Social

ACSI calls for better ASX disclosure of mental health and safety

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 24 JUL 2015  |  NEWS
More than 90% of ASX200 financial companies and 75% of mining and utilities companies have commitments to workplace mental health and safety, but barely one third publicly disclose information on the effectiveness of those programs, according to research ...

Queensland commits $3m to social benefit bond pilot

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 17 JUL 2015  |  NEWS
The Queensland state government has allocated AU$3 million to develop a pilot social benefit bond program in its budget this week.

ACSI ups ante on zero-women boards

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 10 JUL 2015  |  NEWS
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) is ramping up the pressure on ASX-listed companies that have no women on their boards in advance of the 2015 annual general meeting (AGM) season.

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark issues draft indicators

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 10 JUL 2015  |  NEWS
The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) has developed draft indicators that will be used to rank companies on their human rights performance.

Investors, payday lenders engage on lending practices

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 3 JUL 2015  |  NEWS
A coalition of investors and other stakeholders that are engaging with ASX-listed payday lenders and goods rental companies are finding that the companies are receptive to their concerns over lending policies to financially vulnerable Australians.

SVA Commonwealth Bank partner on education toolkit

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 24 JUN 2015  |  NEWS
Commonwealth Bank has committed AU$6 million to an initiative with Social Ventures Australia (SVA) to develop a teaching and learning toolkit to "enable and support a culture of evidence-informed practice" in Australian schools.

Good Shepherd Microfinance receives $33m federal funding

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2015  |  NEWS
The federal government has allocated AU$33.3 million over the next five years to expand the No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS) and StepUP low interest loans offered by Good Shepherd Microfinance.

Pollinate Energy to open Kolkata office

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 15 MAY 2015  |  NEWS
Pollinate Energy, a social enterprise that provides affordable solar lighting to people in India's urban slums, is expanding its operations into Kolkata, its third city in India.

Victorian government boosts Good Money funding

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 6 MAY 2015  |  NEWS
The Victorian state government has committed AU$7.2 million over four years to Good Shepherd Microfinance's Good Money program.

Utilities sector face material ESG issues: Sustainalytics

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 17 APR 2015  |  NEWS
The utilities sector globally is exposed to material environmental, social and governance (ESG) issue that will require companies to innovate in the face of radical change in coming years, according to a report by Sustainalytics.