Primers | Wednesday April 29, 2026
Human Rights Priorities for the Renewable Energy Sector
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This primer identifies the 10 most relevant, urgent, and probable human rights impacts for businesses operating in the renewable energy sector across the value chain. It offers opportunities for the renewable energy sector to promote the advancement of human rights, as a global and local sector that employs tens of millions of workers around the world. Given that the sector is an essential contributor to a lasting reversal of the trend of rising CO2 emissions, managing risks is crucial to preventing harm as well as to ensuring that the energy transition is not derailed.
This information is gathered from BSR’s direct engagement with energy companies, as well as our 30 years of experience helping companies in all sectors manage their human rights risks.
Human rights are inherent to all people, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They are globally agreed upon standards of achievement for all people, covering a wide range of independent yet interconnected civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights that serve as a ‘code of conduct’ for all human beings.
All companies can impact human rights either positively or negatively through their action or inactions. The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) is the authoritative global standard on business and human rights and while technically ‘soft law’, the UNGPs have been incorporated into the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ISO 26000, IFC Performance Standards, GRI, UN Sustainable Development Goals, and many other frameworks. The UNGPs are also the backbone of emerging legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive of the European Union. They have also been endorsed by business and industry organizations representing thousands of companies, civil society organizations, NGOs, and member states of the United Nations.
As part of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, the UNGPs require companies to actively identify and manage the negative human rights impacts to which they may cause or contribute to or to which they are linked through their business relationships.
The renewable energy sector comprises a wide range of businesses and activities, from manufacturing original equipment (e.g. solar panels, wind turbines, and other technologies), development of projects (project planning, permitting, and siting), building projects (construction and on-site delivery and installation), to operating renewable assets (e.g. utilities, independent power producers, etc.). It also includes a wide range of technologies and renewable energy sources and solutions for electricity production, including wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and biomass as well as emerging ones like hydrogen and energy storage.
While each company has distinctive human rights risks based on their different value chain footprints and business models, this primer highlights common risks across the renewable energy sector to help companies in the renewable energy value chain identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse impacts on people in the course of doing business.