Be Human Rights Confident

? I get to see so many different company cultures in my work – it’s one of the most fascinating parts of my job. After years of doing this, I’ve developed an almost instant sense of what a company’s culture is likely to be and the jigsaw puzzle pieces that have likely shaped it.

It’s not always what you’d think. I’ve seen companies with bold values and countless processes but cultures that block effective human rights due diligence. On the flip side, I’ve encountered companies with minimal processes yet incredible human rights-aligned culture.

So, what really makes for a strong culture? And how do you know if you’ve got it? ?? Listen to our fascinating convo with Richard Howitt during the Geneva UN Annual Forum where we unpack these dynamics and more. ?? (See here or here). Thanks to everyone who’s shared their thoughts already—your feedback is invaluable! I’d love to hear your take on this important discussion.

As we’re talking about the UN Annual Forum, a huge thank you to those who joined our collective last Friday to de-brief. ???We really welcomed the space, and we loved hearing your takeaways. It felt very validating somehow that we came away with the same high level reflections, even though our individual experiences (as the UNAF has morphed into a mini COP with many events happening in parallel!) varied greatly. Here they are summarised in one place.?

And the question I’ve been asked again and again by journalists this week is my reaction to FIFA’s recent publications (see here, here and here for some coverage from the New York Times and Guardian). To which my response is as follows:???

"We welcome FIFA’s publication of our study on access to remedy for workers in the context of the FIFA World Cup Qatar. We delved into three core questions: Which impacts are in scope for FIFA’s human rights responsibility? What are the expected actions on the part of FIFA? And what can a remedy-informed legacy look like in practice? We answered these questions based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, that FIFA has committed to implementing in its Statutes and internal policies.

We would like to thank the FIFA Sub-Committee on Human Rights & Social Responsibility for its role in commissioning the study, and its constructive input throughout the process. We would like to thank all of the individuals we interviewed for this study. All were generous with their time, insights and reflections and their insights have contributed to the findings in this study.

We would like to recognise the invaluable contributions of the tens of thousands of migrant workers who journeyed to Qatar to build the infrastructure and deliver services essential to the World Cup. This study is the story of those workers who helped make the World Cup happen – and how FIFA can meet its human rights responsibility towards them. Shaping a strong, grounded and meaningful legacy for workers involved in making the World Cup a reality will create a positive ripple effect across Qatar, and well beyond, for years to come.”

Do take a look at our explainer on our Linkedin as it really does seek to make this complex topic easier to grasp. And our actual study on access to remedy for workers in the context of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that was released by FIFA last Friday is here. In particular, I’d call your attention to the concept of the remedy eco-system (also called for in the EU CSDDD by the way), as this will be an absolutely critical concept as we advance in tackling and remediating impacts that are connected to many stakeholders - including many climate and transition-related human rights impacts.

Have a good weekend all,

Anna???

PS: I just found out that hashtags on Linkedin are dead. Crazy! I never got that memo. I now wonder if I was the last to know or a pioneer of the #stoppinghashtagnow movement.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) published Accelerating an Equitable Transition: Policy Guidelines for Impact (November 2024). The report offers five key guidelines to ensure equity is embedded in climate policy - covering all stages from planning and implementation to tracking and evaluation.

Human Level's Take

• The urgency for climate action is acute. In 2023, global average temperature reached 1.45°C above pre-industrial levels, making it the warmest year on record. Extreme heat now kills an estimated half a million people a year. However, the imperative to accelerate climate action is only viable if it tackles the climate-inequality nexus.
• The WEF pinpoints three socioeconomic dimensions of climate change: (1) historic footprints, with those most affected by climate change today having contributed the least to it, (2) exposure to climate hazards and adaptation capacity, with wealthier nations adapting better to climate hazards, and the impacts of climate change exacerbating existing inequalities, and (3) the distributional impacts of mitigation action, with climate policies burdening low-income households without support for sustainable alternatives.
• To address these challenges, the report outlines five policy guidelines to ensure equity is embedded in climate policy at all stages, from planning and implementation to tracking and evaluation.
• A number of these recommendations have relevance for companies. In short, companies need to (1) consider particular contexts as they roll out more equitable climate mitigation, (2) prioritise those in their business and value chain most impacted by the socioeconomic impacts of climate mitigation, (3) ensure robust stakeholder engagement and social dialogue takes place so that there is trust, transparency and a sense of ownership and cooperation among affected groups, and (4) communicate in a way that fosters an opportunity-centred narrative of climate action and ensures affected stakeholders are informed and engaged.

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The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) published?Changing Gears: How Are Companies Navigating Higher Expectations and Demands in Sustainability Reporting? (November 2024). The report explores trends in company reporting on sustainability topics and shares case studies. It also includes a benchmarking of the reporting practices of over 180 large public and private companies across the globe and provides detailed recommendations to companies on effective reporting practices.

Human Level's Take

• New requirements in sustainability reporting are here, with global implications. Examples: the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD); over 130 countries adopting frameworks based on the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB); and various topic-specific requirements on issues like modern slavery, data privacy and climate risk.
• In response, the WBCSD is seeing a rise in the level of detail and rigour in sustainability disclosures across some of the largest companies globally.
• At the same time, many companies are now facing the challenges of implementation, especially where guidance is still being developed or is open to interpretation. The WBCSD points out that these changes are coming up quickly and require companies to urgently adapt their internal practices through upskilling, enhancing board involvement, investing in data infrastructure and fostering cross-functional collaboration.
• There are many opportunities for companies to to leverage sustainability reporting requirements to strengthen practices on human rights, climate and the environment. For example, reporting on double materiality requires companies to strengthen risk assessments in order to understand impacts that are ‘outside-in’ and ‘inside-out.’ Reporting requirements also expect stakeholder engagement to be formalised and to cover rightsholders across the value chain.
• Reporting on risk management frameworks should include human rights policies, what companies are doing to conduct human rights due diligence, and transparency on both challenges and opportunities. Likewise, reporting should show that company sustainability commitments extend from the top of the organisation, that oversight of these topics is embedded into decision-making at board and executive level, and that sustainability performance is tied to executive compensation.

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The International Labour Organization (ILO) released its Global Wage Report 2024-2025 (November 2024). It analyses national wage and income data to identify key national and regional trends for workers over the past several years and more broadly since 2000. It also makes policy recommendations for governments.

Human Level's Take

• The ILO’s latest wage report found that the last couple of years have held both positives and negatives for global wages and wage inequality.
• While real wages (wages adjusted for inflation) grew by 1.8% in 2023 and 2.7% in the first half of 2024—marking the largest gain in over 15 years—low-wage workers are still facing challenges. Despite more countries raising minimum wages in response to inflation, these increases often fall short of offsetting the rising cost of living. The 2021-2022 cost-of-living crisis hit low-wage earners hardest, especially since they spend a larger share of their income on essentials.
• In addition, labour income inequality remains high, especially for women, informal workers and migrant workers in low- and middle-income economies. While global wage inequality is slowly decreasing, non-wage workers — many of whom are women or in the informal sector—experience even higher levels of inequality compared to wage earners.
• The ILO urges governments to take steps to remedy these issues, many of which are also relevant for companies as they set their own wages and work with business partners to ensure fair wages are paid to supply chain workers.
• What can this entail in practice for companies? Ensuring that wage-setting practices are informed by worker perspectives and ideally driven by collective bargaining; accounting for gender equality among all levels of the organisation; looking to data like global living wage calculators to ensure that wages are fair; and considering the local context when setting wages and working with suppliers, like the strength of social protection systems, whether there are informal workers in the supply chain, and the strength of governments institutions and regulatory practices to ensure fair wages are paid.
• Businesses also have a critical role to play by advocating for fair wage policies, supporting the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining in the places where they operate, and supporting skills development for a changing economy.

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E-learning course: The Danish Institute for Human Rights launched a free online training introducing the interconnected topics of climate change and human rights. The course is targeted at individuals who are new to this topic and are looking to understand the links between climate change, environmental changes and human well-being. The training consists of different modules that delve into which human rights are most affected by climate change, as well as the human rights obligations of States and the international community in addressing and mitigating the climate crisis. At the close of the training, you will also receive resources to help you dive deeper and take action on the topic.

How you can use this: This course provides an opportunity to bring internal colleagues and suppliers up to speed on the the human rights dimensions of climate change, what this means in practice, and why they should care. The course is designed to be relevant and clear for all kinds of stakeholders (note that it is in English).

Framework: The UK Global Compact Network launched the Rapid Institutional Investor Guidance Framework for the Elimination of Child Labour in Supply Chains (November 2024). The guidance offers concrete steps to support investors in identifying risks of child labour within their investment portfolios and using their influence with portfolio companies to make sure HRDD is robust and meaningful to address these risks. The framework maps steps in five overarching areas: Why?; How?; Building Organisational Capacity; Key Questions; and Outcomes. These areas are applied across five categories of engagement with portfolio companies: Reframe, Agree, Provide, Insist and Develop.

How you can use this: If you are institutional investor, this tool offers a roadmap towards better engagement with your investee companies to tackle the issue of child labour — a hidden, deep-seated issue that is usually not captured by audits. For companies, this indicates key areas of interest from investors and can help companies get ahead of scrutiny by proactively implementing the key asks of investors outlined in the framework.

Toolkit: Forum for the Future published its Climate and Health Toolkit for Food Businesses which offers practical guidance, inspiration and case studies for companies taking integrated climate and health actions. The toolkit contains seven interrelated modules and companies are encouraged to start with the first one, which is an assessment to consider where the company is at on its climate and health journey. The results - Starting Out, Mid-Level, or Mature State - will guide companies to the most relevant information in the toolkit. This toolkit is intended for senior leadership and decision-makers, sustainability and procurement teams, policy and external affairs teams, research and development professionals, and communications teams within companies across the food, drink and agricultural sector. Companies include retailers, producers and manufacturers, agricultural businesses and packaging and logistics companies.

How you can use this: This toolkit provides practical guidance, inspiration and case studies to help companies in the food, drink and agricultural sector advance on integrating their climate and health actions. For instance, it enables companies to assess their current position in integrating climate and health strategies and solutions; build the internal business case for taking integrated action; and kickstart actions - individually or collaboratively with key stakeholders - to address the interconnected challenges of climate, health, and the food and agriculture system.

Toolkit: The OECD published its tool on responsible business conduct, environment and climate change. The tool outlines the ways in which the OECD standards on responsible business conduct (OECD standards) can help companies conduct due diligence to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. It also delves into how the OECD standards promote a people-centred approach to environmental action, ensuring companies consider the full spectrum of social and environmental impacts. By encouraging a holistic perspective, it helps businesses navigate the interconnections between their social and environmental responsibilities. The OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct, in collaboration with key partners, is currently developing a framework that would help businesses consider the social impacts of their transition to low carbon business models - thereby, contributing to a just transition. Additionally, the tool highlights OECD sector-specific programmes on responsible business conduct covering key industries related to biodiversity impacts, including agriculture, mining and garment. These programmes aim to engage policy makers, businesses and stakeholders to combat biodiversity loss.

How you can use this: This tool helps companies understand how the OECD standards on responsible business conduct can support them in implementing robust due diligence measures to tackle their climate and environmental risks and impacts through a people-centred lens. It also signposts companies to upcoming just transition projects that the OECD is working on and highlights sector-specific programmes aimed at tackling biodiversity impacts in key industries such as agriculture, mining, and fashion.

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