“Four steps to a responsible COVID-19 response”, 8 April 2020

...COVID-19...has brought into sharp relief the interconnectedness of business, economies and societies. [C]ompanies are weighing whether to honour or cancel contracts, cut off or maintain suppliers, or furlough or retain workers. [I]nvestors, customers and employees are taking note...

Labour movements around the world are urging workers to speak out and take action. [For example], Amazon and Instacart workers are striking across the US [and]…,when Adidas announced it would skip rental payments for [closed] retail outlets,…the group was strongly criticised…

Companies that have embraced a stakeholder approach are better placed during the crisis…as they have more robust business models and tend to have stronger alliances with stakeholders . Derived from the [UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights], [these steps] can be useful.  

• Focus efforts on ensuring that business decisions do not exacerbate the health or economic harms from the pandemics…[and that] companies should seek to ameliorate the expected harms

• Take swift steps to identify the impacts on people of various decisions: [e.g.]…[laying] people off [and]…[cancelling] orders…, not incentivising work in unsafe conditions…[and] identify[ing]…vulnerabilities in…workforce[s] and supply chains

• Design a mitigation plan…, such as making accelerated payments on outstanding invoices, advanced payments to suppliers…, providing support for childcare…[and] large companies...supporting small and medium-size suppliers or distributors

• Work collaboratively [by]…look[ing] to industry, sectoral, multi-stakeholder and other ad hoc [efforts]. [F]or example, [companies] working collaboratively to help place displaced workers…[and] ensur[ing] safety equipment and training are available...