I’m From Headquarters and I Am Here to Help: Integrating Human Rights at the Operational Level

Speakers

• Liesel Filgueiras, General Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility, Vale
• Steve Lippman, Director of Environmental Sustainability, Microsoft Corporation
• Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights, BSR
• Christine Bader, Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University (Moderator)

Highlights

• The UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights provide businesses with a common language on how to approach human rights and speak about human rights to their stakeholders.
• Companies should focus on demystifying human rights. Human rights is an umbrella concept that can provide a common framework for many existing corporate responsibility policies such as diversity and labor rights in the supply chain.
• Businesses have the opportunity to integrate human rights through existing company processes.

Memorable Quotes

“The hope and the intent of the Guiding Principles is that there is now a common language that everyone can use to talk about [the] responsibilities [of businesses in terms of human rights].” —Christine Bader, The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

“Not only can you respect human rights, you can also promote them.” —Liesel Filgueiras, Vale

“Human rights can be a way to bring everything [other corporate responsibility goals and policies] together … and this message is less scary.” —Faris Natour, BSR

“Think of human rights as the rights of humans, and think about how your company comes into contact with humans.” —Faris Natour, BSR

Overview

Bader started the session by introducing the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and John Ruggie’s “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework. The Guiding Principles were unanimously endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council last June and have become the norm for defining business’s approach to human rights.

Filgueiras then described Vale’s journey to integrate human rights into its operations and key challenges that the company is facing. Vale, one of the world’s largest diversified mining companies, transformed its previous decentralized human rights strategy to one that included global human rights tools that are now embedded into all of their operations. These tools include a global human rights policy, human rights trainings for employees and leaders, self-assessment tools, and due diligence plans. Filgueiras also shared some of the questions that emerged, including: What decisions should be centralized vs. decentralized? What are the priority issues? How should we engage with stakeholders? How far should we go down our value chain?

Lippman then discussed Microsoft’s key human rights challenges. Technology can either advance the cause of human rights or negatively impact human rights, Lippman explained. For example, Microsoft develops innovative solutions to uphold human rights and protect internet users from government abuses. To support Lippman’s example, Bader emphasized that companies have a real opportunity to integrate respect for human rights into existing processes and structures.

Natour pointed out that according to the “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2011,” the number one challenge for companies is how to integrate sustainability in core business functions, and the number one sustainability priority is human rights. Natour shared his insights on how to successfully integrate human rights into business. His recommendations included: training employees on human rights policies, risks, and opportunities; providing incentives for good performance or the completion of specific tasks such as human rights impact assessments; and supporting staff ownership of human rights programs.

According to Natour, it is important for companies to demystify human rights. He explained that companies are “already 90 percent there,” thanks to the other policies that companies may already have developed on other issues related to human rights such as diversity or labor rights. Natour highlighted that a common challenge for most companies is a clear understanding of what constitutes a human right. Natour also suggested that companies should integrate communications about their human rights success stories into their overall strategy, and avoid taking a solely risk-management approach.

During the Q&A session, a participant asked how the speakers define human rights. Bader pointed out that human rights are listed under the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is not an “à la carte menu,” she said, but rather a full package of rights that companies must respect. She urged companies to think about how their business impacts each of the rights listed under the UDHR.

Another question from the audience focused on implementing grievance mechanisms. For Vale, grievance mechanisms must be culturally adapted, accessible, and transparent. For example, grievance mechanisms should be accessible to stakeholders who do not speak the local language, have no access to the internet, or have limited literacy. For Microsoft, it is important to the company to reward and celebrate whistle-blowers.

To wrap up the session, the speakers reflected on what it takes to champion these issues as individuals. As Vale has faced accusations in the past, Filgueiras acknowledged that Vale has faced accusations in the past, but she asserted that these moments of crisis were enlightening for the company, and ultimately, led to the development of the company’s human rights agenda. For Lippman, it’s important to stay connected to peers to discuss common challenges.