Addressing Top Business and Human Rights Trends in 2025

Human rights remain a critical topic in the corporate sphere; across the globe, businesses must adopt proactive strategies to tackle the evolving landscape of human rights challenges. From supply chain transparency to climate responsibility, the interplay between business operations and human dignity is more evident—and scrutinised—than ever. Companies that fail to acknowledge these issues risk damaging their brand, losing consumer trust, and lagging behind their competitors. This article is our review of B&HR trends for 2025 as identified by a range of key NGOs, legal professionals, and others. The links are set out below. Ardea has analysed these and provided a summary of the key trends and opportunities, including guidance on how to consider addressing them effectively.?

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Trend 1: Ensuring Accountability in the Renewable Energy Transition?

As renewable energy consumption is set to grow by 60% by 2030, the rapid expansion of clean energy infrastructure and mineral demand is raising concerns over environmental and social impacts. The "green rush" is displacing communities, disrupting livelihoods, and threatening ecosystems, with the extraction of transition minerals like cobalt and lithium contributing to continued exploitation. To avoid further harm and potential conflicts, companies in the renewable energy and mineral sectors must adopt robust environmental and human rights impact assessments, align with international standards, and ensure meaningful engagement with affected communities. 2025 offers an unprecedented opportunity to embrace regenerative models that prioritise partnerships, community benefits, and ecosystem restoration, setting the stage for a truly sustainable future.?

What can businesses do??

• Implement robust environmental and human rights impact assessments in line with international standards like the UN Guiding Principles and the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
• Maintain a continuous and transparent dialogue with affected communities, ensuring the respect of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent principles.?
• Adopt regenerative business models that protect ecosystems and provide shared long-term benefits to local communities.?

Trend 2: The Implementation of Mandatory Legislation??

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive drove conversations about mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence in 2024. However, in 2025, the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will continue to dominate compliance efforts as companies publish their first double-materiality reports, covering 2024. This shift is expected to spark widespread analysis and comparisons of corporate approaches to human rights and environmental risks. While the European Commission considers consolidating the CSRD, CSDDD, and Taxonomy Regulation into a single legislation, concerns remain about the effectiveness of oversight and the risk of bureaucratic compliance overshadowing genuine due diligence. Lessons from existing laws, like Germany’s Supply Chain Act, highlight the need for actionable, risk-based approaches over superficial form filling. Companies on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange will also see a continued increase in companies implementing the mandatory sustainability metrics based on ISSB and GRI standards.??

What can businesses do???

• Use rigorous, third-party reporting tools to consistently demonstrate progress and align with emerging greenwashing legislation to ensure transparency and credibility in sustainability claims?

• Align human rights efforts with internationally recognised standards such as the UNGPs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).??

• Foster open dialogue with stakeholders, ensuring that accountability becomes ingrained in corporate culture.?

• Monitor the anticipated consolidation of EU laws into a single omnibus legislation.??

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Trend 3: AI Risks Will Drive Responsible Standards?

The accelerated advancement of AI technology has given rise to significant concerns regarding its potential impact on human rights. Bias, privacy violations, accountability issues in machine-led decision-making, censorship, and the dissemination of misinformation are all potential risks that could result in social unrest. In September 2024, the United Nations adopted a Global Digital Compact in response to this, which emphasised the importance of establishing a secure and transparent digital environment while also protecting human rights. Rather than relying on voluntary industry-led efforts, governments must establish more explicit, legally binding regulations. For example, the EU's AI Act prohibits manipulative AI and requires transparency for high-risk systems. Businesses will be required to implement responsible AI practices in 2025, which will involve the implementation of more stringent regulations, ongoing supervision, and compliance with human rights protections.?

What can businesses do??

• Invest in robust human oversight and reskilling initiatives for AI engineers to ensure technology is developed and deployed responsibly.?

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• Align with global AI standards by adhering to clear guidelines, such as those set by the EU's AI Act, and prioritise transparency with users regarding data usage and AI interactions.?

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• Establish ongoing monitoring systems, conduct regular audits, and implement redress mechanisms to ensure compliance with evolving regulations and mitigate potential risks.?

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Trend 4: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Will Define Corporate Culture??

2025 will demand more than surface-level commitments to diversity. Workers, consumers, and policymakers expect businesses to take measurable action to embed equity and inclusion across all levels of the organisation. While Meta and Amazon have recently dropped their DEI programs, citing shifts in legal and policy landscapes, the need for meaningful and sustained efforts remains critical. The recent resignation of Meta’s civil rights VP is indicative of one of the prices of this kind of decision: talent. It is perhaps one of the reasons that other organisations, including Apple, have pushed back against pressure to do the same.? Companies that champion DEI will enjoy stronger reputations, a more loyal customer base, and a competitive edge in an increasingly diverse marketplace.??

What can businesses do???

• Set diverse representation goals, ensuring leadership reflects the global workforce.??

• Provide meaningful equity programmes that address wage gaps and workplace accessibility.??

• Offer ongoing inclusion training for employees at all levels.?

• Develop robust policies that are embedded within the business to address DEI.?

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Trend 5: Climate Responsibility Will Shape Human Rights Discussions?

The relationship between human rights and climate change is undeniable. Resource scarcity, frequent natural calamities, and rising temperatures disproportionately affect vulnerable populations, thereby exacerbating inequality and undermining human dignity. The most vulnerable communities are the ones that bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change, which are accelerating. These impacts include displacement, reduced health outcomes, food insecurity, and loss of livelihood. The necessity for businesses to prioritise human rights in their climate strategies has never been more evident.?

The world is at an important turning point in terms of climate action as 2025 approaches. One of the final opportunities for governments to revise and implement the next iteration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at COP30, which will be symbolically hosted in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, is to limit global warming and reduce emissions in accordance with the 1.5°C target. The private sector plays a critical role in expediting the transition to green technologies, particularly in cases where governments have been unable to act promptly, as the costs of these technologies continue to decrease.?

What can businesses do???

• Set science-based climate targets and committing to net-zero emissions.??

• Invest in renewable energy and adopting circular economy principles to reduce waste.??

• Support local communities that are most affected by climate change by investing in climate resilience initiatives.?

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Trend 6: Migration and Global Political Instability?

Migration will face heightened political and economic tensions, with anti-immigrant sentiments likely to rise. Migrant workers, essential contributors to global economies, will remain vulnerable to exploitation, underpayment, and exclusionary narratives. Businesses and governments will face increased pressure to establish fair, safe, and dignified labour migration pathways, with frameworks like the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment and the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity playing a central role.?

What can businesses do?:??

• Promote Awareness and Inclusion by fostering workplace awareness of migrant workers' contributions and rights to combat bias, enhance cohesion, and support migration aligned with human dignity.?
• Collaborate on Policy and Community Support by partnering with local authorities to build community support networks and engage with governments to shape humane, international-standard migration policies.?
• Adopt Ethical Recruitment and Governance Standards by implementing frameworks such as the Montreal Recommendations on Recruitment and the Dhaka Principles for Migration with Dignity to ensure fair treatment, especially for women migrant workers.?

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Trend 7: Finance Will Be Under Scrutiny for Fuelling Conflict??

The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) will be crucial for the purpose of promoting responsible investment and mitigating the chances of global financial actors inadvertently contributing to instability and violence. The PRI is a global initiative that assists investors in the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their investment and ownership decisions. Investors will increasingly depend on the PRI to evaluate human rights risks and refrain from supporting projects that may exacerbate conflicts or bolster oppressive regimes. It is anticipated that financial institutions, including newer actors such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, will prioritise meaningful engagement with affected communities, disclose project impacts, and implement effective grievance mechanisms. Financial markets could be essential in the promotion of human dignity, stability, and peace as the 2025 Financing for Development Conference approaches, because of the emergence of more stringent international regulations.?

What can businesses do??

• Enhance the effectiveness of due diligence processes by incorporating frameworks such as the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to evaluate and mitigate human rights and conflict risks prior to making investment decisions.?
• Prioritise transparency in financial activities, ensuring clear reporting on the social and environmental impacts of investments, especially in conflict-prone regions.?
• Engage with communities that have been impacted to ensure that their perspectives are considered in the decision-making process, thereby reducing the probability of financial activities contributing to instability or violence and instead promoting stability.?

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Trend 8: Addressing Risk Assessment Burden in Human Rights and Sustainability Compliance?

Companies are expected to encounter an increasing burden of risk assessments in 2025 as a result of the proliferation of laws and regulations. It is anticipated that the CSRD's double materiality and CSDDD will impose more formal and expansive requirements, including operations mapping and in-depth assessments, despite the fact that the UNGPs have long provided guidance to companies in undertaking risk assessments that focus on human rights impacts. Furthermore, EUDR, the EU Digital Services Act, Conflict Minerals Regulation, and the upcoming EU Batteries Regulation will likely necessitate distinct risk assessments. Countries such as Norway, France, Germany, and Switzerland are also expected to maintain their own risk assessment requirements. In light of these overlapping and divergent obligations, companies may employ routine assessments, which could impede the attainment of tangible human rights outcomes. Consequently, in 2025, the focus will likely shift to the efficiency of risk assessments, with the objective of reducing inefficiencies and ensuring compliance.?

What can businesses do???

• Streamline processes to reduce redundancy and improve efficiency across regulations.?
• Focus on tangible results by addressing the most severe human rights and sustainability impacts.?
• Engage stakeholders for a comprehensive and transparent risk assessment.?

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Trend 9: Enhance Due Diligence to Navigate the Increase in Unregulated Fleets?

'Shadow fleets'—illegally operating tankers that convey sanctioned oil and gas—have emerged as a significant concern, primarily as a result of sanctions against Iran, Venezuela, and Russia. The environmental disasters, exploitation of seafarers, and violations of safety standards that these inadequately regulated vessels present are significant. Shadow fleets pose a significant threat to the safety of global shipping due to their unlawful practices, including the deactivation of tracking systems, and the increasing obscurity of ownership. To prevent the facilitation of these activities, businesses must intensify their due diligence efforts as governments implement measures such as the detention of non-compliant tankers and the enhancement of surveillance?

What can businesses do??

• Strengthen Due Diligence: Companies, including law firms, financial institutions, insurers, and ports, must rigorously vet their activities to ensure they are not indirectly supporting shadow fleet operations.?
• Collaborate with Authorities: Work closely with government bodies like the UK’s Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) to expose illegal practices and promote compliance.?
• Ensure Compliance with Safety Standards: Ensure that transactions and operations adhere to international standards, such as the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) guidelines, to reduce the risk of environmental and human harm.?

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Trend 10: The legal and regulatory framework will continue to evolve??

The second Trump Administration is expected to focus on business, human rights, and sustainability policies, continuing the strict enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act, which excludes goods connected to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act. The Inflation Reduction Act will likely remain in place, although its funding may decrease. However, recent federal initiatives like the AI Bill of Rights and certain climate-related policies may face reversals, while non-legislative efforts, such as combating child labour and human trafficking, are likely to continue unabated. U.S. engagement in bilateral and multilateral human rights issues may decline. Meanwhile, Agenda 2063 in African nations will drive the implementation of ESG policies aimed at fostering sustainable development, good governance, and social equity. Governments are emphasising climate resilience, renewable energy, and eco-friendly practices, offering new opportunities and challenges for businesses. As regional collaboration strengthens, there will be increased demand for ESG compliance to promote a more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future.?

What can businesses do??

• Adopt and Integrate ESG Principles into Core Operations by setting sustainability targets and prioritising fair labour and environmental practices.?
• Monitor and adapt supply chains to comply with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and other anti-trafficking regulations.?
• Implement robust due diligence processes across operations, focusing on child labour, environmental impacts, and supply chain transparency.?
• Stay ahead of potential changes to ESG reporting requirements by enhancing transparency and aligning practices with evolving regulations.?
• Invest in Green and Inclusive Projects that support clean energy, sustainable technologies, and social inclusion.??
• Ensure Compliance and Reporting on ESG Metrics by following regulations, tracking impacts, and conducting regular audits.?

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A Call to Responsible Leadership?

Navigating the business and human rights challenges of 2025 will require proactive and innovative leadership. Organisations must step up, reimagine their business models, and embed human rights considerations into every decision.?

If you’re leading a business and looking to stay ahead, start by conducting a comprehensive review of your operations, policies, and partnerships. Remember—the key to thriving in this evolving world isn’t just meeting expectations but exceeding them.?

It's time to make responsibility the core of your business strategy.?

How Ardea can help??

At Ardea, we understand the demands businesses face and are dedicated to supporting and empowering key individuals to confidently drive responsible business practices, making it a core focus of our work. In 2025, we are committed to empowering businesses to put the law into practice and embed environmental and social responsibility into their culture to become more resilient. Here are a few of the offerings we are focusing on this year to help address some of the identified trends for the year:?

1. Human Rights Due Diligence Maturity Assessment (HRDDMA): The HRDDMA focuses on understanding the organisation’s maturity in embedding HRDD. The methodology consists of stakeholder engagement based on a set of questions that looks across all aspects of the business and supply chain. Alongside the identification of the organisation’s strengths and gaps in addressing human rights risks, recommendations will highlight steps that are needed within the organisation to manage these risks.??
2. Meeting legal compliance obligations:? Our Legal Landscape Review provides a comprehensive overview of key global human rights and modern slavery legislation requirements, ensuring businesses have a clear understanding of their obligations. Additionally, our specialised checklists, such as our CS3D Compliance Checklist help organisations prepare for the CS3D, including practical steps for addressing due diligence requirements.???
3. Policy development and strengthening: In 2024, we supported organisations in developing and strengthening their policies to effectively address human rights and modern slavery issues. By undertaking stakeholder engagement, we ensure the policy accurately reflects the organisation’s procedures and also aligns with international standards such as the UNGPs and OECD Guidance.??
4. Capacity building through training: To establish the foundations for sustainable and responsible business practices, Ardea provides capacity building through tailored training on various corporate responsibility topics. Our training calendar for Q1/Q2 2025 is available here. Upcoming training includes:??

• STOP child labour: how to address child labour in supply chains??

• Measuring Effectiveness and Developing KPIs for Human Rights Due Diligence?

• Improving your modern slavery statement?

• Sustainable Procurement: Integrating Modern Slavery Risk??

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To find out more about how we can support you, get in touch with us at: [email protected]?