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In This Issue
Editor's Note
Local Social Performance: Beyond ‘Do No Harm’
Ten years ago, sustainability advocates were clamoring for energy and mining companies to pay more attention to local social performance issues. Today, companies have begun to evaluate the contributions of effective social performance management to improving the underlying commercial performance of their business.
This week, BSR’s Energy and Extractives Director Michael Oxman shares his perspective through a new video on how energy and mining companies can effectively secure and maintain a social license to operate in various countries.
We also share lessons learned from the extractives sector on conducting human rights assessments and highlight a new open-source curriculum for workplace-based women’s health trainings developed by BSR’s HERproject.
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In Depth
Local Social Performance Management in Energy and Extractives
By Michael Oxman, Director, Advisory Services, BSR
Local social performance is critical to energy and mining companies' ability to secure and maintain a social license to operate at various sites around the world.
Read more →
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Spotlight
Human Rights Assessments: Lessons Learned from the Extractives Sector
By Alison Colwell, Associate Director, Advisory Services, BSR
The increased global expectation that business respect human rights, underscored by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, has pushed companies to demonstrate due diligence of both their operations and business relationships with suppliers, governments, and other partners. Human Rights Assessments (HRAs) demonstrate due diligence and enhance management of risks and opportunities. Based on BSR's experience conducting human rights assessments (HRAs) with extractives companies, we have learned that:
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Companies need to "know and show" that they are respecting human rights.
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Assessments are one part of an integrated approach to human rights management and should engage stakeholders.
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Businesses should take responsibility for respecting all rights in the International Bill of Rights.
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HRAs should be customized to companies' existing processes, such as risk assessments, and include opportunities as well as risks.
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HRA practitioners should engage the company throughout the entire process to increase the company's internal commitment and capacity.
For more information on HRAs, contact BSR's Alison Colwell or Faris Natour.
Toolbox
BSR’s HERproject Launches Open-Source Curriculum for Workplace Health Trainings
By Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services, BSR
BSR's HERproject--a factory-based women's health education program--has launched a new curriculum for women's health trainings in the workplace. Developed with funding from the Levi Strauss Foundation, the HERproject curriculum covers topics ranging from nutrition and waterborne diseases to HIV/AIDS and family planning. For each topic, the curriculum provides unique resources for interactive, one-hour training sessions to address sensitive and critical issues in the work environment. Additionally, each health topic includes a health manual, additional training materials, and a post-training quiz. Based on HERproject best practices and in partnership with leading public health and development organizations, BSR developed the open-source curriculum for a wide group of users, including nonprofit organizations working on community-based health education, factory or farm human resources staff, and health clinic professionals. The language is clear and simple, and the directions for how to implement the training programs are thorough enough for less-experienced trainers to understand and implement. All materials are available for download on the HERproject website. For more information, contact Jennifer Schappert.
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