"Why your business can't afford to ignore human rights anymore", 17 Oct 2016

The impact of businesses on human rights has been rising up the public consciousness...But the signs are that human rights are still being overlooked by many companies.  This is something that needs to change, and quickly as doing so exposes a company to a plethora of risks: reputational, financial, operational and legal...In the UK, the Modern Slavery Act has come into force, compelling large companies to report on steps they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking in their supply chain.  The EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive...requires large companies to report on their human rights due diligence processes...However, a recent study by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL) and global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright...has found that many businesses are still not getting their human rights due diligence right...Human rights impacts have to be recognised at the operational level...Our study suggests that this can only be achieved by putting in place holistic human rights due diligence processes...Boards and risk departments that don’t put adequate measures in place could start to find the heat rising sooner than they expect...