Companies

Build your human rights capacity

We offer tailored corporate training to raise awareness about human rights and due diligence and inspire colleagues to make human rights a priority. We equip business people with the knowledge they need to identify, prevent and address human rights risks in their business operations and supply chains so they can do business responsibly. HRW has extensive training experience and also collaborates with the Löning Academy. Contact us to find out which type of training suits your organisation.

What is the benefit to your business?

In our experience, human rights training is absolutely essential for corporate responsibility:

Consumers, investors and customers are increasingly demanding and aware of human rights.
Human rights risk management is impossible without some knowledge
If you minimise the risks to people, you also minimise the risks to your business

A solid human rights capacity in your company is a strength that helps mitigate financial, legal and reputational risks, while also helping you retain talent and build resilience in the supply chain.

Who’s it for?

People in different roles in the organisation have responsibilities for managing human rights risks. These might include people working in procurement, human resources, risk management, sustainability or ethics and compliance. With practical knowledge, they can effectively address human rights-related risks.

We provide the training they need and prepare them for their responsibilities. We also help you build the capacity of suppliers to follow the company’s code of conduct.

HR@W offers tailor-made services within the framework of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. As more and more regulatory requirements are coming from national governments or the EU, we ensure to align with these as well. These include all the steps of the due diligence process, for example:

Risk and impact assessment
Policy and strategic advice
Integration within the business and monitoring systems
Stakeholder management
Grievance mechanisms
Training and reporting

HR@W works with the internationally recognized due diligence steps, which help companies to get a grip on human rights. We aim to help raise awareness and increase understanding of human rights, as well as to identify and prioritize risks in own operations and supply chains. We help design measures to prevent and address risks, where to focus measures and what to communicate. Advising in the development of good good and effective grievance mechanism is also key.

Why are human rights important for business? Read more

Some of our clients

Risks and impact assessment

HR@W can help you determine your most significant risks and set priorities to prevent reputational damage as well as taking a pro-active approach to determining priorities. We use our comprehensive knowledge of sectors, countries and issues, and have a broad network among stakeholders.

HR@W also helps to assess the real impact in international operations or supply chains. We have experience in implementing tailor-made human rights impact assessment methodologies. A welcome addition to your audit approach.

For example for Philips: Human Rights@Work looked at the impact on human rights of one of Philips’ own factories.

Policy, strategic advice and stakeholder management

Bring existing policies under one umbrella or align them with international standards with a Human Rights Policy. HR@W offers in-depth knowledge of legal and soft law requirements regarding human rights, whether these are labour issues, conflict minerals or due diligence requirements, as well as supporting and coaching when rolling out new policies worldwide.

Implementation requires a strategy involving different internal and external stakeholders. With a broad network of NGOs, government and companies, HR@W can help you create valuable input and facilitate dialogue with stakeholders regarding your journey in implementing human rights.

We can do this in a role as advisor, coach, researcher or by facilitating your meeting with stakeholders.

For example for AholdDelhaize: Human Rights@Work together with its partner Enact Sustainable Strategies helped Ahold Delhaize develop a roadmap for due diligence both at holding level as for the brands.

Or for Friesland Campina: Human Rights@Work facilitated internal and external stakeholder workshops to develop next steps on human rights due diligence for Friesland Campina.

Integration with the business and monitoring systems

Coaching and advice on gettinghuman rights accepted by the Board or by colleagues. HR@W offers advice for adapting existing management processes, including monitoring systems to become more effective in managing human rights commitments.

For example for Ahold Delhaize: Human Rights@Work developed a gap analysis of all its management processes relevant for human rights.

Training and reporting

Tailor-made in-company training to raise awareness on human rights and due diligence, and inspiring colleagues to make human rights a priority. HRW has extensive training experience.

HR@W can help you determine appropriate ways to report and develop the right indicators to measure performance.

This can be done on a website or in a sustainability/CSR report, in an integrated report or even in a separate human rights report.

For example for Indian Mahindra Sanyo Special Steel: Human Rights@Work developed an online video training for internal stakeholders to integrate human rights into their work.

Linking to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The 17 SDGs that countries adopted to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all, foresee an important role for companies. Some multinationals have already expressed their support for these goals. For enterprises to realise their full contribution to sustainable development, they must put respect for human rights at the heart of their strategy. HR@W can help developing a strategy to contribute to the SDGs with your core business with respect for human rights.

Human Rights@Work worked with the Social Economic Council, the Netherlands, as advisor to develop case studies for the SER report: ‘Seizing opportunities, managing risks-the relationship between SDGs and IRBC’

“When companies drive respect for human rights across their own operations and their global value chains, they generate an unprecedented large-scale positive impact on the lives of people who may be most in need of the benefits of sustainable development.”

Prof Ruggie in his keynote address on November 14, 2016 to the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland.

Why human rights for business?

Expectations of companies, whether on the part of its clients, NGOs, investors or governments are constantly rising. For several decades now a debate has been ongoing concerning the corporate accountability and responsibility for human rights violations. Since the United Nations adopted the UN Guiding Principles for business and human rights (UNGP), more clarity about these responsibilities exists and guidance is given by the UNGP and other frameworks on how to implement them. Many companies might not be aware that they are already dealing with human rights. For example health and safety, at the top of the agenda in some sectors, are part of human rights. So are diversity, equal pay and all labour related issues. Less well known are environmental issues, such as pollution and clean water, as these are usually topics on the environmental sustainability agenda. They affect human rights too. Hence human rights are an integral part of doing business. Your business.

More and morecountries are adopting laws regulating international supply chains (e.g. Modern Slavery Act in the UK, child labour due diligence in the Netherlands, EU regulation on conflict minerals, the French due diligence law). Policy makers, NGOs, investors and media are raising their expectations. Larger public companies are expected to report on human rights impacts. Therefore, companies with operations in states where human rights are in jeopardy will find themselves under pressure to improve the way they do business in this area.