Human Rights & Environmental Due Diligence
Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, undertaking a human rights due diligence (HRDD) process is an essential component of the company and investor responsibility to respect human rights. UNGP 15 calls on business enterprises to conduct a "human rights due diligence process to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their impacts on human rights."
From as early as 2020, the Investor Alliance was an advocate for mandating HRDD and has continued to actively participate in bringing institutional investor support as a financial stakeholder. The Investor Alliance, together with investors and allies, has issued a number of statements calling on national governments and regional bodies to mandate robust due diligence, including the inclusion of the financial sector, coverage of companies' entire value chains, clear obligations for directors, and the inclusion of requirements for meaningful and safe stakeholder engagement.
Particularly in the European space, concerted efforts are currently underway to finalize a directive that would require human rights and environmental due diligence via the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The Investor Alliance, together with allies, has mobilized investor voices in support of a robust CSDDD, including full inclusion of financial actors in line with international business and human rights frameworks.
Investors interested in more closely following and influencing CSDDD regulatory development in the European Union should consider joining the EU Regulations Thematic Investor Group. You can learn more here.