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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Integrating Human Rights Through Effective Training
Since the emergence of the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, companies have started thinking about how to apply the principles in daily operations. An important part of this is ensuring that each employee understands what human rights are, how they relate to the company as a whole, and what they mean in terms of individual responsibilities.
Training and engaging employees on human rights—from line workers to the CEO—is an important step in that process. This week, BSR Advisory Services Associate Elissa Goldenberg outlines how to design a human rights training program.
Also this week, BSR’s Celine Suarez offers us a preview of her BSR Conference 2012 session on applying Bhutan’s “Gross National Happiness” model to a corporate context, and we share highlights from our new report on engaging communities using a “free, prior, and informed consent” approach.
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In Depth
Human Rights Training: Who Needs It, What They Need to Know, and How It Should Work
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
As more companies think about implementing human rights training throughout their organizations, it's important to consider who should be trained, what those individuals need to know, and how to most effectively deliver that information to them.
Read more →
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Spotlight
Gross National Happiness: A New Business Model for Holistic Development
By Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
In 1972, the king of Bhutan declared that national happiness would be prioritized over economic growth, and the country adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) as the primary indicator of its citizens' quality of life. Since then, others—including the UN, which hosted a meeting in April to define a new economic paradigm based on well-being and happiness—have followed Bhutan's lead. According to the Columbia Earth Institute's World Happiness Report, despite major technological and economic developments in the United States, citizens have not reported increased happiness: Uncertainty and anxiety are high, social and economic inequalities have increased, and confidence in government is at an all-time low. Is happiness a quest for financial or material gain? Or is it a quest for equitable, sustainable development and personal peace? BSR will explore these questions in a Conference session with Isabel Sebastian, a Bhutan-based business and sustainability expert who is implementing a business model based on GNH. Join us to discuss how companies can rethink management models to deliver on happiness for all stakeholders.
Toolbox
Community Engagement With Free, Prior, and Informed Consent
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Based on a workshop BSR held in June, we have launched a new report that discusses how extractives companies can use free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) to engage affected communities throughout project development. The report defines FPIC and discusses best practices for stakeholder engagement that can be applied within the company and with external stakeholders: Internally:
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Develop a strong business case to ensure internal support for FPIC, effectively deploy resources, and mitigate risk.
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Integrate FPIC into project-development planning, risk management, and stakeholder-engagement management.
Externally:
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Work with governments, NGOs, and other companies to enhance awareness of FPIC, encourage states to incorporate FPIC legislation, sharpen understanding of FPIC objectives, and build capacity for its implementation.
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