BSR Insight Articles About Economic, Social & Cultural Rights

Innovative Solutions to Improving Women and Children’s Health

Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services

A new UN report explores how to improve women and children’s health globally. The report details what’s needed for successful development programs, outlines critical health needs, and highlights 10 innovative business models (including BSR’s HERproject) for delivering health services and products. Read more →

Posted: September 20, 2011 | Topics: Civil & Political Rights, Community Engagement & Development, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights, Women & Sustainability

Walmart CEO: ‘Holding Women Back Holds Economies Back’

Racheal Meiers (née Yeager), Director, HERproject

Last week, Walmart made a US$20 billion commitment to increase sourcing from female-owned U.S. businesses and to double the amount it sources from female-owned businesses globally by 2016. Through a broader initiative, the company will also offer women on farms and in factories training, market access, and career opportunities; provide low-income women with job-skills training and access to higher education; increase the gender diversity among its major suppliers; and grant US$100 million to organizations supporting women’s economic empowerment. Read more →

Posted: September 20, 2011 | Topics: Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Strategy & Integration, Women & Sustainability

How Freedom of Association Supports Economic Development

The International Labour Organization’s new report outlines how freedom of association—the right to create and join organizations without fear of reprisal—supports sustainable economic development. The report explores the challenges to freedom of association; provides case studies on the positive effects it can have when governments, employers’ organizations, and trade unions work together; and shares how these actors can promote respect for freedom of association. Read more →

Posted: September 6, 2011 | Topics: Civil & Political Rights, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights, Stakeholder Relations

New BSR Tool Helps Business Identify Strategic Social Investments

Alison Colwell, Associate Director, Advisory Services

BSR’s new tool helps companies make strategic social investments in communities where they operate, which is a critical aspect of building sustainable local economies. Strategic social investments allow companies to maximize the impact of their resource allocations, increase the long-term sustainability of their efforts, develop productive and mutually beneficial relationships with local stakeholders, and mitigate operational disruptions by strengthening their social license to operate. Read more →

Posted: September 6, 2011 | Topics: Community Engagement & Development, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights, Stakeholder Relations, Strategy & Integration

The Global Food Crisis

Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services

According to Oxfam International, which recently published an interactive map of the global food crisis, food prices—caused by climate change and resulting crop failures, rising oil costs, and short-sighted biofuel strategies—have lingered at an all-time high since late 2010. Read more →

Posted: August 16, 2011 | Topics: Climate Change, Community Engagement & Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights