Business Case
An overview of the business case for Human Rights & Labour and how the Global Compact is supporting business efforts.
Learning
Inspire participants’ organizational learning, and support companies to develop and implement corporate sustainability strategies, operations and management practices in line with the Global Compact Ten Principles. Read more about Learning.
Learning Activities
- Organize, moderate or speak at an outreach event/webinar on the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Global Compact Labour Principles (including positive industrial relations) or specific human rights and/or labour issues that are relevant to business participants.
- Translate tools and resources (e.g. Note on the Relationship between the Guiding Principles and Global Compact Principles) into local language and promote them at outreach events.
- Compile and showcase examples illustrating how their corporate participants are respecting and supporting the human rights and labour principles and/or advancing the Guiding Principles or other key labour issues.
- Convene workshops and offer support for companies on the implementation of the human rights and labour principles including how to communicate efforts in the annual Communication on Progress. Human Rights COP Reporting Guidance.
Learning Benefits
- Increase understanding of companies on business and human rights and labour issues, including how to operationalize the Guiding Principles in the local context.
- Increased number of local companies reporting on corporate social responsibility performance in relation to respecting and supporting the human rights and labour principles.
- Increased visibility of the Local Network to companies and stakeholders that follow human rights and labour issues.
Learning Local Examples
- Human Rights: CEOs and senior management representatives from local companies attended the second India CEO Forum on Business and Human Rights. The forum’s theme, “Growth with Dignity, Respect and Accountability,” initiated a dialogue with Indian business leaders on the implementation of the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework within the local context. Participants discussed their strategies for advancing human rights principles in the workplace.
- Labour: Global Compact Network Egypt collaborated with the Egyptian Corporate Responsibility Centre, UNDP and Silatech, to launch a series of consultations to advance youth empowerment and economic inclusion. Nearly 100 participants from the private sector, public sector and civil society attended “It Takes a Nation: Action for Youth-Inclusive Economic Growth.” The event featured a plenary session and working group meetings on inclusive business models, entrepreneurship and employability. The working groups identified potential initiatives that could be implemented through collective action by specific task forces.
Policy Dialogue
Aim to bring businesses and other stakeholders together to exchange best practices, identify new and emerging issues; promote multi-stakeholder trust and interaction; and support advocacy to policymakers. Read more about Policy Dialogue.
Policy Dialogue Activities
- Convene meetings where MNCs, MNC subsidiaries, local companies, and other stakeholders can share learnings on human rights issues and dilemmas
- Together with trade unions and employer's organizations, convene meetings where dialogue can take place on labour principles
- Organize meetings where participants can engage directly with ILO representatives
- Convene meetings where companies, governments, and other stakeholders can discuss social sustainability and public policy issues that are relevant to business
- Mobilize local champion companies and facilitate their participation in key international human rights and labour events (e.g. UN Forum on Business and Human Rights)
Policy Dialogue Benefits
- Identification of recommendations from business to policy makers on actions that could help increase the scale and impact of business on human rights and labour policies/practices
- Evidence of Local Network convening power on sensitive and challenging social sustainability issues
Policy Dialogue Local Examples
- Human Rights: Global Compact Network Netherlands, in collaboration with the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER), initiated a project to help companies in the process of identifying and prioritizing human rights risks in the local context. The initiative was officially launched in November 2013 with interested companies invited to participate in an introductory session. This session outlined the core elements of “human rights due diligence” and an overview of the project’s proposed methodologies, as well as the time and resource implications for companies and stakeholders involved in the project. Companies who have signed onto the project will continue to meet in 2014 to assist companies with identifying and prioritizing risks.
- Labour: Global Compact Network Serbia organized several working group meetings for labour rights throughout 2013. The first meeting focused on the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labour Disputes. Established in 2005, the agency works to reduce the number of strikes and resolve individual and collective labour disputes quickly and efficiently. The second meeting was held to discuss a draft of the Law on Strikes and the current law from 1996. A guest speaker reviewed the various forms of strikes, the types of employees that cannot strike and how strikes are recorded. These meetings provided opportunities for participants to hear and learn from experts in various fields about the Serbian national labour standards, aimed to align with international labour compliance.
Collective Action & Partnerships
Through partnerships, private and public actors can combine their resources, skills and expertise to enhance results and impact. With collective action multiple companies join forces to engage in identifying, developing and implementing innovative solutions to systematic challenges. Read more about Collective Action.
Collective Action Activities
- Launch and operationalize a Human Rights-Labour Working Group/Roundtable or an ongoing initiative for chamption companies that focuses on specific human rights and labour issues.
- Partner with National Human Rights Institutions to collaborate on projects related to the Guiding Principles or business and human rights generally. Read more.
- Encourage, to the extent possible, business participation in the ILO technical cooperation programme.
Collective Action Benefits
- Increased awareness of companies on specific actions they can take together with governments (through National Human Rights Institutions) to advance business and human rights and labour issues.
- Enhanced capacity of Local Networks to serve as partners and resources for local businesses and stakeholders on human rights and labour issues.
- Increased capacity of Local Networks to promote the importance of social dialogue.
Collective Action Local Examples
- Human Rights: Global Compact Network Argentina and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Argentina collaborated on a human rights tool for companies in Argentina, based on the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, entitled “Protect, Respect and Remedy: We All Win.” The Local Network launched the publication at an event with national and international experts and marked the inaugural meeting of the network’s first Working Group on Business and Human Rights in the country.
- Human Rights: The Organizational Capacity Assessment Instrument (OCAI) – an online questionnaire for companies to self-analyze their capacities to manage human rights risks and responsibilities – was translated into Spanish through a partnership with Local Networks from Spain and Argentina, and in cooperation with the Business and Human Rights Resource Center.
