The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has appointed Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), as its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr Howitt will succeed outgoing CEO Paul Druckman on 1 November 2016 and will step down as an MEP to coincide with his appointment. An MEP for over 20 years, Richard Howitt is an architect of the EU’s non-financial information directive. Please click for more information on Mr Howitt's appointment on the IIRC website.

The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative has released its 2016 Report on Progress. With 59 exchanges partnering with the SSE initiative, over 70% of listed equity markets have made a public commitment to advancing sustainability in their market. Other key figures include that 12 stock exchanges require ESG reporting as a listing rule, and 11 list green bonds. Please click for the progress report on the UNEP FI website.

GRI and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) announced the start of the second phase of the Corporate Sustainability and Reporting for Competitive Business (CSRCB) programme, which helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing world use sustainability reporting to gain better access to global value chains. Phase two of the CSRCB programme aims at increasing the reporting capacity, creating a conducive reporting environment, and fostering demand for sustainability data. Please click for the press release on the GRI website.