Strong rule of law is essential as a foundation for economic and social development. The Framework seeks to advance the rule of law by engaging responsible business to support the building and strengthening of legal frameworks and accountable institutions – serving as a complement to, not substitute for, government action.

With less than a third of stock exchanges currently providing written guidance to companies on ESG reporting, an information gap has emerged, preventing investors and other stakeholders from being able to access all of the information necessary to effectively evaluate listed companies. This is a resource for exchanges to ensure all markets provide reporting guidance to companies on the inclusion of ESG factors.

Investing in women’s health not only benefits employees and surrounding communities, but it can also have a positive social and economic effect on the private sector. In ensuring that workers have safe working conditions and available health services, companies establish healthier staff, better relationships, and in many cases higher Return-on-investment (ROI). This call to companies to invest in women's health highlights Principle 3 of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, which encourages companies to ensure the health, including sexual and reproductive health, of all workers.

The Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative is a peer-to-peer learning platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, regulators, and companies, can enhance corporate transparency – and ultimately performance – on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment. Since 2012, several other leading exchanges have joined the group of SSE Partner Exchanges. UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, the PRI and UNEP-FI, as the core organizer of the SSE Initiative, also committed to supporting stock exchanges in this effort. The SSE initiative invites exchanges globally to become a Partner Stock Exchange within the SSE by making a voluntary public commitment to promote improved ESG disclosure and performance among listed companies. http://www.sseinitiative.org

Provides an overview of the current and potential role of institutional investors, companies, banks and foundations in the design and implementation of a financing strategy for global sustainability.

Identifying the importance of gender equality to the business case, companies around the world have taken steps to advance and empower women.

Explores how sustainability pressures are transforming the ways we all work, live, and compete. As a part of the annual study by MIT Sloan Management Review's Sustainability & Innovation project, the 2014 research focused on the critical role of sustainability collaborations that address systemic issues, and on the role of the board of directors in guiding their companies’ sustainability efforts. As a whole, the study finds progress in companies making the fundamental shift in how they organize themselves and how their boards of directors act to address the profound challenges and risks that issues of sustainability present. But it also indicates that many business leaders have some distance to go to understand that the path to sustainability success is best traveled with others.

Provides guidance on how businesses and business schools can collaborate to co-create solutions for sustainability challenges. The toolkit and brochure feature inspiring examples of partnerships, categorized under five themes: influencing, training, collaborating, researching and consulting.

PRI in conjunction with the PRI Investor Steering Committee on Human Rights identified a list of 50 large global extractive companies considered to be particularly exposed to human rights risks. Drawing from these company examples, this guidance explores best practices and challenges in implementing the UN Guiding Principles in extractive industries, and identifies six areas for investor engagement. The guidance also provides useful case studies, questions for engagement and resources for each of the six areas outlined.

Highlights the benefits for businesses of implementing adaptation activities that contribute to increasing societal resilience and attaining the SDGs. The report shares lessons learned and provides actionable guidance for both the public and private sector.

Business has much to gain from more inclusive economic prosperity, through access to new markets, unleashing more innovation, and greater social stability so necessary for markets to function. Conversely, business has much to lose from an economy that fails to capitalize fully on human capital, constricts markets, and experiences sluggish demand. This working paper introduces BSR’s perspective on the business role in creating inclusive prosperity.

An assessment tool that enables companies and civil society partners to understand corporate impacts on multi-dimensional poverty. As a tool to help implement the SDGs, the Poverty Footprint provides a comprehensive overview of factors that influence poverty, and it emphasizes stakeholder engagement and partnership between companies and civil society as a means for establishing pro-poor business strategies.