Be Human Rights Confident

?? All You Need is Love … Well, almost!

This morning, my 8-year-old looked at me, clutching two Valentine’s cards—one for her teacher, one for her Dad—and said, “Sorry, Mummy, I didn’t make you one.”

I smiled. “That’s OK because I know you’re going to give me a HUGE hug instead!”

Because, yes—actions speak louder than words. ??

Speaking of love, I always think of an incredible study I read while in Dubai last year. It found that the single most powerful motivator to act on climate change was love for the next generation. The sense that acting later was going to be to late for them.

?? Love for the next generation outperformed messages focused on economic opportunity, fighting injustice, improving health, or even preventing extreme weather. ?? Read more on this study here.

And speaking of action, I want to share a feel-good story.

?? Flashback: 9 Years Ago, a Rainy Day, and a Bold Idea Back then, I was an independent consultant— no Human Level, just me and my ideas. One rainy day near London Bridge, over coffee and cake, I met with another independent consultant who was also a former?lawyer. We talked about how law firms—especially the leading ones we were speaking with—wanted to explore what the corporate responsibility to respect human rights meant in practice for them.

We had no employer, and no forged path ahead. So, we decided: Let’s do something! Let’s bring these leading firms together, create a safe space, and nourish the dialogue. All we needed? A commitment from a few firms, a bit of funding, and our own determination.?

A few conversations later, the Law Firm Business and Human Rights Peer Learning Process was born. ?? And behind it? A small group of driven, motivated individuals inside those law firms—you know who you are. ?? (Interested in some of our outputs from that work? See here and here)

?? From Idea to Institution Fast forward to just before COVID: Some of us regrouped. Let’s take this further. Let’s formalise it. Let’s raise the ambition. We brainstormed governance structures, membership models, and strategies. (Brainstorming with a group of lawyers? Surprisingly fun!)

Then, post-COVID, things picked up momentum again—big time. On November 28, 2022, in Geneva, the Business & Human Rights Lawyers Association (BHRLA) was officially launched!

Last week, at BHRLA’s inaugural conference in London, the sense of community was undeniable. Huge congrats to the founding firms, the BHRLA Board, its co-chairs, and its new Executive Director. ??

Legal professionals are in this together. And they’ll go through this together.

?? Check out our takeaways from the BHRLA here and pic below.

?? One More Thing!

Keep an eye on Human Level’s LinkedIn page early next week. We’re releasing something I know you’ll love—and benefit from. Stay tuned! ??

And don’t forget those huge hugs for those you love this Saint Valentine’s Day ??

Anna ?

RSVP here.

The Conference Board published CEO and C-Suite ESG Priorities for 2025 (February 2025) in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. The piece is based on research by The Conference Board in its annual C-Suite Outlook report, which draws insights from a survey of C-Suite executives. It focuses on U.S.-based companies but also includes insights for other countries.

Human Level’s Take:

• Climate risk and resilience, water management, gender equality and economic opportunity are top sustainability issues for CEOs and C-Suite leaders around the world, as shown by The Conference Board’s research on executive ESG priorities for 2025.
• ESG priorities continue to remain near the top of broader business agendas despite pushback, demonstrating the staying power of sustainability and the reality that companies are living in: that issues hurting people and the planet are also bad for business.
• The Conference Board suggests that a number of ESG priorities are driven by local pressures from investors, consumers and society.
• Businesses globally (especially those caught by EU regulations) are also seeing regulation as a driving force behind sustainability issues. This makes a key point: regulations to protect human rights, climate and the environment are also effective in shaping business actions — showing that staying the course on legislation has significant potential to create positive outcomes.

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Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 (February 2025), ranks 180 countries based on public-sector perceived corruption, drawing on 13 independent data sources. Countries are scored on a scale of 0 to 100, with 0 indicating high corruption and 100 low corruption.

Human Level’s Take:

• The anti-corruption agenda has taken some hits lately (namely: the suspension of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the U.S.). But Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) underscores that anti-corruption is the linchpin of other global priorities like democracy, human rights and climate change.
• The central theme of the 2024 CPI is the connection between corruption and the climate crisis – one of today’s most pressing challenges. Corruption hinders progress in reducing emissions and adapting to the inevitable impacts of global warming. It misdirects resources, enables harmful practices, obstructs regulations and stalls overall progress. Inadequate transparency and accountability mechanisms increase the risk that climate funds are misused or embezzled.
• But anti-corruption is not just good for people and planet — it also creates a level playing field and operating environment in which business can thrive. So, what can companies learn from this report?
• First, companies can prioritise transparency and robust anti-corruption measures in climate policies and projects to ensure effective climate action and build trust in sustainability efforts. They can also refrain from lobbying for policies that enable corrupt practices or deter climate action
• Second, companies can support stronger accountability mechanisms to prevent financial losses and ensure resources reach those most affected by climate change, especially in vulnerable regions. For example, they can create and strengthen grievance mechanisms for local communities and effectively implement whistleblower protection and non-retaliation policies and processes for those who speak out.
• Third, companies can proactively assess and prevent exposure to corrupt practices, especially in high-risk sectors for corruption like energy and finance. And, they can prioritise compliance and ethical practices while supporting stronger regulatory enforcement.

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Lily Zheng published What Comes After DEI in the Harvard Business Review (January 2025), which looks at the pitfalls of DEI in creating more equitable workplaces and proposes a new framework built around the core outcomes of fairness, access, inclusion and representation (FAIR).

Human Level’s Take:

• Amid growing anti-DEI backlash, now is the time to rethink what’s needed, and what’s not working, to build a model that truly delivers equitable workplaces.
• The need is clear - 91% of workers have faced discrimination related to race, gender, disability, age or body size. And 94% care about feeling a sense of belonging at work.
• Yet, many DEI efforts fall short, relying on jargon, one-off workshops, and siloed programming that relies on burned-out volunteers, with little accountability or measurable impact.
• So what can companies do? Companies can: 1) use data-driven strategies to measurably improve outcomes for all employees and track impact, rather than relying on awareness-building alone; 2) apply a change management approach by improving personnel policies, hiring, promotion and feedback processes, leadership incentives, and organisational culture and norms. This differs from a “self education” approach whereby the onus is on individuals to align their beliefs with an arbitrary standard of “inclusion”; 3) build inclusive coalitions, which engages everyone in the workplace as part of the solution and avoids blaming or targeting specific social identity groups; and 4) communicate the win-win value of DEI rather than reinforcing zero-sum narratives.

Read More

New resource: Together with the Responsible Contracting Project (RCP), the UN Global Compact has added a new chapter on responsible contracting to its Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement. The chapter focuses on why responsible contracting matters, how it can help companies meet regulatory requirements in the EU and elsewhere, and integrates tools from the RCP’s open-source toolkit. It also features case studies and learnings across the apparel, beverage and shipping sectors.

How you can use this: The UNGC’s Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement is an essential resource for companies looking to understand how their purchasing practices can impact human rights in their supply chains and the practical actions they can take. New content on responsible contracting brings a different lens to the topic. This tool could be shared with procurement and legal teams to show what action can look like and how to build leverage with business partners.

New resource: The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) launched its Just Stories database (part of a broader two-year initiative) featuring examples of just transition programmes and pilots. It is intended to “demystify just transitions” by serving as inspiration and a source of learnings for a wide range of stakeholders, including business and finance. According to IHRB, the database brings something new to the table by focusing on net-zero projects that prioritise the rights and inclusion of the people most impacted by the green transition, including workers or Indigenous peoples, local communities and consumers.

How you can use this: The Just Stories database is sortable by sector, region and affected stakeholder. Each posting includes a description of the challenges and actions taken in response. This allows companies to dial in on examples and learnings for their unique industry and value chain, while also lending inspiration for new initiatives and new partners to implement net-zero initiatives with respect for human rights. You can also check out the database’s first short documentary on the just transition happening in Collie, Australia - a mining town with a 130-year proud heritage of coal production - here (scroll to the middle of the page).

New report: Anti-Slavery International and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights published an analysis of the EU Forced Labour Regulation, which bans the sale, import and export of products made using forced labour and will begin to apply on 14 December 2027. In addition to policy analysis, the report offers a primer to the Forced Labour Regulation including a glossary of key terms, the implementation timeline, and other key information like scope, evidentiary standards, investigations processes and more. It also includes an explanation of how the regulation is connected to the CSDDD.

How you can use this: The report can be a helpful resource for companies and stakeholders looking to understand the basics of the law and how it is intended to help curb forced labour within and outside of the EU. Several infographics have been included outlining the process, which may be helpful to share information about the law with other company functions in a digestible, accessible way.

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