Library | ESG issues

Business Ethics

Business ethics encompass the moral principles and values guiding corporate conduct, extending beyond legal requirements to promote integrity and trust among stakeholders. Key considerations include corporate governance, conflicts of interest, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, human rights, social responsibility, and fiduciary duties.

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OECD Due Diligence Policy Mapping Tool

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The OECD Due Diligence Policy Mapping Tool compares global responsible business conduct legislation against the OECD's six-step framework. It helps users identify regulatory convergence and differences in mandatory due diligence requirements.
Resource hub

The Barbara and Morris Pearl 527 Interactive Database

Center for Political Accountability
The Barbara and Morris Pearl 527 Interactive Database tracks political donations from publicly traded US companies to 527 committees. Developed by the Center for Political Accountability, it helps finance professionals assess corporate governance and reputational risks related to political spending.
Online tool/database
19 November 2024

CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability

Center for Political Accountability
This benchmark series evaluates corporate political disclosure and accountability practices among major US companies. It provides a structured analysis of transparency, board oversight, and spending policies for the S&P 500 and Russell 1000, enabling stakeholders to assess political risk and governance standards across different industries.
Benchmark/series
6 November 2025

Business-led blended finance: A practical playbook

United Nations Global Compact
This report examines business-led blended finance, which grew to US$24 billion in 2024. It provides a practical playbook for companies to move from passive recipients to active deal architects, addressing the US$4 trillion SDG financing gap through risk management toolkits, sector analyses, and eight global case studies.
Research
25 June 2026

Preference for explainable AI

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
This research investigates the demand for explainable AI in high-stakes credit settings. It finds that decision-makers strategically avoid explanations that reveal racial or gender bias to preserve moral wiggle room. Additionally, behavioural biases cause individuals to undervalue explanations even when they complement private information and improve decision accuracy.
Research
16 May 2026

Ethical & impactful usage of AI

This report by Do Harvey outlines an ethical framework for AI usage, highlighting environmental impacts, security risks, and bias concerns. It advocates for transparent, client-opt-in adoption underpinned by human oversight, and summarises five modes of AI use to guide teams in making values-aligned, informed decisions.
Research
12 August 2025

Responsible AI in practice: 2025 global insights from the AI Company Data initiative

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
This report analyses publicly disclosed data from 2,972 companies across 11 sectors, revealing a significant gap between AI adoption and governance maturity. Only 13 per cent align their strategy with a formal framework, and few demonstrate adequate worker protections, ethical impact assessments, or training data oversight.
Research
31 March 2026

Weapons, dual use tech and financial institutions

Power Shift Africa
This Shift briefing examines how financial institutions should approach human rights due diligence in relation to weapons and dual-use technologies. It identifies four key challenges, six anchors grounded in international humanitarian law, and six practical approaches to support responsible defence-related lending and investment decisions.
Research
14 April 2026

Ranking digital rights: The 2026 Telco giants edition

Ranking Digital Rights
Ranking Digital Rights' 2026 Telco Giants Edition scores 12 major telecom companies on governance, freedom of expression, and privacy. Telefónica leads overall with 57%, while Ooredoo ranks lowest at 14%. Historical data from 2017 to 2026 shows varied progress, with scores dipping in 2020 due to new indicators.
Research
29 June 2026

Mindful Money Fund Checker

Mindful Money
Free NZ tool to check and compare KiwiSaver funds against ethical issues of concern using publicly available data and portfolio analytics.
Online tool/database

Rankings of America's Most Just Companies

JUST Capital
The Rankings of America's Most Just Companies evaluate the largest publicly traded US corporations on stakeholder performance and ethical behaviour.
Online tool/database
17 March 2026

Exposing tobacco companies’ retail presence and highlighting regulatory options

The report outlines how tobacco companies use retailer incentives, targeted in-store marketing, and retailer lobbying to sustain product visibility and influence regulation. It reviews policy options, including retail licensing, outlet restrictions, and sales limitations, aimed at reducing tobacco availability and countering industry presence in retail settings.
Research
11 April 2026

Monitoring internal whistleblowing systems: A framework for collecting data and reporting on performance and impact

Transparency International
Transparency International sets out a framework for monitoring internal whistleblowing systems, covering data collection, reporting, confidentiality, stakeholder accountability, performance indicators, retaliation complaints, trust and awareness measures, and resource tracking to help organisations assess effectiveness and improve protections and governance.
Research
29 April 2025

The business case for “speaking up”: How internal reporting mechanisms strengthen private-sector organisations

Transparency International
Explains how internal whistleblowing systems help organisations detect misconduct early, reduce legal and financial risks, and strengthen compliance, culture and reputation. It outlines key features of effective mechanisms and demonstrates their role in improving risk management, preventing losses and supporting long-term value creation.
Research
31 July 2017

Human rights due diligence in the financial sector: A compendium of industry case studies and practice

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
Examines how financial institutions implement human rights due diligence, aligned with UNGPs and OECD guidelines, using case studies. Highlights challenges in data, prioritisation and leverage, and emphasises integrating human rights into governance, risk processes and client engagement to manage impacts across lending, investment and insurance activities.
Research
14 November 2025

Communicating climate change and migration: A user’s guide to navigating the research

Climate Outreach
This report guides practitioners on communicating climate-linked migration, highlighting research gaps, biases and limited diversity. It emphasises critical engagement with academic literature, improved representation of affected communities, and the need for nuanced, interdisciplinary approaches to inform effective, ethical communication strategies.
Research
12 April 2024
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