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The Ten Principles of the

UN Global Compact
Sustainability begins with a principled approach to doing bus

IN THIS SECTION 

Principle One: Human Rights

Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally

proclaimed human rights.

What does it mean?

This Principle sets out the UN Global Compact’s overarching expectation of business on human rights,
namely, to respect and support human rights. Respecting human rights means a business should use
due diligence to avoid infringing human rights (“do no harm”) and should address adverse human
rights impacts with which they are involved. In addition, beyond respecting human rights, business is
encouraged to take action to support human rights. This means seeing the opportunity to take
voluntary action to make a positive contribution towards the protection and fulfillment of human rights
whether through core business,strategic social investment/philanthropy, public policy
engagement/advocacy, and/or partnerships and other collective action. Action to support human
rights should be a complement to and not a substitute for action to respect human rights. Special
attention should be paid to the rights of vulnerable groups, including women, children, people with
disabilities, indigenous peoples, migrant workers, older persons etc.

Why should companies care?

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Respect for human rights is the right thing to do, but it is also a business issue. Not respecting human
rights poses a number of risks and costs for business including putting the company’s social license
to operate at risk, reputational damage, consumer boycotts, exposure to legal liability and adverse
government action, adverse action by investors and business partners, reduced productivity and
morale of employees.

While governments have the primary duty to protect, respect and fulfill human rights, other
organizations and individuals have important complementary roles to play in respecting and
supporting human rights. All businesses everywhere, regardless of size or sector and whether or not
they are participants in the UN Global Compact, have the baseline responsibility to respect human
rights. This has been recognized by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
(Download Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations
"Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework.) A joint note by the Global Compact and the Office of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the relationship between the Guiding Principles and
the commitments undertaken by Global Compact signatories, explains that the “Guiding Principles
provide further conceptual and operational clarity for the two human rights principles championed by
the Global Compact”.

Respecting and supporting human rights also strengthens a business’ relationships with its
stakeholders. For example, workers who are treated with dignity and respect are more likely to be
productive and remain loyal to an employer. New recruits increasingly consider the social,
environmental and governance record of companies when making their choice of employer. Human
rights and inclusive business models can also be a source of innovation for new products or services,
access to new markets, help strengthen the social license to operate and to make the business a
valued member of the community and society.

What can companies do?

Respecting Human Rights

Business has the potential to impact — positively and negatively — virtually all human rights.
Accordingly, business should consider their potential impact on all rights. However, some actual or
potential impacts will require special consideration, for example, where the actual or potential impacts
are very serious and/or there is a strong connection between the company and the abuse.

For the content of human rights, at a minimum, companies should look to the International Bill of
Human Rights and the core International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions. The publication
Human Rights Translated elaborates the main internationally proclaimed human rights from a
business perspective and offers practical examples of how companies have infringed on human rights
as well as examples of how businesses have supported the enjoyment of the rights. Although some
rights will be more relevant than others in particular circumstances, situations change, so broader
periodic reassessment is necessary.

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Business must comply with all applicable laws and respect internationally recognized human rights,
wherever they operate. In the rare situation that national law directly conflicts with international
standards, companies should seek ways to honour the principles of internationally recognized human
rights. Please click here for our good practice note entitled “Meeting the Responsibility to Respect in
Situations of Conflicting Legal Requirements”.

Importantly, the corporate responsibility to respect exists independently of States’ human rights duties.
Among other things, this means that businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights whether
they are operating in an area of weak governance or in a more stable context. In areas where there is
weak governance, the risks of infringing human rights may be greater because of the context. For
information on how to use conflict sensitive business practices in such contexts, see Guidance on
Responsible Business in Conflict-Affected & High-Risk Areas: A Resource for Companies & Investors.

Determining the scope of their responsibility

Companies should consider three sets of factors in determining the scope of their responsibility to
respect human rights or, in other words, the risk of potential negative impacts on human rights in
connection with the conduct of their business:

The first is to consider the country and local context in which it is operating for any human
rights challenges that context might pose. Information about these is available from NGOs,
Government, international trade unions and international organizations. There are also services
that seek to bring such context specific risks together in formats more easily digested for
business, for example, Danish Institute Country Risk assessments and Maplecroft Maps of
Human Rights risks. These and other guidance material can be accessed from our library. Pay
particular attention to the context in countries where laws are widely known to fall short of
international standards and where enforcement may be inadequate.

The second set of factors involves considering whether the company is causing or contributing
to adverse human rights impacts through their own activities within that context — for example,
in their capacity as producers, service providers, employers and neighbours ("activities" is
understood to include both actions and omissions).

Companies should then address those impacts by adjusting their policies and practices to
prevent the infringement from occurring. An illustrative list of activities with direct impact might
include the production process itself; the products or services the company provides; labour
and employment practices; the provision of security for personnel and assets; and the
company’s lobbying or other political activities.

The third set of factors is an analysis of the company’s relationships with Government, business
partners, suppliers and other non-State actors to consider whether they might pose a risk for the
company in terms of implicating it in human rights abuse. Look particularly at the provision or
contracting of goods, services and even non-business activities, such as lending equipment or
vehicles. Consider the track records of those entities your company deals with to assess

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whether the company might contribute to or be associated with abuse caused by those entities.
The responsibility to respect human rights also includes the Global Compact commitment to
avoid complicity, that is, being involved in human rights abuse that another company,
government, individual, group etc. is causing.

Policy Commitment

Companies should adopt a statement of policy as a public commitment to fulfill their responsibility to
respect human rights, approved by their board or equivalent. It can be a stand-alone statement or
integrated into a broader corporate sustainability policy or code of conduct. Broad inspirational
language may be used to describe respect for human rights, but more detailed guidance in specific
functional areas is necessary to give those commitments practical meaning. The policy should
stipulate the
company’s human rights expectations of personnel, business partners and those directly linked to the
organization’s operations, products or services. As such, it should be communicated to these parties,
as well as be publically available.

The policy should be informed by internal/external human rights expertise. Developing a human rights
policy can also be an important opportunity for stakeholder engagement on the topic of human rights,
which can be almost as important as the policy that results from the process. View sample Human
Rights policies. Once prepared, the policy should be reflected in operational policies and procedures in
order to embed it throughout the business functions. Download: A Guide for Business: How to Develop
a Human Rights Policy.

Human rights due diligence

In order to ensure and demonstrate (i.e. to know and show) that a company is meeting its
responsibility to respect human rights it should undertake due diligence. Human rights due diligence is
the ongoing process taken to identify, prevent and mitigate and account for negative human rights
impacts which the company may cause or contribute to through its own activities or which may be
directly linked to the company’s products, operations or services by a business relationship. Human
rights due
diligence will vary in complexity with the size of the business, the risk of human rights impacts, and the
nature and context of the business operations. The process should draw on internal and/or
independent external human rights expertise and involve appropriate and meaningful consultation with
potentially affected stakeholders. Tools and guidance materials are very helpful in this process.
Comparable processes are typically already embedded in companies to assess and manage financial
and related risks. Explore our library.

Some particularly important elements of a comprehensive management approach to human rights

include:

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Assessing human rights impacts: Many corporate human rights issues arise because
companies do not consider the potential implications of their activities and relationships within
their operating context. Companies should take proactive, ongoing steps to understand how
existing and proposed activities may cause or contribute to human rights impacts, as well has
how the company’s operations may be directly linked to such impacts. The scale of the review
will depend on the industry, company size and national and local context and should be
commensurate with the risk of severe human rights impacts. The process should draw on
internal or external expertise and involve meaningful consultation with stakeholders, as
appropriate. Based on the information uncovered, companies should refine their plans to
address and avoid potential negative human rights impacts on an ongoing basis

Integration of human rights policies throughout a company: The integration of human rights
policies throughout a company may be the biggest challenge in respecting human rights. If
awareness of human rights issues and their importance is not fully integrated across relevant
internal functions and processes, inconsistent or contradictory actions can result. For example,
product developers may not consider human rights implications; sales or procurement teams
may not know the risks of entering into relationships with certain parties; budgets may not be
properly allocated; and company lobbying may contradict commitments to human rights.
Leadership from the top is essential to embed respect for human rights throughout a company,
including by assigning responsibility for addressing impacts to the appropriate level and
function within the business and developing an oversight process. It is important to train
personnel to ensure consistency, as well as foster their capacity to respond appropriately when
unforeseen situations arise

Taking action: The appropriate action for a company to take will vary depending on whether (a)
the company has caused or contributed to an impact, or (b) it is directly linked to that impact
through its business relationships. In the case of (a), the company should cease or prevent the
impact. In the case of (b) it should utilize available leverage to prevent or mitigate the impact

Tracking performance: Monitoring and auditing processes permit a company to track ongoing
developments. The procedures may vary across sectors and even among company
departments, but regular reviews of human rights impact and performance are crucial. Tracking
generates information needed to create appropriate incentives and disincentives for employees,
ensure continuous improvement and to make necessary adjustments in priorities and
approaches. Tracking should draw on feedback from both internal and external stakeholders.
Confidential means to report non-compliance, such as hotlines, can be a useful source of
feedback

Communicating/reporting on performance: Reporting is a driver for change, externally as well

as internally: It fulfils companies’ obligations to account for how they address human rights
impacts; shapes stakeholders’ perceptions of a company and helps to build trust; and is
increasingly acknowledged as a stimulus for internal development with a positive impact on
business decisions and outcomes. Communications should be of a form and frequency that
reflects the company’s human rights impacts, be accessible to the intended audience and
provide enough information for stakeholders to evaluate the adequacy of the company’s
response to impacts. Global Compact participants are required to communicate their progress

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on an annual basis. The Global Compact has developed a Human Rights Supplement to
Communication on Progress Guidance to give practical guidance to businesses of all sizes
wherever they are located on how to improve reporting on their implementation efforts,
especially within the context of their annual Communication on Progress

Remediation: A company should have in place or participate in remediation processes. This

allows the company to address adverse human rights impacts that it has caused or contributed
to. Effective company-level grievance mechanisms ensure that employees, contractors, local
communities and others can raise their concerns and have them be considered. This can help
companies to identify risks of negative impacts and avoid escalation of disputes

Supporting Human Rights

In practice, respect and support for human rights are often closely interlinked in terms of the
management steps that are taken to enable and ensure respect and support for human rights. For
example, corporate policies on human rights often make positive commitments to support human
rights, especially rights that may be strategically relevant to their business. Analyses of context,
activities and relationships are likely to yield opportunities to promote human rights as well as possible
risks of infringing rights. And companies often include in their reports information about the positive
contribution they are making to human rights.

Supporting human rights involves making a positive contribution to human rights, to promote or
advance human rights. Socially responsible organizations will typically have a broader capability and
often desire to support the promotion of human rights within their sphere of influence especially in
ways that link strategically to their core business activities. The business case for supporting human
rights can be as strong as the business case for respecting human rights. Likewise, stakeholder
expectations often extend to the belief that organizations can and should make a positive contribution
to the realization of human rights where they are in a position to do so.

There are at least four ways business can support or promote human rights:

Through their core business activities in support of UN goals and issues

Strategic social investment and philanthropy

Advocacy and public policy engagement

Partnership and collective action

These are elaborated in the Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, which was adopted by
the Global Compact participants at the Leaders Summit in June 2010. It makes clear that to be a
corporate leaders on sustainability, business must not just avoid negative impacts, along with all other
actors, but also make a positive contribution to society and do its part especially in ways relevant to its
business in helping to overcome the most acute and chronic challenges.

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Here are some examples of how companies are supporting and respecting human rights through their
daily activities:

In the workplace:

by providing safe and healthy working conditions,

by guaranteeing freedom of association,

by ensuring non-discrimination in personnel practices,

by ensuring that they do not use directly or indirectly forced labour or child labour,

by providing access to basic health, education and housing for the workers and their families, if
these are not provided elsewhere,

by having an affirmative action programme to hire victims of domestic violence, and

by making reasonable accommodations for all employees' religious observance and practices

In the community:

by preventing the forcible displacement of individuals, groups or communities,

by working to protect the economic livelihood of local communities,

by contributing to the public debate. Companies interact with all levels of government in the
countries where they operate. They therefore have the right and responsibility to express their
views on matters that affect their operations, employees, customers and the communities of
which they are a part,

through differential pricing or small product packages create new markets that also enable the
poor to gain access to goods and services that they otherwise could not afford

by fostering opportunities for girls to be educated to empower them and also helps a company
to have a broader and more skilled pool of workers in the future, and

perhaps most importantly, a successful business which provides decent work, produces quality
goods or services that improve lives, especially for the poor or other vulnerable groups, is an
important contribution to sustainable development, including human rights.

If companies use security services to protect their operations, they must ensure that existing
international guidelines and standards for the use of force are respected

Fostering Respect for Human Rights

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The topic of human rights can sometimes be challenging for a company to talk about with its
managers and employees and/or those outside the company. However, promoting understanding
about what human rights are, their relevance to business and what, in practical terms, business can do
to address human rights issues can help to make action to respect human rights easier.

Some businesses find that looking at opportunities to support human rights as well as the risks of
infringing human rights helps to motivate managers and staff to address risks too. Another approach
some businesses find helpful is to start by looking at what the business is already doing to respect and
support human rights, such as by having good human resources policies and practices, implementing
policies on non discrimination and promoting diversity in the workforce, respecting the
privacy of customers and workers, undertaking efforts to make essential products more accessible to
the poor and implementing effective occupational health and safety policies and practices. This helps
to demystify human rights by showing that respecting human rights does not require starting from the
very beginning. Nor does it need a whole new management system. Human rights can be integrated
into existing business processes and procedures. Some companies find it helpful to look for the right
entry point and language to discuss risks and opportunities with managers and staff. Sometimes it
might be easier to begin the discussion by talking about familiar concepts like respect, dignity, fairness
and equality, and specific scenarios with which managers and employees may be confronted.
Companies investing in emerging economies may find it useful to discuss challenges to implementing
Principles 1 and 2 in the Global Compact’s Human Rights and Business Dilemmas Forum.

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