http://somo.nl daily 1 2008-12-04T09:44:17Z http://somo.nl/news-en/somo-researcher-rens-van-tilburg-part-of-think-tank-for-sustainable-financial-sector Abolish bonuses in the financial sector, get regulators to approve new financial products and include social and environmental risks in the risk assessment calculations of bank assets. These are three of the nine recommendations made by the Sustainable Finance Lab in late November to help the finance sector make a contribution to a sustainable economy. SOMO researcher Rens van Tilburg is one of 13 members of this Think Tank of Dutch researchers and was the secretary of the group in 2011. No publisher noor 2012-01-31T17:12:15Z News Item http://somo.nl/news-en/how-to-best-prepare-for-negotiations-with-the-business-world How can civil society organisations – in the North and the South – improve their positions in negotiations with the business world, be it in alliances, dialogue or roundtables? In a practical guidebook, SOMO researcher Mariëtte van Huijstee describes a strategic action perspective for organisations who are involved in Multi Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs). No publisher noor 2012-01-31T17:11:39Z News Item http://somo.nl/news-en/grievance-mechanisms-central-to-new-human-rights-programme In the next four years, SOMO will be working on the improvement of grievance mechanisms for victims of human rights violations by enterprises. To this end, the new human rights fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has granted SOMO over €1.5 million. No publisher noor 2012-01-31T17:08:16Z News Item http://somo.nl/news-en/lack-of-transparency-on-origins-of-coal-leaves-dutch-in-the-dark Despite earlier promises, electricity companies continue to withhold important information about the origin of the coal they use. As a result, it is likely that coal imported into the Netherlands comes from mines where abuses of human rights and the environment are taking place. This is one of the conclusions of The Black Box: Obscurity and Transparency in the Dutch Coal Supply Chain, a report published today by SOMO in collaboration with Greenpeace. SOMO and Greenpeace call on the electricity companies to be transparent about the coal supply chain and guarantee consumers that no coal is used from mines where human rights and the environment are threatened. No publisher marije 2012-01-26T15:06:08Z News Item http://somo.nl/news-en/dutch-financial-institutions-speculate-in-food-markets On the eve of Christmas, the Dutch TV program Zembla broadcast the documentary Trade in Hunger, focusing on the activities of Dutch financial institutions on the derivates market in staple foods such as corn, grains, and sugar. This TV programme is based on the new SOMO report ‘Food Markets in Dutch. Dutch banks and pension funds in agricultural derivatives markets’, published today, revealing the extent to which the largest Dutch banks and pension funds are active on food derivatives markets. No publisher noor 2012-01-02T11:11:20Z News Item