The ESG Investor Briefing is a joint project of the UN Global Compact and the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The project is designed to improve company-investor communications on material environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) information. Building on the model of a quarterly financial call, companies presented how their ESG strategies and performance translate into financial value to an audience of mainstream investors.

UN Global Compact Market Open Ceremony at NASDAQ MarketSite, in New York, October 2003. Introductory speeches by Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President of NASDAQ and Global Compact Executive Director, Georg Kell.

Showcases leading research from brokers and investment managers to demonstrate how investors and analysts are integrating ESG factors into fundamental equity valuation.

A tool for investors who are engaging companies on supply chain labour issues. It draws together the business case for investors to engage on this topic, results and lessons learned from the 2013-2015 PRI-coordinated engagement on supply chain labour standards in agriculture, and points to a series of investor expectations and useful resources that can be used to guide and support engagement with companies.

Marking the official opening of the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum, this session will emphasize the critical need for increased uptake and action to advance corporate sustainability. Participants learn about the Forum objectives and are presented with existing examples of innovation and collaboration aimed to inspire them as they prepare for the following two days.

The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency – and ultimately performance – on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. Since 2012, several other leading exchanges have joined the group of SSE Partner Exchanges. UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, the PRI and UNEP-FI, as the core organizer of the SSE Initiative, also committed to supporting stock exchanges in this effort. The SSE initiative invites exchanges globally to become a Partner Stock Exchange within the SSE by making a voluntary public commitment to promote improved ESG disclosure and performance among listed companies. http://www.sseinitiative.org

With less than a third of stock exchanges currently providing written guidance to companies on ESG reporting, an information gap has emerged, preventing investors and other stakeholders from being able to access all of the information necessary to effectively evaluate listed companies. This is a resource for exchanges to ensure all markets provide reporting guidance to companies on the inclusion of ESG factors.

Features the UN Global Compact as a platform for addressing global sustainability challenges, particularly through the collective action and policy dialogue activities of its Local Networks.

Internationally-accepted frameworks now exist that define the responsibility of all companies with respect to human rights. This also extends to investors, who increasingly are looking to integrate human rights effectively and consistently into investment decision–making and corporate engagement. The webinar focuses on a new report, Investing the Rights Way: A Guide for Investors on Business and Human Rights, which aims to assist investors in evaluating human rights–related issues across their portfolios.

A framework outlining different ways in which the private sector can collaborate with UN agencies, funds and programmes to address global challenges.

The issue of taxation is steadily rising on the corporate sustainability agenda. Taxes are one of the main sources of revenue for governments. They are crucial to enable governments to deliver key services to their constituents such as health, education, housing and infrastructure. While tax legislation and enforcement are government responsibilities, companies, as tax payers, also have an important role to play to meet their own human rights responsibilities and to comply with the law. Jointly hosted by the UN Global Compact and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, this webinar provided a briefing on the link between tax and human rights, the challenges associated and new resources that have been developed for governments, investors, businesses and NGOs on emerging best practices related to tax and human rights. The webinar featured presentations from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, NEI Investments/PRI Taskforce on Corporate Tax Responsibility, and ActionAid.

The RELX SDG Resource Centre showcases the latest in science, law, business, events and more that can help drive forward the SDGs, drawing on content from across the whole of our company and from key partners as well. The aim is to support the UN in implementing the SDGs and to broaden awareness and understanding of the SDGS for our customers, governments, researchers, companies, NGOs and individuals.