In This Issue
Editor's Note
What’s Next for Business and Human Rights
The UN’s endorsement last week of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights intends “to ensure that companies do not violate human rights in the course of their transactions, and that they provide redress when infringements occur.”
Today, BSR’s Human Rights Director Faris Natour offers his perspective on how business can begin implementing these principles by adopting a policy commitment, ensuring non-infringement through due diligence, addressing adverse impacts, and measuring and reporting on performance.
We also feature a new survey that highlights the main reason most companies are in the early stages of embedding human rights in their operations: a lack of understanding among key managers.
Finally, we offer our take on what companies can do to improve access to financial products and services to the 2.5 billion adults—mostly in the developing world—who do not use formal financial services.
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In Depth
The UN Guiding Principles: What’s Next for Business and Human Rights
By Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights, BSR
The UN’s recent endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights marks not just a successful end to the mandate of UN Special Representative John Ruggie. It also signals a new beginning for business and human rights as companies around the world begin to implement the principles to ensure respect for human rights in all of their operations.
Read more →
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Quick Hit
‘Lack of Understanding’ Tops List of Business Hurdles to Human Rights
Although John Ruggie’s mandate ends this month with the UN Human Rights Council’s endorsement of his Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, most companies are still in the nascent stage of embedding human rights throughout their operations. According to an Institute for Human Rights and Business survey of 97 people—including directors of global communications and CEOs from all sectors—the greatest hurdle (56 percent of responses) for companies in doing so is a “lack of understanding among key managers.”
The second most-noted barrier (38 percent of responses) is “too many competing tools and methodologies,” a challenge the UN hopes to address by endorsing the Guiding Principles as the global standard.
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Spotlight
Bringing Access to Finance to Supply Chain Workers
By Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR
Approximately 2.5 billion adults do not use formal financial services to save or borrow money, and 90 percent of them live in the developing world. Companies across all sectors can work through their supply chains to address barriers to access by offering financial education programs and products through automated payroll and direct deposit schemes. This can ensure that workers are paid the right amount and at the right time, and prevent fraud that sometimes occurs in factories and erodes take-home pay.
To guide companies, BSR and the financial education nonprofit Microfinance Opportunities will be hosting a virtual roundtable on this topic on June 23. Attendees will hear from experts on:
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Existing programs that can expedite the learning process for supply chain managers looking to overcome financial exclusion and reduce program-development time and costs
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An approach to understanding barriers to access that differs across regions: Implementation must involve engagement with the target audience.
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Supply and demand constraints: Many low-income workers have never been part of the formal financial system and must learn the benefits of formal savings.
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The value of partnerships: Partners can help design and deliver innovative, locally relevant products and education programs.
For more information on financial inclusion, contact Chhavi Ghuliani.
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