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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Implementing a Human Rights Strategy
When the United Nations endorsed the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights in June, it effectively created a global standard for governments and business to address human rights abuses involving corporations.
In this week’s video feature, BSR’s Human Rights Director Faris Natour outlines four steps for companies to launch a human rights management system that supports the guiding principles. He also answers some of the common questions companies ask us when they begin to implement a human rights program.
To supplement this approach, Natour also offers three key tactics to help generate buy-in and ongoing support for a human rights system. (His session at the BSR Conference 2011 will get into more detail about integrating human rights at the operational level.)
And we highlight a new OECD toolkit on sustainable manufacturing.
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In Depth
Four Steps for Human Rights Management
By Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights, BSR
Learn about the four steps BSR suggests for a successful human rights management system in line with the new UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. Also, get answers to some of companies' most frequently asked questions on implementing human rights programs.
Read more →
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Spotlight
Integrating Human Rights Into Business Operations
By Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights, BSR
Integrating human rights considerations into all aspects of business is among the biggest challenges for companies implementing the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. To generate support for a human rights policy or management system at the operational or site level, companies should provide:
Incentives: Tie performance goals to specific outcomes, such as the completion of human rights impact assessments, for a few key company roles. Supplement these with lower-value incentives such as prizes for the department with the most team members to complete human rights training.
Training: Provide different tiers of training for employees based on how closely they affect the human rights of stakeholder communities. This can range from a five-minute online course to a two-day workshop.
Ownership: Involve operational managers who regularly make decisions that impact human rights in the development of the company’s human rights strategy as owners, rather than as stakeholders. For example, a company could create a cross-functional human rights strategy task force and assign specific responsibilities to each member.
To learn more, attend our BSR Conference 2011 session on integrating human rights at the operational level, or contact Faris Natour.
Toolbox
OECD’s Business Guide to Sustainable Growth
The OECD’s new Sustainable Manufacturing Toolkit helps businesses—particularly small- to medium-sized companies and supply chain firms—grow more sustainably by improving their operational efficiency, reviewing the materials they use for production, rethinking their products’ benefits and challenges, and supporting continuous improvement in their teams.
The toolkit includes indicators that companies can use to measure the environmental performance of manufacturing facilities across all sectors and countries.
It contains:
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Step-by-step guidance on how to measure environmental impacts, including: setting priorities, choosing relevant indicators, measuring inputs, evaluating products, understanding results, and making improvements.
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A web portal that includes searchable information on indicators as well as links to other resources such as technical information, best practices, a glossary of terms, data tools, and other initiatives to help companies go beyond measurement.
For more information, see BSR’s work on supply chain sustainability.
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