With greater awareness of human rights atrocities around the world, investors, governments, and stakeholders increasingly expect companies to identify, prevent, and mitigate any direct or associated human rights risks or impacts.
The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which articulate companies’ human rights responsibilities, have been incorporated into lending standards and codified through regional, national, and local legislation.
This requires companies to have both a broad and granular understanding of both the legal and reputational risks in the jurisdictions a company operates, or has ambitions to operate in. However, the capability to address these challenges often sits outside their knowledge base and comfort zone.
ERM helps clients understand human rights risks and prevent or remediate negative impacts. Our capabilities include:
- Human rights due diligence
- Human rights policy and strategy development
- Supply chain analysis and risk management
- Human rights risk/impact assessment
- Developing or strengthening company management systems
- Guidance on remediation
With a dedicated team of human rights specialists based in key locations around the world, our global team has expertise in managing human rights issues relevant to land rights and resettlement, child labor, modern slavery, labor and working conditions (including worker safety), Indigenous people, security, community rights, and supply chain impacts.
We combine an intimate understanding of emerging international and national requirements with practical, ‘on the ground’ experience to support clients in understanding and fulfilling their human rights responsibilities. This helps protect access to capital, develop and maintain a social license to operate, and ensure regulatory compliance.
