$3 trillion UNPRI coalition targets 29 Global Compact ESG reporting laggards

A coalition of signatories with assets of $3 trillion including some of the world’s biggest asset owners and managers is continuing its annual pressure on signatories to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) by writing to 29 laggard companies that have failed to produce the mandatory annual report and risk being kicked out of the initiative. The PRI coalition said the combined value of the companies in its sights was about $136.9bn, but did not reveal the names of the targeted firms.
It said the ‘laggard’ companies had failed to produce the mandatory Communication on Progress, or COP, on implementation of the Global Compact’s ten principles, which include policies on human rights, workplace standards, the environment and anti-corruption. The UNGC recently announced that it had expelled 3,123 companies since 2005 for failure to report progress on their efforts to implement principles. PRI signatories backing this year’s campaign – the fifth year of action – include Aviva, Amundi Asset Management, the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee.
The PRI said the campaign had been successful between 2008-2011 in prompting 40.1% of laggard companies to subsequently submit their UNGC sustainability reports. It said companies lobbied in the past included industry heavyweights such as BHP Billiton, Aker Solutions,Severn Trent, Merck Kga, Oriflame Cosmetics, The Gap and LVMH. The UNGC said the investor initiative was particularly important given this year’s Rio+20 Earth Summit where sustainable reporting is on the policy agenda: Read RI article on Rio+20 policy agenda Gavin Power, Deputy Director of the UN Global Compact, said: “Corporate sustainability implementation and disclosure both lie at the heart of the UN Global Compact. At the upcoming Rio+20 Summit, there will be an opportunity for governments and public policy makers to fully take stock of the rapidly evolving trends in business sustainability and responsible investment with an eye towards creating new incentives to drive higher levels of sustainability performance and disclosure. We encourage investors to actively participate in the Rio+20 process, and welcome their contributions”.
The PRI and UNGC are engaged in a number of mutually reinforcing activities, including an investor engagement urging companies around the world to sign onto the UN Global Compact. As of November 2011, this engagement saw 211 of the targeted companies join the UNGC.
This year, the PRI investor coalition is also writing to 89 companies backing their efforts as ‘leader companies’ in sustainability reporting. They include Novo Nordisk, Enel, Daimler, Nestle, Telefonica and Siemens.
See downloads for the full list of leader companies