GLOBAL - A coalition of global investors from 13 countries with over $2.1trn (€1.5trn) of assets is calling for better corporate reporting on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) activities.

The international investor coalition is writing to 86 major companies urging them to honour the reporting requirements of the UN's corporate responsibility Global Compact initiative. Each of the 86 laggard companies previously joined the initiative but failed to produce the mandatory annual report on how it puts the initiative's ten principles into action.

This is the third year that investors have engaged with UN Global Compact participant companies on the issue of transparency. In 2008, the engagement resulted in 33% of laggards subsequently submitting their reports, whereas in 2009 positive responses increased to 47.6% - 50 out of 105 companies - including from firms such as BHP Billiton, Severn Trent, The Gap and LVMH.

The investor coalition also praised 44 companies, including Bayer, Nikon and Inditex, for producing high‐quality sustainability reports deemed useful for investors.

The investors in the coalition are all signatories to the UN‐backed Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative (PRI) and include funds such as Aviva Investors, Boston Common, and Nordea Investment Funds. Principle 3 of the PRI asks investors to seek better and more systematic disclosure from the entities in which they invest. Shareholder engagement is part of that activity.

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