BSR Insight Articles About Human Rights

Entering Responsibly in Risky Markets: A Look at Myanmar

Chris Nolan, Associate Director, Advisory Services Jeremy Prepscius, Vice President, Asia-Pacific

Market entry in high-risk, transitional countries can often be characterized by significant and ongoing political, economic, and legal change and uncertainty, as well as profound opportunities for business. In such environments, business can contribute tangibly to a country's national development. But the stakes are high--for the company and the country. When countries are at their most vulnerable in their development trajectory, changes enacted are tenuous, and trusted, committed external partners--including business--are critical. Though companies are often tempted to rush in for fear of not "getting in at the ground level,"responsible businesses must consider the investment's social, economic, and environmental risks and opportunities even as they look at core business prospects, not as an afterthought. Short-termism is a perfect way to ensure investment booms in such a market spell doom for a country's prospects. Today, no country embodies these risks and opportunities more than Myanmar. The political and economic reforms sweeping the country have dramatically shifted its outlook and much of the world's perspective toward it, creating once unthinkable opportunities for business. While opportunities in sectors ranging from oil and gas to manufacturing, travel and tourism, information and communications technology (ICT), financial services, and agriculture may appear boundless, the risks of investing in this long-isolated nation are substantial, given the continued predominance of the military in politics and the economy, the vastly underdeveloped financial and legal/regulatory institutions, the weak rule of law and lack of an independent judiciary, endemic corruption, and poor human and labor rights records. Read more →

Posted: June 12, 2012 | Topics: Civil & Political Rights, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights

BSR’s New Human Rights Working Group to Address Shared Industry Challenges

Peter Nestor, Manager, Advisory Services

At the launch of BSR's new Human Rights Working Group in Washington, D.C., last week, 20 companies from seven industries and five countries discussed a new multisector approach to addressing human rights impacts. Since the UN Human Rights Council adopted the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights last June, companies have enacted new human rights policies and processes. The BSR workshop identified challenges that sectors as varied as healthcare, ICT, energy, and food/beverages share, including: * Building internal alignment and buy-in * Measuring impact and ROI * Influencing business partners, including governments * Establishing effective grievance and remedy mechanisms Over the coming months, the group will work to unpack these and other challenges and to identify best practices for implementing human rights programs. For more information about BSR's Human Rights Working Group, please contact Peter Nestor. Read more →

Posted: May 8, 2012 | Topics: Human Rights

Taking Ethics to the Cloud

Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

Just a decade ago, it would have been hard for all but the most tech-savvy to imagine the extent of cloud computing today. A complex system of data centers worldwide that store, process, and deliver information on demand over the internet, the cloud provides users with resources, applications, and information that they previously would have stored locally. The cloud—what some are calling “the factory of the 21st century”—is run by a network of IT service companies, internet firms, and telecommunications services providers, and it offers services to all of us: from banks and retailers to individuals like you and me. It is both real—requiring traditional inputs such as electricity—and virtual. Read more →

Posted: April 10, 2012 | Topics: Climate Change, Energy, Human Rights, Information & Communications Technology

Challenges of Applying the UN Guiding Principles

At the CSR and Leadership Produrable conference in Paris last week, BSR’s Europe Director Farid Baddache facilitated a discussion on how to apply the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The panel comprised representatives from EDF, BNP Paribas, the French government, and two NGOs. Panel participants noted the challenges in applying human rights principles and due diligence across departments throughout a company while reconciling a more industry-specific understanding of the material issues. They added that engaging with stakeholders on the ground is a key component of successful ownership of human rights issues. _“The way the regulatory frameworks applicable to European companies are getting increasingly consistent with the UN Guiding Principles encourages companies to transition from a reactive issue management to a proactive reasonable management of human rights risks.”_ —Michel Doucin, French government ambassador on CSR (March 28, 2012) Read more →

Posted: April 3, 2012 | Topics: Human Rights

What’s Next for Business and Human Rights

By Christine Bader, Human Rights Advisor, BSR

At a recent workshop I convened at Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics (where I’m a non-resident senior fellow), experts from the UN Working Group on business and human rights, corporations, NGOs, investors, and academia discussed what lies ahead for business: * While the focus for the last six years was on developing shared expectations (in the form of the UN Guiding Principles), now a very different set of skills and coalitions are needed to implement those expectations—for example, to emphasize outreach to the global South and capacity-building for companies, governments, and NGOs. * The debate has thus far largely focused on extractives and manufacturing, which historically have presented the greatest immediate threats to human rights. Technology and finance are among the sectors that should feature more prominently going forward. * Multistakeholder dialogue is critical because no single party can solve these challenges alone. Research, collaboration, and dialogue—much like this workshop—must be sustained. _For more information about how BSR helps companies implement the Guiding Principles, including through a new Human Rights Working Group, contact Faris Natour._ Read more →

Posted: March 27, 2012 | Topics: Human Rights