Business & Human Rights

Australian Network Hosts Forum on Labor Reporting

July 17, 2017

The Global Compact Network Australia, a local entity affiliated with the UN Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative, recently hosted a forum in Sydney exploring the potential adoption of an Australian Modern Slavery Act that would require businesses to report on their efforts to end forced labor in their complex, global supply chains.
ISO Releases Standard on "Sustainable Procurement"

July 14, 2017

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has published a global standard on "sustainable procurement" that seeks to ensure that organizations' "purchasing decisions help to address social, economic and environmental issues" potentially caused by their suppliers.
NGOs Push Garment Supply Chain Transparency

July 14, 2017

A group of nongovernmental organizations has published a report calling on businesses in the garment and footwear industries to publicly disclose comprehensive information regarding their suppliers, which would permit civil society groups to place greater pressure on companies to call out alleged labor rights violations in their supply chains.
Letter Calls on EU to Enforce BHR "Due Diligence"

July 14, 2017

An open letter to the European Commission posted on the website of the Business & Human Rights (BHR) Resource Centre calls for the EU to develop a supranational enforcement mechanism requiring businesses in the garment sector to perform "due diligence" regarding human rights impacts in their supply chains in line with the UN Guiding Principles on BHR.
Shell CEO Calls for Transparency on Climate Risk

July 14, 2017

Showing the growing acceptance of the "climate disclosure" movement among energy companies, the CEO of Dutch oil giant Shell has stated that such companies should be more transparent about internal climate change risk assessments and how future government regulations cutting carbon emissions could jeopardize their oil and gas investments.