It’s Friday 
and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.
This week’s post includes: the European Parliament’s adoption of a new conflict minerals regulation; the French Constitutional Council’s review of the proposed duty of vigilance legislation; the dismissal of the Doe v. Nestle litigation; and the release of a new Corporate Accountability Index by Ranking Digital Rights.… More
This post, written by Seth Jaffe, a Partner in firm’s Environmental practice, was originally posted on the firm’s Law and the Environment blog.
BlackRock, which manages more than $5 trillion in assets, has released a statement on how it “engages with climate risk.” The statement has three main elements. 
The statement emphasizes BlackRock’s long-term approach to investing, which is the source of the best line in the statement. In summarizing letters from BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, to CEOs, BlackRock notes that:
While we are patient investors, we are not infinitely patient.
I’m picturing James Earl Jones as Darth Vader saying that. I wonder what energy executives are hearing.
It’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.
This week’s post includes: new reports on the U.S. National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct, corporate disclosures pursuant to the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and shareholder proposals on social and environmental issues; the second discussion paper published by the Thun Group of Banks;… More
On Monday, March 13, the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (“CHRB”) will release its inaugural results.
As previously discussed, the CHRB will rank 100 companies on their human rights performance as part of an initial pilot. The companies chosen for the pilot include members of the extractive, apparel, and agricultural sectors. Companies will be assessed in the following areas: governance and policy; systems and processes;… More
This post was prepared by Corentin Chevallier, an attorney in Foley Hoag’s Paris office. A French language copy is available here.
On February 21, 2017, the French National Assembly (Assemblée nationale) adopted proposed legislation defining a duty of vigilance for parent companies and their subcontractors.
The law provides that multinational firms carrying out all or part of their activity on French territory shall establish mechanisms to prevent human rights violations and environmental damages throughout their supply chain.… More
It’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.
This week’s post includes: a federal court decision holding that U.S.-based companies may be obligated to turn over customer data stored outside the United States; an amicus brief opposing President Trump’s Executive Order establishing an entry ban on individual from seven Muslim-majority countries; and new guidance from the OECD with regard to due diligence in apparel and footwear supply chains.… More
On January 31, the Acting Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Michael Piwowar, issued an call for comments with regard to the conflict minerals rule. The rule was originally adopted by the SEC in August 2012 and published in September 2012. It was drafted pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Sending a strong signal as to the rule’s potential fate,… More
Congress passed a joint resolution this week expressing its disapproval of the revenue transparency rule issued last June by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The rule, issued pursuant to Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Act, required extractive sector companies (oil, gas, and mining) to disclose the payments that they make to governments for the commercial development of oil, gas, or minerals.
President Trump is expected to sign the joint resolution,… More
It’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.
This week’s post includes: expected efforts by the U.S. Congress to repeal the Securities and Exchange Commission’s revenue transparency rule; the dismissal of a case against Royal Dutch Shell in the United Kingdom stemming from the company’s activities in Nigeria; and the revival of claims against Tahoe Resources in British Columbia on the basis of the alleged shooting of protestors at a mine site in Guatemala.… More
This post, written by Jeremy Meisinger, was originally published on the firm’s Security, Privacy, and the Law blog.
For internet-of-things watchers, some information to chew on: several news outlets have reported on a dispute between Amazon and law enforcement investigators in Bentonville, Arkansas. Arkansas police are investigating an apparent homicide that took place in November 2015,… More