Investors watch for double standards on Black Lives Matter

If you spend enough time around the environmental, social and governance (ESG) world, it is easy to be cynical when corporations make a big show of speaking out on social issues. Read More →

Human RightsAs You SowJune 22, 2020Patrick Temple West, diversity

Companies are making bold promises about greater diversity, but there’s a long way to go

Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, said we could be at a watershed moment that will ultimately force companies to begin disclosing more information. His group is among those pressuring companies to provide more transparency around issues including workforce composition, recruitment, retention, pay and promotion practices. He said that regulation could be next, including around CEO compensation, pointing to successful past campaigns by investors. Read More →

Human RightsAsYouSowJune 15, 2020Pippa Stevens, diversity

Investor groups ponder further action on racial inequality

Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, says the group is maintaining a database of companies that have published public statements on Black Lives Matter and racial equality. Behar is interested in which companies follow through on their statements. Read More →

Human RightsAsYouSowJune 15, 2020Ben Ashwell, racial inequality

Eradicating Extreme Poverty

Hugh Jackman, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Becky G join Global Citizen in campaigns to push world leaders into enacting policy changes that would end extreme poverty around the globe.

Human RightsAs You SowSeptember 6, 2019national geographic, poverty, hunger

Pension funds step up campaign to reduce gender pay gap

Big US pension funds and impact investors will this month step up pressure on companies to reduce the gender pay gap by trying to compel them to disclose the difference in how they treat men and women.

Human RightsAs You SowAugust 22, 2019Patrick Temple-West, gender equality, gender

Investors Representing $1.61 Trillion in Assets Tell Companies to Disclose Workplace Equity Data

The disclosure of workplace equity data is increasing in its importance to investors and they are letting companies know that this information is material to investment decisions.

Is progress enough? Forced labor risk persists in cotton supply chains

WASHINGTON — The government of Uzbekistan wants the boycott against its cotton industry to be over.

Human RightsAsYouSowMay 2, 2019Matt Leonard, forced labor, cotton

Modern Slavery Compliance For U.S.-based (and Other) Multinationals: A Review of Recent Compliance and Disclosure Developments in the United States and Abroad

Modern slavery compliance is becoming a bigger focus at U.S.-based and other multinationals.

Shareholders Press Companies Harder On Human Rights

Proxy season is underway, in which companies face their shareholders and their concerns on social issues, and there has been a surge in human rights proposals aimed at such issues as immigration rights and detention, child sexual exploitation, hate speech and privacy.

YESS Addresses Forced Labor in Cotton Supply Chain

The Responsible Sourcing Network released the YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced Standard and YESS Workbook.

Human RightsAsYouSowApril 1, 2019Martin Vilaboy, YESS Standard, YESS Standards, YESS, report

The mining industry's global impact

From environmental damage to fueling conflict, the mining industry has left a trail of tangled impacts around the world. Host Marco Werman speaks with Responsible Sourcing Network's founder Patricia Jurewicz.

Human RightsAsYouSowJanuary 31, 2019Marco Werman, mining

Companies stay tight-lipped on sources of cobalt — report

Companies are under more scrutiny than ever about whether the cobalt in their products comes from mines with poor labor practices, but that isn't translating into greater transparency, according to a new report by the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN).

Human RightsAsYouSowJanuary 21, 2019David Iaconangelo, mining the disclosure report

Apple, Intel Carry on as SEC Relaxes Conflict Minerals Scrutiny

Human RightsAs You SowApril 13, 2017Patricia Jurewicz

Can going green help pick the slavery out of cotton?

Patricia Jurewicz, director of the Responsible Sourcing Network and creator of initiative Yarn Ethically and Sustainably Sourced (YESS) working in spinning mills, said the cotton supply chain remained tainted despite initiatives to clean it up.

“There are improvements little by little and the most where brands get involved in production as they don’t want to be linked to abuse,” she said. “But there’s a long way to go”.

Human RightsAs You SowFebruary 9, 2017Patricia Jurewicz