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Blog | Wednesday July 1, 2020

Why Modern Slavery Risks Should Be Top of Mind for Businesses during COVID-19

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Businesses today are facing tough decisions on how to protect their financial viability, serve rapidly changing customer needs, and protect their workforce. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to alter the landscape of the global workforce, forcing millions of vulnerable workers out of work and requiring businesses to make quick and difficult decisions on retaining their workforce and supporting their supply chains through the crisis.

When exploring cost-cutting measures, businesses may unwittingly overlook the human rights impacts of their quick decisions, especially on the most vulnerable workers deep in their supply chain. Through our work addressing modern slavery across supply chains, we have observed an alarming uptick in business actions during this time that may lead to more individuals being forced into conditions of modern slavery, or on the brink thereof. In a joint statement, the Global Business Coalition against Human Trafficking (GBCAT) has urged companies to protect workforces against modern slavery risks when responding to COVID-19.

Below are three key areas in which BSR has noted increased risks of modern slavery:

1. Essential businesses may be inadvertently exposing workers to conditions of forced labor.

Workers who have been able to maintain their jobs with essential businesses may face increased risk of exploitative labor conditions as they experience heightened pressure to work long hours in response to the global demand for goods or to maintain productivity levels despite a reduced workforce. For example, technology companies supporting governments to build digital infrastructure related to COVID-19 or companies producing goods in response to global demand may in their haste subject their own workers and supply chain workers to long hours with little or no overtime pay, which in severe circumstances may amount to forced labor. The use of forced labor has already been well-documented in the production of healthcare products, from masks to surgical instruments, hospital textiles, and rubber gloves.

2. Canceling or delaying purchasing orders may result in supply chain workers losing their livelihoods and accepting precarious work.

Mass order cancellations, non-payment of orders, workforce cuts, and factory shutdowns pose serious repercussions for supply chain workers, many of whom already live below the poverty line. For example, in Bangladesh’s textile industry alone, one million workers already have lost their jobs. Unpaid wages and job losses, particularly in the developing world, make individuals desperate for alternative means of income and more likely to accept precarious and even exploitative work. Women, who represent the majority of low wage workers, are more likely to be unemployed and are particularly susceptible to sexual exploitation or sex trafficking. Migrant workers also may face a heightened risk of debt bondage since many are unable to pay off loans they took out in order to secure a job abroad. Forced into mandatory quarantine once they return home and now unemployed, workers may be forced to take on new debt to cover basic necessities for themselves and their families. Some may continue to borrow, digging deeper in debt, while others may even have family members or children working to pay off their loan.     

3. As the economy recovers, rush orders can create or exacerbate situations of modern slavery in supply chains.

As COVID-19 restrictions ease and businesses recover, business should be attuned to how practices such as tight production windows, last-minute orders and short-term contracts can create or contribute to abusive labor practices that may lead to forms of modern slavery. For example, meeting quick turnaround times or filling last minute orders for a client keen to kickstart financial recovery may subject supply chain workers to excessive working hours and unpaid overtime. In addition, if orders are too difficult to fulfill with the current workforce, suppliers may enlist local temporary workers to support, providing them with short-term contracts which offer little labor protection and limited remedy for abusive working conditions. As immigration restrictions are lifted, suppliers also may rely on labor brokers to provide migrant labor. In many cases, migrant workers are subjected to excessive and illegal recruitment fees, placing these new workers in situations of debt bondage. In all cases, extreme competition for jobs will make workers less likely to report abuses and accept working conditions, even the most exploitative.

Recommendations for Business

As businesses continue to respond and adapt to COVID-19 realities, they should continue to take a human rights-based approach to their decisions. Below are three key actions which businesses should take during and after COVID-19:  

1. Conduct a hot-spot analysis of your operations and supply chain for modern slavery risks.

Businesses should conduct a modern slavery risk assessment to understand the parts of their operations and supply chains which may be most susceptible to modern slavery because of geographic or sector-related risks or because of factors that increase the vulnerability of workers (e.g. use of temporary or migrant workers), especially in light of COVID-19.

BSR has developed a Rapid Human Rights Due Diligence tool to help businesses assess potential and actual negative impacts of their business decisions. GBCAT’s new resource for business, entitled Addressing Forced Labor and Other Modern Slavery Risks: A Toolkit for Small and Medium-Sized Suppliers, enables suppliers to quickly identify areas of their business which carry the highest risk of modern slavery and formulate a plan to prevent and address identified risks.

2. Support suppliers in protecting their workers. 

Businesses should honor existing contracts and consider extending payment and offering credit to vulnerable suppliers and exploring longer-term contracts to protect the financial viability of their suppliers. As work resumes, businesses should engage closely with suppliers and industry associations to discuss realistic timelines and pricing for the delivery of goods and services. Supporting the continuity of suppliers’ operations helps protect its workforce. 

Businesses should also help suppliers to protect their own workforce directly if suppliers are financially unable to do so. This can include providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to supply chain workers and emphasizing the importance of implementing hygiene best practices and safe working conditions (e.g. modifying shifts and limiting workplace traffic). Some other avenues of support include offering to pay sick leave when not provided by the government, compensating workers who have been laid off, and offering emergency funds to workers. Businesses should also collaborate with industry associations or business associations to pool resources if practicable.

3. Provide channels for workers to raise concerns as they go back to work.   

All workers should have access to an anonymous channel to raise concerns to their employer. This is of greater importance now, as some workers have expressed concerns that their employers have not provided them with appropriate PPE. Although travel restrictions inhibit a business’s ability to conduct on-site supplier assessments, businesses can ascertain the working conditions of supply chain workers through an anonymous hotline, direct virtual meetings with supply chain workers, or through online discussion boards where supply chain workers can report concerns and obtain information on their rights. If none of these channels currently exist and it is not practicable to implement them, a business should consider extending its own grievance channel to its supply chain workers.

Fostering open and regular communication with workers both internally and across the supply chain can help your business better understand emerging risks and explore ways to support the most vulnerable workers. Please join GBCAT members in condemning any and all forms of modern slavery and using your influence to help protect those that are most vulnerable during these challenging times.

Blog | Wednesday June 24, 2020

The Business Role in Creating a 21st-Century Social Contract

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Long before the urgent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the long overdue focus on racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion changed history, it was clear that our social contracts—the relationship between individuals and institutions—were no longer fit for purpose.  

For much of the second half of the 20th century, the roles and responsibilities of business, government, civil society, and people remained relatively constant and provided vital protections to support healthy and productive lives. But today, people are relying on strained protection systems that fail to keep up with our 21st-century realities. And criticism is on the rise over the value of capitalism and the purpose of business, with the desire to build an economic system that delivers truly shared prosperity while preserving the natural environment.   

BSR launched our contribution to the essential work of modernizing social contracts in 2018. We are committed to taking this work forward, and today we are pleased to present our new report, The Business Role in Creating a 21st-Century Social Contract. 

We are at a hinge point in history where transformation is both possible and necessary. 

In addition to the profound structural changes already remaking our world, 2020 has delivered truly epochal change. At the time of the publication of this blog, COVID-19 has left a global death toll that currently stands at nearly 475,000 people, remade public finances, and threatens to eliminate the equivalent of 195 million jobs around the world. And the tragic murder of George Floyd—and far too many others—is a powerful reminder of the deep structural racism not only in the U.S., but also globally, in addition to other forms of discrimination that continue to plague all societies globally.  

2020 has demonstrated powerfully the importance of a fully functioning social safety net, public health systems, and global collaboration. We see more clearly that the world remains too focused on short-term thinking, leaving us extraordinarily susceptible to shocks that create wide social and economic destruction, with the greatest impacts on the most marginalized groups. In the United States, recent powerful examples of how systemic and institutional racism continues to plague the country, and Black Americans in particular, reinforce the urgency of ensuring a social contract based on more inclusive models and practices.   

We are at a hinge point in history where transformation is both possible and necessary. Reforms to the social contract are clearly needed to protect public health, economic security, and the right of all people to participate fully in society.  

Without a truly modern social contract, the ability of business to innovate and thrive will be compromised.  

There is also a powerful case for business to embrace and contribute to this effort, We believe this work is essential to lay the foundation for business success through increased trust, workforce development fit for the changing needs of business, stable economic conditions, and social consensus on the development and implementation of new technologies and business models. Without a truly modern social contract, the ability of business to innovate and thrive will be compromised.  

Achieving this ambition will require unprecedented collaboration among leaders from all sectors of society: business, government, philanthropy, and civil society, with a goal to define and align on a vision for a post-virus world grounded in equity and inclusion, what the new social contract must deliver, and the roles of each sector in translating that vision into reality. The world is looking for leadership in a time of profound change. Business can and should fully embrace and fulfill its appropriate role by asserting leadership and innovation in its own practices, collaborating with business partners and other stakeholders, and using its voice to call for the public policy solutions that are so badly needed. 

The paper we are publishing today is a first step toward this vision. It speaks both to the underlying structural issues that prompted this effort as well as the new context brought by the pandemic and the renewed call for diversity, equity, and inclusion, not least concerning racial justice. We hope it serves as a foundation for further discussion with companies and other partners about how to make progress. Working together will be critical to achieve these crucial objectives and to turn our current crisis into an opportunity to create models that enable more resilient, fair, and sustainable economic and human development.  

The time is right to pursue a grand bargain that can create a more inclusive economy that enables people to thrive in dignity, preserves the natural world on which we rely, and creates more just and humane institutions that respect the rights of all. With this effort, we can truly meet the moment, and build the future. 

Reports | Wednesday June 24, 2020

The Business Role in Creating a 21st-Century Social Contract

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About This Report

The social contract—the relationship between individuals and institutions—needs an overhaul.

Well before the urgent challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the long overdue focus on racial justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion changed history, it was clear that our social contracts were not fit for purpose.

For much of the second half of the 20^th century, the roles and responsibilities of business, government, civil society, and people remained relatively constant and provided vital protections to support healthy and productive lives. But today, people are relying on strained protection systems that fail to keep up with our 21^st-century realities. And there is increasing attention on the need to align the purpose of business with essential societal needs, such as the transition to a net-zero economy; a digital economy that sustains jobs, livelihoods, and economic fairness; and the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Blog | Tuesday June 23, 2020

Access to Grievance Mechanisms and Remedy during the COVID-19 Crisis

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Providing remedy for individuals harmed as a consequence of company decisions and actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a critical avenue for addressing not just this moment, but also the deeper inequalities that make our society vulnerable to crisis and for building resilience in the future.

COVID-19 has aggravated existing inequalities, with rapidly changing business operating environments requiring fast decision-making based on often imperfect information. There is little doubt that some company decisions will have caused harm to employees, local residents, or customers. Companies will be held to account and asked to rectify these harms and to fulfill their duties to provide access to remedy, a fundamental pillar of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

The UNGPs outline the duty of the state, which is to protect human rights, and the responsibility of business, which is to respect human rights. The third pillar of the UNGPs is the requirement to provide individuals whose rights are harmed by business with access to remedy. Effective remedy has five recognized forms of reparation, which include a broad range of measures aimed at repairing the harm caused to survivors and victims: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.

Access to remedy is the least developed and least well-understood and practiced pillar of the UNGPs and one that deserves more attention in general and should not be forgotten or overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially now as we move into new phases in our response to the pandemic. To ensure access to remedy during all phases of the COVID-19 crisis, companies should:

• Continue to ensure access to appropriate, independent, and effective grievance mechanisms, including dedicated hotlines, email addresses, instant messaging systems or applications, and letters and other written communication, to the extent possible, during all phases of the pandemic. Some companies will have to think creatively about how to ensure access to legitimate grievance mechanisms, with an understanding that many of the good practices that require face-to-face contact will have to be modified during this time. For all companies, it is important to ensure access to grievance mechanisms to enable reporting of non-compliance with safety measures and guidelines which have been adopted to protect people from COVID-19, not only for isolated communities and marginalized groups, but also for employees and contractors.
• For companies with large footprints, special considerations are needed for those located in isolated or remote communities. Communities with limited access to communications channels, communities which may be economically marginalized or have lower levels of literacy, or indigenous communities often have a greater dependence on person-to-person engagements to lodge complaints or submit grievances. Companies will have to think creatively about how to ensure access to legitimate grievance mechanisms during the global pandemic, with an understanding that many of the good practices that require face-to-face contact will have to be modified during this time and for some time in the future. It may be necessary, for example, to partner with trusted local organizations, like grocery stores and their suppliers, who have legitimate access to communities to gather and deliver grievances.
• Companies that rely on human moderators to review online content flagged for violating human rights and company policies should continue to prioritize reported content that has the greatest potential to harm when dealing with limited content moderator capacity while also ensuring that the data are preserved for future analysis with appropriate privacy controls in place.  These companies should also increase their investment in mental health support and resources for their content moderators, both to ensure their well-being and to adapt to the increased burden of harmful content that may result as a consequence of this global crisis.  
• Companies can avoid causing potential human rights-related grievances through their response to COVID-19 by conducting rapid human rights assessments and other due diligence before making decisions that could negatively impact human rights. This is especially important when rapid decisions are being made in the midst of a crisis, especially one like COVID-19 with potential human rights impacts. For example, companies can ensure responsible disengagement from supplier contracts during the pandemic by conducting rapid human rights assessments. If cancellation of supplier contracts is legal and absolutely necessary (after evaluating all possible options for alternatives), start by formulating a responsible exit strategy in consultation with potentially impacted rightsholders. For instance, ensure that workers and suppliers receive ongoing compensation for the duration of the unemployment or offer trainings and financial capacity building (microcredit) to mitigate loss of employment for workers and other people living in surrounding communities.
• As much as possible, continue with any efforts underway to remediate past harms that the company has caused or contributed to before the pandemic. If appropriate, use company’s leverage to push business partners to do the same.
• As the COVID-19 situation improves, conduct a post-crisis assessment to ensure that all grievances are lodged and assess if and how people have been impacted by company action (or inaction) during the pandemic. Companies will and should be held to account for their actions during the pandemic. Responsible companies will acknowledge harms and provide remedy.

While many restrictions remain in place and extreme caution is still needed, this is a moment when companies should start examining their approaches, both past and current, and ensure they are accountable for their actions. Failure to remedy past harms is not just counter to international standards outlined in the UNGPs—it can also destabilize the business environment whether due to social unrest or increased vulnerability to crisis.

Blog | Wednesday June 17, 2020

Blockchain through the Whole Supply Chain: Traceability Builds Business Resilience

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Over the past year, The Estée Lauder Companies and Aveda have been working with LMR Naturals by IFF, BSR, and Envisible to establish a blockchain-enabled traceable supply chain that identifies opportunities to deliver sustainability benefits to all the actors in the supply chain. This post is the third in a series documenting the journey of this innovative partnership and follows up on a first blog (published in July 2019) and a second blog (published in December 2019). 

COVID-19 has caused shockwaves across global industries as most of us throughout the world experience firsthand the challenges of supply chain resiliency and transparency. From sudden shortages of certain food and household staples to questions about the safety or future availability of certain items based on their source of manufacturing, we are all realizing that we live in an extremely interconnected but paradoxically opaque world.  

At first these shortages could be dismissed as simply a rush of demand that outstrips supply (i.e. panic and hoarding), but as we explore deeper, we can find curious anomalies about the way many supply chains function. A realization begins to emerge that many supply chains are only designed to function within the framework of a globalized society with its multitude of interdependent systems that can be relied upon to predictably function all the time, exactly as expected. And then...the unexpected happens, and it becomes painfully clear that traceability, transparency, and resilience are the only way to ensure a lasting and sustainable business model. 

When we begin to emerge from the shock of the current worldwide health crisis and its impact on the global economy, smart businesses will take this opportunity to reevaluate their supply chains in order to reduce the unknowns that erode resiliency when unanticipated changes occur. This means having a granular understanding of not only your suppliers, but the suppliers of your suppliers and the associated risks to which you are exposed, so that in the future businesses can better anticipate both direct and indirect concerns. 

By taking steps to ensure greater visibility into supply chains before times of crisis, companies gain greater awareness of potential critical disruptions, or other unexpected business concerns, that might arise in the future.

Over the past nine months, LMR Naturals, BSR, and Envisible have been working with The Estée Lauder Companies and Aveda to better understand these issues in a supply chain that starts on a bumpy road in rural Madagascar and ultimately crosses three continents to deliver the vanilla that is an essential component to the many of Aveda’s fragrances and formulas. Our work began long before COVID-19 and involved laying the track for a fully digitized supply chain, with transactions at each point in the chain of custody being immutably recorded on a blockchain using Wholechain. It started as an exercise—a compulsory first step—to facilitate sustainable and responsible sourcing all the way back to a co-op of smallholder farmers.  

This product has enabled The Estée Lauder Companies and Aveda, along with its natural ingredients partners LMR and the local cooperative Biovanilla, to achieve full traceability and greater visibility into the vanilla supply chain in real time. This will enable it to move forward on a path toward obtaining fully sustainably sourced vanilla in Madagascar—a win for the companies and for the cooperative and the farmers with whom it works. 

Now in light of COVID-19, this important work reveals a broader opportunity to evaluate the systems that enterprises have in place to monitor the myriad indirect yet consequential concerns that arise in our interconnected world. 

By taking steps to ensure greater visibility into supply chains before times of crisis, companies gain greater awareness of potential critical disruptions, or other unexpected business concerns, that might arise in the future. So, what are some supply chain lessons we can take away from this work, especially in light of COVID-19? 

• Full supply chain awareness is critical. Businesses need to monitor not only their suppliers but their suppliers’ suppliers in order to truly anticipate risks that might arise. There are solutions even for the most complex supply chains, even for companies with relatively small procurement leverage. 
• Digital verification is increasingly important. Businesses have become all too accustomed to hopping on planes in order to understand issues on the ground. COVID-19 has not only made this impossible for a time, but it has raised our awareness of the risks involved with depending solely on local, physical verification of sourcing locations. 
• There is no reason not to start now. The rise of digital tools and solutions to monitor and analyze certain supply chains could significantly improve transparency and resilience in anticipation of the next global crisis. This will better enable business leaders to understand risk exposure, position themselves to respond to disruptions, and promote sustainability collectively along their supply chains.

The common and appropriate management refrain is to "never let a good crisis go to waste." COVID-19 has been a wake-up call on many levels in our globalized world, exposing economic and social blind spots that will demand collective innovation. If there is a positive result that can emerge from this crisis for businesses, it will be a lesson in resilience: use this opportunity to become better prepared for future unexpected disruptions. A transparent supply chain is one element that business can tackle now.  

Blog | Tuesday June 16, 2020

Supporting LGBTI People during Pride Month 2020 and the COVID-19 Pandemic

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In 2019, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) communities around the world filled city streets for LGBTI Pride in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, one of the most important events contributing to the launch of the gay liberation movement and the fight for LGBTI rights in the United States.

In stark contrast, this year’s Pride festivities have been canceled or moved to virtual platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and LGBTI communities, like other vulnerable groups, have been hit hard by the crisis. While Pride is now synonymous with festive celebrations and has become a staple of mainstream and corporate culture, it began as a series of riots led by trans women of color against police brutality and racial, gender, and sexual orientation discrimination.

As we celebrate Pride Month in 2020, with protests against brutal police violence and racial discrimination against Black people erupting around the world, it is more important than ever to recognize the struggles of disenfranchised communities all over the world and the interconnectedness of these struggles for justice and equality.

But first, some good news. On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court held that LGBTI people are protected from workplace discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ruling against the Trump administration, which sought to exclude sexual orientation from protected classes. This resounding victory for LGBTI rights is consistent with international human rights principles, particularly those articulated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the UN Guiding Principles) and the UN Standards of Conduct for Business Tackling Discrimination Against LGBTI People (the UN Standards). It also affirms the important work the private sector is doing and must continue to do to create inclusive environments for LGBTI employees, customers, and communities wherever they do business.

Which brings us to the bad news. Despite a lot of good work to address inclusivity by the private sector, LGBTI communities around the world remain as vulnerable as ever. COVID-19 has exposed many of the structural and systemic issues disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations, including people of color, LGBTI people, migrants, and more, who were hit hardest by COVID-19. The LGBTI community, for example, suffered from limited access to and deprioritization of healthcare services, stigma and discrimination, violence and abuse, and a decrease in access to work during this crisis, as highlighted by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. These factors existed prior to the pandemic but were quickly exacerbated as LGBTI people sought protections and support during the crisis.  

In response to the severe impact of COVID-19 on LGBTI communities around the world, the Partnership for Global LGBTI Equality (PGLE), a collaborative initiative of BSR in partnership with the World Economic Forum and UN Human Rights, along with our NGO partner OutRight Action International, launched the COVID-19 Global LGBTIQ Emergency Fund. Established by OutRight, the Fund supports LGBTI organizations on the frontlines of the pandemic in the global South, addressing a range of humanitarian needs such as emergency food and/or shelter, access to safe and competent healthcare, safety and security, and financial stability.

The Fund will continue its efforts to mobilize the private sector to support this effort throughout Pride Month and beyond, giving companies an opportunity to reallocate resources in light of cancelled Pride events. Prioritizing financial support to LGBTI communities and advocating on their behalf are concrete steps that the business community can take to empower LGBTI movement leaders and ultimately ensure the survival and long-term viability of local partners leading the grassroots effort to tackle discrimination against the LGBTI community.

Contributing to this emergency relief fund is another way companies can fulfil their commitments under the UN Standards, in particular Standard 5, “Act in the Public Sphere.” PGLE’s mandate is to help companies implement these standards and take action to meet the expectations which they articulate, which include supporting LGBTI communities around the world. And in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling, it is as important as ever for the private sector to ensure it is promoting inclusivity of and eliminating discrimination against LGBTI people. Companies interested in becoming supporters of the UN Standards can visit the PGLE website to learn more.

The private sector has an opportunity to drive impactful change for LGBTI people around the world, particularly during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and the civil unrest as people rally and demand an end to racial injustice and police violence around the world. We have an opportunity to mobilize a different kind of Pride campaign this year, one focused on fulfilling the vision of the UN Standards and providing essential financial support in a time where LGBTI communities and nonprofits are facing an acute threat to their health and well-being. For millions, Pride has always been a celebration of survival from persecution and discrimination. This year, the sentiment is even more urgent, and we all must come together to strengthen our commitment and work towards a more inclusive, tolerant, and supportive world for all.

Blog | Thursday June 11, 2020

A Human Rights-Based Approach to COVID-19 Decision-Making

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Every action and decision that companies and governments alike make in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to impose significant human rights impacts on employees, supply chains, customers, and communities around the world.

The impacts of both the pandemic and the swift decisions leaders are having to make to address the risks carried by the virus affect different stakeholders in distinct ways, with vulnerable populations bearing the brunt of not only the virus itself, but the economic consequences as well. Because of this, many human rights organizations, such as the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), have issued statements urging governments and companies to take into consideration the specific needs of rightsholders, particularly vulnerable populations, when developing responses to COVID-19.

Beyond identifying and understanding the impacts of the pandemic on particular populations, companies face additional challenges based on their unique operating circumstances. Indeed, the crisis is playing out in very different ways across sectors, industries, and geographies. For some, COVID-19 has introduced an opportunity to more deeply integrate and embed their platforms and services as the world shifts into a new operating paradigm. For others, the pandemic presents an existential crisis that has severely impacted the business models and long-term viability of entire sectors—from travel and tourism to retail and hospitality, and many more.

To address the diverse impacts and potential approaches companies may face in this crisis, particularly as industries adjust to a new “normal” for the long term, BSR has developed three primers on how to respect human rights during the COVID-19 crisis: one for the energy and extractives sector, one for the food, beverage, and agriculture sector, and one for the transportation and logistics sector.

Regardless of how COVID-19 may affect these three sectors and others differently, a human rights-based approach means understanding how the decisions a company makes in response to COVID-19 impact its own employees, contractors, and supply chain workers and seeking to minimize or eliminate any adverse impacts to the greatest extent possible. While the primers focus on three specific sectors, the approach they outline for thinking through how the pandemic may impact human rights can be applied across industries. Furthermore, the risks highlighted in these three sectors present a range of risks that illustrate of the types of issues many other sectors may face—from protecting employee privacy concerns once testing and tracing is implemented to weighing a balance between communal needs and employee health and safety.

How such decisions are made may impact the following rights, which the primers explore in more detail:

• The right to a safe and healthy work environment, due to heightened risk of contracting the virus in the workplace
• The rights to work and to an adequate standard of living, due to layoffs, furloughs, or shutdowns, particularly in countries where unemployment benefits such as medical coverage or paycheck protection are limited or nonexistent
• The right to privacy, as employers and local governments implement preventative measures to test, track, and trace

In some cases, companies—especially those providing essential services—will have to balance the rights of their employees against those of their customers and local communities. This will require a thoughtful, human rights-based stakeholder engagement approach, weighing the impacts on the various stakeholders and including them in this process.

While these primers are not meant to cover every potential human rights issue emerging from COVID-19 across all sectors, we hope they offer companies enough guidance to be able to address any challenge that may emerge through a human rights lens. If you would like to know more about how to ensure respect for human rights in your company’s pandemic response, please get in touch.

Blog | Wednesday June 10, 2020

Today and Tomorrow: COVID-19 and the Increased Relevance of Corporate Sustainability

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With the spread of COVID-19 creating a crisis that is unprecedented in living memory, there is not an element of our lives that has remained unaffected. And this is especially true for business. 

At GlobeScan and BSR, we spend our time working with some of the largest businesses in the world. We wanted to understand both the immediate effect on the sustainability efforts of the companies we work with and also to begin to understand what long-term implications they are anticipating as a result of the pandemic. 

To that end, we surveyed 102 companies across our global networks. 

In the short term, sustainability teams have been involved in the response to COVID-19 in a myriad of different ways. When we asked what was the most important role that the sustainability function has played so far, respondents highlighted community engagement (19 percent), providing advice and support to the business (14 percent), stakeholder engagement (13 percent), health and safety activities (10 percent), and philanthropy (10 percent). 

The survey results show that one of the biggest longer-term outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic may be a marked increase in the importance of corporate sustainability. Four in ten respondents (40 percent) say that the crisis will increase both the relevance and expectations for sustainable business. Moreover, over a third (36 percent) say that the agenda for sustainable business will change as existing priorities increase in prominence and new issues arise. 

Resilience is having its moment, as more leaders recognize the strategic value of sustainable business models which improve their company’s ability to anticipate and prepare for fast-moving, unexpected shocks. It will be worth watching the extent to which business leaders continue to see sustainability as a primary source of strategic advantage and as a driver for rebuilding the global economy. 

Resilience is having its moment, as more leaders recognize the strategic value of sustainable business models which improve their company’s ability to anticipate and prepare for fast-moving, unexpected shocks.

When asked which elements of their company’s sustainability strategy would be most affected, over four in ten highlighted supply chains (44 percent), with others mentioning inclusive growth (31 percent), climate action (29 percent), and philanthropy (28 percent). 

It is worth noting the reported impact on inclusive economic growth. In our 2019 annual State of Sustainable Business Survey, this area of the sustainability agenda has traditionally been a lower priority, behind climate, human rights, and workers’ rights. It will be interesting to see whether inclusive economic growth becomes a more important corporate priority given the monumental business and socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Given the significant impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, it is perhaps not surprising that almost half of respondents (47 percent) are anticipating budget cuts for their sustainability efforts within the next 12 months. By comparison, at the onset of the Great Recession in 2008, we asked a question to a similar cohort of businesses and just under a third (31 percent) said that they were expecting a budget cut. It will bear watching whether this downward pressure will be alleviated by the countervailing recognition of the increased relevance of sustainability to business longevity and success mentioned above. 

While many sustainability teams may be more challenged when it comes to resources, it comes at a time of great urgency for many of the sustainability issues that companies are facing. The crisis and its impacts will continue to create demands on companies to build more resilient businesses while also addressing systemic challenges facing society, including racial and income inequality, the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas economy, the rise of automation and artificial intelligence (AI), human rights, and overall health and well-being.   

It is already becoming clear that going “back to normal” is neither likely nor desirable. The challenge for us continues to be meeting the moment while building for the future, and the work of sustainability teams remains essential. Sustainable business can be a catalyst for the change that is needed, and sustainability professionals will need to rise to the leadership challenge that is before them. We have seen it happen before. We hope it happens again. 

Blog | Thursday June 4, 2020

An Open Letter from BSR on Racial Justice

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Dear BSR Members and Partners,

The brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers last week—following on the previous killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, and countless others—is yet another example of the systemic and institutional racism that persists in the United States.    

We are heartbroken and outraged by these injustices. This is a deep stain on the promise and reality of the United States. It has been for more than 400 years.  

Black Americans continue to face repression and unspeakable treatment by the police, with too many innocent lives ended prematurely, and violently.   

And while this inhuman treatment reveals this awful truth in the starkest way, we know also that there are countless other ways that so many are deprived of their human rights. Black Americans face deeply entrenched barriers in the workplace, in education, and basic daily activities: profiled on public transportation, attacked and murdered for “running while black,” and even intimidated when doing something as innocuous as birdwatching. And for the last three months, we have watched as COVID-19 has killed disproportionate numbers of Black Americans. 

This is unacceptable, and it is time for change. 

There is much to be done, by all of us—to listen, to learn, and to speak out—and then to act.   

• For BSR: We have a long way to go. We can and must do more to become a more diverse and inclusive organization. While we don’t have all of the answers, we know we must do better. For us, this is a time to listen, to learn, and to begin to do the hard work we know will be required. And we encourage our partners and others in our community to hold us accountable when we fall short. 
• For the sustainability community: We can and must become more diverse. And we need to work together, both to effectively and meaningfully integrate racial justice into our vision for sustainable business and to set an agenda for how companies can protect and defend the human rights of their employees, customers, and users. 
• For business: Your leadership is needed on this issue. This begins with changing employment practices and investments that are critical engines of economic opportunity that can influence outcomes for generations. It also extends to using your influence, partnerships, and voice to change the public policies that have enabled systemic and institutional racism to persist. The anger and frustration we feel right now is raw. As so many of my thoughtful colleagues have said over the last few days of dialogue, we need to commit to change today, and not only that. In addition to speaking out at important moments like this, we must maintain this effort over time, and not simply when the world’s attention is upon it. 

History is full of moments of great pain and tragedy. It is also a story of turning points. Let us hope—and let us commit—to making this a turning point, one that we can be proud of, and one that honors the memory of George Floyd and the many victims who came before him. 

Blog | Thursday May 21, 2020

Rising to the Top: Six Big Sustainability Issues Companies Should Watch During COVID-19

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We are now in the third month since the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic shock changed our present, and very likely our future. While there are signs of public health recovery in many places, the economic impacts of this generational event will be felt for a long time to come.

It is now possible to begin to draw some conclusions on the impacts of the coronavirus on sustainable business. First and foremost, despite the serious economic issues facing companies everywhere, there are strong signs that the commitment to sustainability remains strong. Companies continue to understand and appreciate that sustainability was a core part of resilient business strategies before the virus hit, is a primary source of strategic advantage, and will be a crucial part of rebuilding the global economy.

This has been reinforced by investors. There are hopeful signs that the mainstream investors that have upped their commitments to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations remain all in. ESG-pegged funds have performed better and experienced smaller declines during the initial pandemic stock sell-off: Data indicate that almost 60 percent of the biggest U.S. ESG mutual funds performed better than the S&P 500. Data from Morningstar indicate that in March, as market activity slowed dramatically in the face of lockdowns around the world, 62 percent of ESG-focused large-cap equity funds outperformed the MSCI World Index. 

But this is not to say that sustainability won’t be changed by the deep and wide impacts of one of the most transformative three-month periods in a century: It undeniably has.

Let’s face facts: Many companies are hurting, facing existential questions, liquidity problems, and just plain limited bandwidth. In this context, many of our partners at BSR member companies have asked me, “is it tone deaf to be talking about sustainability now?” My answer has been: No, it’s not, but how you talk about it, and what you prioritize, matters greatly.

The parts of the sustainability agenda that deliver top-line value, motivate coworkers, and demonstrate to customers that a company is looking after more than short-term financial gain are the things that matter right now.

It is also the case that the issue set has to adapt. Here are the “Big Six” issues rising in importance.

• The “S” in ESG is more important than ever. The social agenda is more important at a time when tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and people are concerned about their livelihoods, health, and ongoing social cohesion issues. Labor practices will come under increased scrutiny. Women and marginalized communities have been disproportionately disadvantaged by the impacts of the crisis: Their needs demand our attention. BSR works with its members to advance diversity and inclusion, inclusive economic growth, and human rights, all of which are more central than ever to meeting the needs and expectations of employees, communities, regulators, and investors.
• The use of new technologies is accelerating, along with the need to consider human rights and privacy implications. While this topic has been growing in importance, new use cases for contact tracing and workplace monitoring will present significant questions about how to balance health and safety with privacy and human rights standards. We have been aiding companies to align the promise of new technologies with human rights principles, and this is now higher on every company’s agenda.
• Supply chains are under enormous pressure, with companies looking to ensure continuity and address dislocation of workers who have been laid off or furloughed. Tens of millions of workers in global supply chains, many of them women, face increased economic hardship, while fending off a rise in gender-based violence. Companies also need to preserve their supply chains to meet the eventual return of consumer demand. Our HERessentials project is helping to ensure that the needs of millions of women facing lost livelihoods due to the pandemic are met.
• Executive compensation and tax practices are coming under increased scrutiny as job losses reach historic proportions. For too long, we have left economic equity out of the sustainability agenda, and that has to change in the wake of historic economic dislocation. One of the ways BSR is taking on this issue is working with our member companies and other partners to redefine the social contract. Look for more from us on this subject next month.
• One of the most dispiriting statistics to come from the last three months has been the amazing drop in emissions as a result of the economic shutdown. But it is not close to what we need to achieve every year to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. This should remind us how much innovation is needed to urgently bend the emissions curve and achieve the progress required on climate. The good news is that investors remain committed, creating a clear and direct incentive for companies to stay on track. Our ongoing efforts to assist companies with TCFD assessments, Scope 3 plans, and climate resilience continue apace, with good signs that the business commitment to climate action remains strong.
• Finally, health and well-being is rising on the agenda. Beyond the obvious need to ensure that the virus is tamed as rapidly as possible, business has more incentive to look after both the physical health, but also the well-being of colleagues who are navigating an unexpected and difficult time. Strategic investments in healthy business pay dividends. Through our Healthy Business Coalition, we work with companies who are investing in health along their value chain. Companies with healthier supply chains have more productive workforces, are better able to serve customers, and help consumers to live longer, more fulfilling lives, resulting in thriving communities. This work has taken on even greater importance in the context of the coronavirus.

There is much to play for. Many of our neighbors and colleagues are facing uncertainty, urgent health needs, and a long road back to economic vitality, all while our climate and environmental challenges remain fundamentally important.

We who promote sustainable business need to up our game. Our work remains essential and critical to business success and resilience. But that will only be the case if we adapt our approaches and the issues and solutions we bring forward. I remain confident we can meet the moment and build a better future. We have to get out of our comfort zone to make that happen.