“Seeing business and human rights as a web of corporate accountability”, 5 March 2020

Business and human rights is not just about “doing well by doing good”…, nor is it captured by…“shared value.” [It] is a call to tackle the growing concentration of corporate power…and the norm of shielding parent companies from human rights impacts,…seek[ing] to…[obtain] remedy for...violations. 

Some companies have [failed]…to adopt…company-wide human rights polic[ies], while others…are signing up for multi-stakeholder initiatives…[and] have made visible efforts. Governments are also acting: Germany’s legislature is deliberating a new due diligence law, and Thailand is the latest global South country to launch a [related] National Action Plan…

[G]overnment,…civil society, consumers, investors, and other actors [all] play key roles in…holding companies to account and pushing…self-regulat[ion]. [These]…actors…steadily build the web of corporate accountability—with some radicals…reflecting more activity…, while other[s]…lie dormant for a while…[and] some new, surprising radials emerge. Each…has the ability to influence, every other actor. The persistent holes in the web…are the reality check: despite stakeholder pressure, companies continue to succumb to pressures of competitive markets…resulting in more harm to people.