The REP Wrap: Shell in climate lawsuit while NCP upholds complaint against Telenor

Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.

Shell is being sued in the UK by survivors of a 2021 typhoon in the Philippines. In the first civil claim to directly link the climate impact of fossil fuels with past death and injury, more than 100 people are seeking personal and property damage. The case draws on new research showing human-induced climate change has more than doubled the likelihood of extreme weather events.

Norway’s human-rights watchdog has this week found telecommunications firm Telenor’s exit from Myanmar to have been “inadequate”. The National Contact Point, which rules on whether companies have respected the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, received a submission from civil society arguing that state-owned Telenor had risked data being shared with Myanmar’s military junta. On Thursday, it concluded that the company’s due diligence was not “commensurate to the severity and likelihood of all the adverse impacts with which the company was involved in Myanmar shortly before and after the coup”. 

EY has found that while nearly two-thirds of global companies claim to have a climate transition plan, less than a quarter are “actionable, costed, governed and tied to milestones”. 

Nearly all companies (95%) believe the climate transition presents a commercial opportunity, with 37% describing it as a strategic priority. That’s according to a survey of more than 1,650 senior business decision makers around the world, commissioned by HSBC. Their wish list for green solutions included affordable green energy technologies (39%), energy efficiency technologies for operations (37%), viable carbon capture, utilisation and storage (37%) and climate data and analytics tools (36%). A third also called for more technologies to decarbonise heavy industries.

Just three out of 13 major European chemical firms regard hazardous substances as material to their business, according to their disclosures under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Analysis done by ChemSec, a non-profit body backed by governments and investors, found that only Bayer, Lanxess and Merck deemed hazardous substances material. 

The Global Reporting Initiative has released its proposed updates to labour rights standards, including forced labour, child labour and collective bargaining. Comments are being accepted until March 9th 2026.  

Meanwhile, the International Sustainability Standards Board has issued targeted amendments to the greenhouse gas requirements under its climate disclosure standard. Among the changes are several reliefs, including on financed emission disclosures. The amendments come into effect from January 2027.