Madrid, 29 November 2011 - Non financial reporting has proved to be a very important tool in encouraging companies to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies. Multinational companies have a substantial influence on the planet and on human life, and corporate non financial information disclosure is a way to ensure that companies behave responsibly and are held accountable to the community in which they operate. It is important that the latter be able to assert their social, environmental and human rights. Despite the recognised importance of environmental, social and governance information reporting, European Governments and a majority of companies have

Madrid, 10 July 2013 - 2013 has been marked by a series of fatal incidents in the Bangladeshi garment industry. The Rana Plaza disaster, in which more than 1100 people were killed following the collapse of a building, revealed the bad working conditions in the textile sector in Bangladesh. The building was hosting five garment factories working for Western brands, therefore western businesses were responsible for the precarious working conditions in these factories. The EU has responded to these tragic incidents by launching, with the Government of Bangladesh on the 8th of July, a new compact on garment factory safety

Brussels, 18 July 2013 - European multinational companies strongly affect the lives and the environment in which they operate, and that is why it is essential that they report on the social, environmental and human rights aspects of their activities. It has been recognized that non financial reporting is not only beneficial for companies themselves, but also for citizens and stakeholders. Calls from international and national actors have been made to regulate corporate non financial reporting as a consequence of multiple corporate scandals; for example the horse meat scandals or various cases of environmental damages. On the international scene, the

Non financial reporting is the disclosure of a company's social, environmental and human rights information. It is also known as Environmental, Social and Governance information (ESG). Today, European multinational companies have expanded to a point where they have a significant impact on a variety of areas such as the economy, the environment, social and human rights, as well as the health of the community in which they operate. Specific examples of the areas which are affected include: - discrimination - sexual harassment - health and safety - freedom of information - torture - freedom of expression - privacy - poverty

Madrid, 1 August 2013 - Access Info Europe and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project are conducting comparative research with investigative journalists in 30 countries across Europe on the openness of national company registers. The aim of the project is to push for free public acces to Company Registers across Europe, using the right of access to information. Currently, the majority of Company Registers are not public in most European countries and in many cases the information is not available free of charge, with prices ranging from 75,000€ to 286,000€ for example. However, company register information is collected as