United Nations
United Nations is an international organization that can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more.
New Partnerships, Processes Aim to Slash Concrete’s Climate Impacts
UNIDO and the GCCA have partnered to decarbonize the cement and concrete industry, with a strong focus on the Global South; while Cambridge researchers have developed a potentially game-changing cement-recycling process. ... View More
Will a Global Plastics Treaty Effectively Curb Plastic Pollution?
Not at this rate: In one corner, industry bodies and petrochemical companies call for enhanced recycling and the increased use of materials with recycled content. In the other, climate campaigners continue to push for cuts in production — an argume... View More
New Global Music Initiative Highlights the Creative Value of Nature
Sounds Right aims to finally pay Nature royalties for her contributions to art and everything else on earth by prompting conversation, raising funds for conservation and inspiring millions of fans to take action. ... View More
From Historic Foundations to Today’s Debates on Artificial Intelligence
Fears about the uncontrolled growth of artificial intelligence have exploded into public debate this year. Day 2 of the UN Business and Human Rights Forum examined the challenges through a human-rights lens. ... View More
There Is No Alternative to Direct Relationships in Company Supply Chains
On day one of this year’s UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, delegates agreed that close engagement with all tiers of company supply chains will be vital going forward. ... View More
Cannes Lions Was a Climate Kindergarten; Time to Mature the Conversation
This year's awards recognized a historic number of climate-related campaigns; but as an industry, we continue to talk in circles. ... View More
Draft Treaty on Ending Plastics Pollution Inches Forward After Paris Negotiations
Despite procedural hiccups and ongoing debates on key issues, a first draft of a treaty will be ready for the next INC meeting in Nairobi later this year. ... View More
UN Agrees on Unprecedented Treaty to Protect the High Seas
Previous rules to protect the ocean have been vague and weakly enforced, leaving the seas, marine ecosystems and the people who work them vulnerable to exploitation. ... View More
NZAOA Updates Protocols to Provide Clearer Path to Portfolio Decarbonization
Investment portfolio emissions make up the lion’s share of an asset owner’s footprint. The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance’s newest Protocol aims to fight inertia in pro-climate financing and get investor portfolios in line with science by 2050. ... View More
UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Day 3: Responsible Lobbying vs ‘Corporate Capture’
For most readers, bribery or corruption aren’t part of your everyday experience — though they should be part of due diligence processes on your business partners and supply chain. However, the danger that one department says one thing and another... View More
UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, Day 2: A Compass for ‘Big Tech'
This is the second of three daily updates from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022. Day two proposed redefining tech companies as part of infrastructure — similar to railways and supply chains — that govern people’s lives, and a new ... View More
The UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022, Day 1: Holding Business to Account
This is the first of three daily updates from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2022. Day one started a week that focuses not on holding individual companies to account, but where the systems that will enable this are being framed. ... View More
New Cookbook Showcases Meals That Benefit Both Human and Planetary Health
"The Cookbook in Support of the United Nations: For People and Planet" features 75 recipes divided into sections on food systems, biodiversity, sustainable consumption, food and climate change, and food waste — and shares each dish’s ca... View More
COP27 Yields Landmark Deal to Compensate Developing Nations for Climate Damage, But Backpedals on Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels
COP27 ended with an agreement to create a funding facility to compensate vulnerable nations for ‘loss and damage’ from climate disasters; but weakened language around the phase-out of fossil fuels opens a dangerous loophole that could threaten de... View More
IBM Collaborates to Accelerate Clean Energy Transition for Vulnerable Populations Around the World
The second cohort of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator comprises five organizations helping marginalized communities get just and equitable access to sustainable energy resources around the world. ... View More
UN Releases Manual for Companies to Conduct Authentic, Context-Based Sustainability Assessments
The Sustainable Development Performance Indicators help close the ‘Sustainability Context Gap’ — in which less than 1% of sustainability reports produced from 2000-2013 measured corporate performance in the context of ecological sustainability ... View More
Google, UN Partner to Fight Misinformation on Climate Change
For Google, the search features are part of a larger push to build products and tools that empower people to better understand and limit their personal environmental impact — and highlights verified sources of climate data in 12 languages. ... View More
IPCC to Global Business and Government Leaders: The Jig Is Up
The latest IPCC report provides further detail about just how far we’re careening off the proverbial rails and our ever-narrowing window for getting back on a habitable track. But it also provides deeper insight into a potential path forward — if... View More
New UN Global Treaty Seeks to Break the ‘Plastic Wave’
We can cut annual flow of plastic into the ocean by 80% in the next 20 years. The technology and will is there, but one important piece of the puzzle is missing — and the UN is hopeful they can pull it together. ... View More
Where Is the New Roadmap for Business and Human Rights Taking Us?
As delegates from the UN launched the roadmap at day one of this year's Business and Human Rights Forum, full respect for human rights by business was described as a strategic — not just an operational — issue, requiring a change of corporate cul... View More
