Environmental, Social and Governance criteria, known as ESG, are criteria utilized by businesses to address societal issues, particularly involving climate change and practices affecting the well-being of the planet. They are important as an increasing number of investors focus on them.

Amplifying the attention paid to ESG, June 2021 marked the ten year anniversary of the endorsement by the U.N. Human Rights Council of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which set forth standards and principles to be applied by business community in relation to human rights considerations. While “soft law” in and of themselves, they become “hard law” when adopted into contract or treaty, and have other implications for private companies. For those unfamiliar with them, these guiding principles (UNGP) embody three sets of “pillars”—protect, setting forth nation-state obligations, respect, addressing the role of private companies, and remedy, relating to both in terms of remediation.

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