The Corporate Responsibility to Respect - HRDD Part 3: Communication of Responsible Business Conduct to Stakeholders

The Investor Alliance for Human Rights is conducting a five-part webinar series that systematically explores the elements of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights (CR2R) as laid out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). These webinars inform and support investors in their engagements with portfolio companies and offer guidance on how to ensure they implement the UNGPs throughout their business activities and relationships. On November 14th, 2024, we will host the fourth installment in the series, which explores how business enterprises can effectively communicate responsible business conduct to shareholders.

Under the UNGPs, companies must “know and show” how they are addressing their negative human rights impacts. In addition to publicly communicating their human rights policy commitment, businesses should be prepared to clearly communicate the measures they have taken to address harmful impacts, as well as the success of those measures, to key stakeholders and in particular affected rights-holders. Meaningful communication is crucial to ensure that stakeholders can evaluate whether a company’s response is adequate to remedy harms.  

This webinar will explore the importance of clear communication with stakeholders. We will examine different approaches to human rights reporting and hear from experts in business and human rights on how to assess the effectiveness of human rights disclosures and communications. Reporting is essential for the evolving expectations of investors that they have access to robust data on human rights performance, which is essential for those seeking to conduct human rights due diligence of their investment activities. We will also hear from a corporate representative about the evolution of their human rights reporting and from an investor who has engaged with companies on their human rights disclosures.

To learn more about the CR2R webinar series, see here. 
 

Speakers:

• Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, Associate Director, Investor Alliance for Human Rights (Moderator)
• Michelle Langlois, Senior Advisor, Shift
• Danielle Essink, Engagement Specialist, Robeco
• Julie Vallat, VP Human Rights, L'Oréal

Watch the full webinar here:

View the full slide deck here

Watch the following video logs for additional context and knowledge for the webinar:

CR2R Webinar 4 Vlog: Shareholder engagement

Background Materials

International frameworks:

• OHCHR, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Principle 21
• OHCHR, The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, see pp. 57-63

Benchmarking methodology:

• Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, 2022-2023 Methodology, Theme B: Embedding Respect and Human Rights Diligence, pp.22-33

Reporting frameworks:

• SHIFT and Mazars LLP, The UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework with Implementation Guidance, p.53

 Guidance on Stakeholder Engagement:

• SHIFT, Leadership and Governance Indicators of a Rights Respecting Culture
• IAHR, Investor Toolkit on Human Rights, p.13
• IPIECA, Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) toolbox
• Global Compact Network Netherlands, Oxfam and Shift, Doing Business, 3.7 Stakeholder Engagement
• BSR, Five-Step Approach to Stakeholder Engagement
• Danish Institute for Human Rights, Stakeholder Engagement during HRIA

Guidance on Reporting:

• Global Compact Network Netherlands, Oxfam and Shift, Doing Business, Chapter 3.6: Communicating Performance
• SHIFT, Dissecting Human Rights Disclosure
• United Nations Global Compact, A Guide for Business: How to Develop a Human Rights Policy

Examples of human rights policies and reports:

• L’Oreal, Human Rights Report
• Vestas, Vestas Human Rights Policy
• Marks and Spencer Group PLC, Marks & Spencer Human Rights Policy
• Nestlé, Nestlé Human Rights Policy
• Meta, Meta Human Rights Policy and Human Rights Report