Human rights due diligence is a growing worldwide movement fueled by new legal requirements and recommendations on businesses, such as the OECD, the Norwegian Transparency Act (Åpenhetsloven), Germany´s Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), and the French Duty of Vigilance Act, to mention a few.
On top of that, the European Commission announced in 2021 that they would adopt their own mandatory supply chain due diligence for all companies operating within the EU – which will likely enter into force in 2024.
On this topic - we at Worldfavor have created a survey that helps map out the landscape of human rights due diligence in the supply chain. The survey results will make the basis for our next report - The state of human rights due diligence 2022. If you take the short survey we will send you an email with the report as soon as the report is out.
Taking responsibility for human rights impacts across the supply chain is no longer optional - but a necessary approach.
What is Human rights due diligence?
- Human rights due diligence is a risk management tool that businesses undertake to identify, respond, mitigate and prevent its adverse human rights impacts in their own operations and supply chains.
Why is Human Rights Due Diligence important?
- Companies affected by legislation must ensure to comply as they otherwise might face the risk of injunction or fines, while others should comply to keep up with the competition. Not to mention the risk of reputational damage as customers and investors' demands on companies are rising (source).
Modern slavery in the supply chain:
- The phrase “modern slavery” is an umbrella term for the exploitation of people by others for any type of gain. Modern slavery can take on many forms, but some of the most common include, human trafficing, forced labour, children slavery and bonded labor.
- The massive and complex nature of global production means there’s often a vast web of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors. So, knowing who is working for whom and under what conditions can be difficult (source).
What is supply chain visibility?
- The term Supply chain visibility refers to knowing everything that’s going on in your supply chain. Modern-day supply chains are complex and far-reaching, and with a diverse supplier network distributed all across the world – tracking every tier of it can be a hard task to take upon. However, as a company’s most environmental and social damage usually occurs in their supply chains, achieving it is a must (source).
Related blog posts you might like:
- Why is Human Rights Due Diligence important for business
- Thee Netherlands announces Human Rights and environmental due diligence law
- Get ready for Norways new human rights due diligence law
- What is supply chain visibility and how to achieve it
