Monthly Archives: May 2012

Why Every Company Needs a Geolocation Policy

No matter how big or small your company currently might be, your company needs a geolocation policy that takes human rights into account if you are either: (1) gathering or storing data that personally identifies your customers; or (2) providing a platform for creating or storing user generated content.

Technology companies typically first think about geolocation when they have grown to the point where they need to locate data somewhere other than their home base for redundancy reasons or to reduce network latency.… More

CSR for Start-ups = CSR from the Start!

Technology companies typically begin to think about corporate social responsibility in the context of "giving back to the community" once they have become large, established market players with a track record of profitability. This is far from an ideal approach to CSR, however, because having a proper CSR framework in place right from day one can young companies avoid problems that can stymie their growth or tarnish their reputation permanently.… More

United States Eases Sanctions on New Investment in Burma (Myanmar)

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, President Obama announced that the U.S. would issue a general license easing sanctions on the export of financial services and new investment in Burma, although he did not lift them, meaning that they could be reinstated if there is backsliding on reforms. Although senior Administration officials had previously indicated that sanctions would only be eased on a few industries, the White House today announced that the general license would apply to all new investments in Burma,… More

Advocates Seek Human Rights Commitments from Telecommunications Companies

Access, an advocacy organization that promotes open and secure access to the Internet, recently released its Telco Action Plan, a document that sets forth ten steps and implementation objectives for telecommunications companies (“telcos”) seeking to operate with respect for human rights.  

Access launched the plan at last month’s Stockholm Internet Forum and intends to use the document as a platform for dialogue with telcos that seek to operate in political and legal contents that may post threats to freedom of expression,… More

Integration of ESG Factors into Private Equity Investment and Management Processes

Private equity firms are under increasing pressure, especially from their limited partners, to incorporate environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") factors into their investment and management processes. Limited partners expect private equity firms to integrate ESG criteria into due diligence practices, the management of existing portfolio companies, and communications to external stakeholders.

Many private equity firms have signed on to industry guidelines including the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (“UNPRI”) and/or the Private Equity Growth Capital Council’s Guidelines for Responsible Investment.… More

Integrating Corporate Social Responsibility into Corporate Compliance Programs

Integrating corporate social responsibility ("CSR") into compliance structures and processes can be critical to ensuring a company’s CSR commitments are communicated and acted upon. Only then can a company reap the intended benefits of a voluntary commitment, whether those benefits are legal, reputational, or operational. Ideally, CSR should be integrated into training, learning, report, and auditing vertically and horizontally across a company.

In an article in the upcoming edition of Natural Gas &… More

New Executive Order Imposes Sanctions on Technology Companies that Facilitate Human Rights Abuses in Iran and Syria

The White House recently released a new Executive Order imposing sanctions on information technology companies that facilitate certain human rights abuses in Iran and Syria. Released on April 23, the Executive Order ("Blocking the Property and Suspending the Entry into the United States of Persons with Respect to Grave Human Rights Abuses by the Governments of Iran and Syria via Information Technology") explicitly applies to both individuals and entities. … More