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Article

20 Mar 2017

Author:
Mara Lemos Stein, Wall Street Journal (USA)

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark sparks competition among companies to improve

"The Morning Risk Report: A New Tracker for Corporate Human Rights", 20 Mar 2017

The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, a collaborative of pension fund managers, socially-minded investors and non-profit groups, looked at 98 large companies in the agricultural products, apparel and extractive industries and scored them on 100 human rights indicators.  In what the group said is “an uncomfortable finding,” all but six companies researched scored under 50% overall, and only 18 of them had scores above 40%.  The average score “is a mere 28.7%,” the CHRB report said.  “There is clearly no perfect company or industry in human rights terms, and no scope for complacency anywhere,” said Steve Waygood, chief responsible investment officer at Aviva Investors, in the foreword.  “However, it is clear that some are trying much harder than others and we have identified clear leaders and laggards.”…“Competition is a beautiful thing when it is used to do good,” said Mark Wilson, chief executive of Aviva, in a statement.  “More transparency and a desire to improve in the ranking will spark a race to the top in corporate human rights.”  [Also refers to BHP Billton, Marks & Spencer, Rio Tinto, Coal India, Sinopec, Kohl's and Macy's].

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