Case Studies
Telefónica: Assessing Human Rights Risks and Opportunities
BSR worked with the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica to assess its human rights impacts, risks, and opportunities in each of its 16 operating regions.
International Finance Corporation: Identifying Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment in Trade Zones
BSR conducted research on women’s economic empowerment opportunities in eight key markets and made recommendations for solutions to barriers currently limiting that empowerment. The IFC is now implementing the recommendations in Bangladesh.
Western Union Summit: Addressing Education Needs and Creating New Business Opportunities
Education has the power to improve both individual and community well-being, helping regions become more competitive economically, reduce poverty, and support democratic activities. Yet even though the UN has identified universal primary education as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, approximately 61 million school-age children are not enrolled. An additional 71 million are not enrolled in secondary school.
Western Union has 510,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories, reaching tens of millions of customers worldwide. Many are un-/under-banked and live in the communities where education is a particular challenge. Western Union asked BSR to help design and facilitate a process that would allow the company to engage with external experts to identify solutions for educational needs that also could potentially grow its business.
Levi Strauss & Company: Improving Worker Well-Being in the Workplace and Community
Too often, supply chain compliance programs fall short of ensuring that worksite-based improvements meaningfully improve workers’ lives. Top-down requirements to raise wages, reduce overtime, or reduce chemical exposure, for example, cannot sufficiently address the myriad challenges workers face to raise their standard of living, improve their health, or enhance their access to professional-development opportunities.
As a leader in supply chain innovation that is committed to improving workers’ well-being, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&CO) saw an opportunity to address this challenge. In early 2011, the company committed to creating a new strategy for its existing supply chain labor program, and enlisted BSR to help determine how the company could improve workers’ lives beyond the factory walls.
CTIA: Outlining How Wireless Technology Drives Sustainability
CTIA—The Wireless Association commissioned BSR to investigate the benefits of wireless technology for the environment and society and to provide insights on the risks and challenges of widespread adoption.
