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You are here: Home / Business / Corporate Human Rights 2017 Benchmark shows companies at relatively early stage in implementing UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights

By Occasional Contributors | 2 Minutes Read June 27, 2017

Corporate Human Rights 2017 Benchmark shows companies at relatively early stage in implementing UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights

corporate human rightsThe Corporate Human Rights 2017 Benchmark is a pilot project led by a not-for-profit company backed by a number of global investment management firms, governmental departments in the UK, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and various international foundation. The overarching goal of the Benchmark is to create the first open and transparent public benchmark of corporate human rights performance in order to encourage companies to improve their human rights practices.
The pilot project rated 98 of the largest publicly traded companies in the Agricultural Products, Apparel, and Extractive industries in the world based on 100 human rights indicators, the  UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights, and the companies’  publicly available human rights policies, processes, and performance. The three focus industries were selected following multi-stakeholder consultation, taking into account their high human rights risks, the extent of previous work on the issue, and global economic significance.
A number of key messages emerged from the results. In general, the 2017 Benchmark report reveals fairly low scores, with the vast majority of companies scoring under the 50% mark. Of the small group of companies that scored above 50%, only three placed in the 60-69% range. The report concludes that such results reflect the “relatively early stage most companies are at in implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights.”
The Benchmark calls on businesses to implement corporate responsibility to respect human rights under the UN Guiding Principles, and to study the 2017 Benchmark report to see where improvements can be made.
As the National Post has pointed out, the Benchmark is not without its critics. Further, it remains to be seen whether the not-for-profit company leading the charge will expand the rankings beyond the initial three focus industries.
By Rhonda Shirreff, Lawyer and Kevin Schoenfeldt, summer student, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP

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Article by Occasional Contributors / Business, Not for Profit / corporate human rights, Corporate Human Rights 2017 Benchmark, corporate responsibility, human rights, UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights

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About Occasional Contributors

In addition to our regular guest bloggers, First Reference Talks blog published by First Reference, provides occasional guest post opportunities from various subject matter experts on the topics of human resources, employment/labour law, internal controls, information technology, not-for-profit, business, privacy, tax, finance and accounting, and accessibility in Canada among others. If you are a subject matter expert and would like to become an occasional blogger, please contact us. If you liked this post, subscribe to First Reference Talks blog to get regular updates.

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