERA) on April 29.
...
lees meer
An academic study concluded that Business Ethics’ list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens generated better returns than the remaining companies on the S&P 500.
...
lees meer
April 2002 Update Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
* Inauguration Event at United Nations – A Milestone
* First GRI Board Chair Selected – Dr. Judy Henderson
* GRI Secretariat is Amsterdam-Bound
* Dr. Allen White Appointed Acting Chief Executive
* Chief Executive Search Commences
* GRI Charter Group – A Diverse Show of Support
* Draft 2002 Guidelines Available for Public Comment
* Conference Coming in Malaysia
* GRI Seeks Collaborators for International AIDS Conference
* More Organisations Release Sustainability Reports
...
lees meer
Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs today announced Ã??50,000 Government sponsorship for the development of ‘Guidance on Corporate Social Responsibility Management and Reporting for the Financial Services Sector.’
The guidelines will cover social, environmental and ethical issues that affect the financial services sector. Examples include human rights, bribery and corruption, diversity and equal opportunities and access to financial services.
...
lees meer
On 23 April, the European Parliament’s Employment Committee voted on its report on corporate social responsibility (CSR). It asks for obligatory requirements for social and environmental reporting to be introduced.
...
lees meer
Tareq Emtairah, Research Associate of the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics of Lund University, published his review of policy action aimed at regulating corporate environmental reports (CERs) in Europe with the view of giving guidance on the -feasibility’ of a mandatory scheme for corporate environmental reports in Japan. The scope includes a review of the latest developments in CERs, and an examination of selected mandatory reporting schemes within Europe.
...
lees meer
On 18 April, as part of the ‘Green Week’, a seminar was held on global governance and corporate accountability. A number of NGOs called on the EU to promote legally binding instruments for corporate accountability to be introduced at the Johannesburg summit.
...
lees meer
The draft report “The Desirability and
Feasibility of ISO Corporate Social Responsibility Standards” is now
available for comments. The draft report was prepared by the “Consumer
Protection in the Global Market” Working Group of COPOLCO, the Consumer
Policy Committee of ISO (the International Organization for
Standardization).
...
lees meer
In a new study to be released next month, the Oakland-based Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment spotlights a pervasive corporate practice–the underdisclosure of environmental liabilities. In the post-Enron landscape, the investment community has grown increasingly aware that underdisclosure can negatively affect stock value. Last month the Social Investment Forum (SIF) sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Harvey Pitt asking for companies to be held accountable for not fully revealing their environmental liabilities. The Rose report offers readily available industry guidelines that the SEC could adopt to increase environmental disclosure.
...
lees meer
Businesses that wish to survive and thrive in a global economy must respond to major social and environmental trends that are reshaping markets, says a report released today by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the World Resources Institute (WRI).
...
lees meer
Proposals on corporate social responsibility issued by the European Commission yesterday have been welcomed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
GRI has developed globally applicable guidelines for the reporting of economic, environmental and social performance. The aim is to standardise reporting of this “triple bottom line” – initially by corporations and eventually by any business, governmental or non-governmental organisation.
The GRI has been active in the recent consultation process on the European Commission’s Green Paper on Corporate Social Responsibility and in the Round Table discussions that followed.
The new Communication from the Commission was drawn up after business, trade unions, consumers, the European Parliament and a wide range of other organisations, institutions and individuals within the EU had responded to the Green Paper.
...
lees meer 
