The Corporate Responsibility to Respect (CR2R): Integrating, Tracking, and Monitoring Human Rights Risk Management

This webinar is the third installment in the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights (CR2R) series and explores how business enterprises can effectively manage identified human rights risks on an ongoing basis as part of their human rights due diligence (HRDD) process.

The webinar series builds the capacity of active investors and supports them as they engage with portfolio companies on their human rights performance based on expectations laid out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). By formulating and communicating precise expectations to companies, investors are better able to assess and take steps to address and minimize their own human rights risk exposure, while contributing to rights-respecting and socially sustainable investment activities.

Human rights due diligence is a phased but ongoing process. As outlined in the UNGPs, once an assessment of the actual and potential adverse human rights impacts has been conducted, businesses are directed to integrate the findings from their assessment into their internal functions and processes. Businesses are also required to take appropriate action in relation to the cessation, prevention, mitigation, and remediation of impacts depending on the nature of their involvement (causation, contribution, or direct linkage via a business relationship) with a potential or actual impact.

This webinar focuses on the importance of effective human rights risk management, through appropriate integration into ongoing risk management roles, functions, policies, and processes. It explores means to track and monitor the progress of measures companies take to respond to identified risks and impacts. Ultimately, the webinar serves to support investors in soliciting the needed information and disclosures from companies to assess the sufficiency of their efforts to address saliant and material harms. To complement this discussion, good practice examples will be showcased along with the first-hand experiences of leaders in the field.

Speakers:

Moderator: Rebecca DeWinter-Schmitt, Associate Program Director, Investor Alliance for Human Rights
Ian Beers, Performance Director, MSS Global
Talya Swissa, Engagement Manager, Social Transformation Team, World Benchmarking Alliance
Sarah Morris Lang, Manager, Social Equality Initiatives, BMO Global Asset Management

Background Materials

International frameworks:

OHCHR, UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Principle 19 and 20
OHCHR, The Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights: An Interpretive Guide, see pp. 46-57

Benchmarking methodology:

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, 2020 Methodology, Theme B: Embedding Respect and Human Rights Due Diligence and Theme E: Performance, Response to Serious Allegations

Reporting frameworks:

SHIFT and Mazars LLP, The UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework with Implementation Guidance, Integrating findings and taking action, pp. 72-81, and Part C.5 Tracking performance, pp. 81-86.

Guidance:

Danish Institute for Human Rights, Human Rights Impact Assessment Guidance and Toolbox, Phase 4 (impact mitigation and management) and Phase 5 (reporting and evaluation)
IAHR, Investor Toolkit on Human Rights, Tool 5: Key human rights questions for companies, pp. 47-49
Global Compact Network Netherlands, Oxfam and Shift, Doing Business with Respect for Human Rights, 3.4 Integrating and Acting and 3.5 Tracking Performance
Global Compact Network Germany, What does effective human rights risk management look like? 5 insights from practice

Other guidance: