abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

8 Jan 2020

Author:
Ergon

Ergon publishes update on key business & human rights issues for 2020

"Ergon Update: What to look out for in 2020", January 2020

  • Real prospect of mandatory due diligence

2020 will see significant steps forward in the area of mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence legislation. There are a number of new pieces of legislation coming on stream in earnest, including the Australian Modern Slavery Act and the Dutch Child Labour Law. Similarly, a new proposal for a Norwegian Law will develop during the course of the year... 

  • What is the point of companies?

Why do we privilege corporations with the benefits of limited liability and the use of social assets, and what should society expect in return? Although the conventional response is that corporations are sources of growth, tax revenue, and jobs, continuing corporate abuses means that this question crops up every few years...

  • Sustainability and the finance sector

Several regulatory or guidance notes published in 2019 will become effective in 2020 and will throw the spotlight further on the role of the financial sector in promoting sustainability.... We have also yet to see whether standards will begin to apply to intermediated finance, to contractors used by investee companies and to their supply chains.

  • Climate change and the human rights

...The wave of climate activism that swept the globe in 2019 looks set to continue. With it, we can expect an increasing focus on the climate crisis as a driver of negative human rights impacts and the role of business both in contributing to and addressing them. A major step will also occur if (or when) businesses start formally capturing their contributions to climate change as an impact on human rights in their own HRDD.

  • Human rights and sport

As we anticipated last year, issues in sports are increasingly being viewed through a human rights lens. Big news items this year about Hakeem Al Arabi, Caster Semenya, Raheem Sterling and racism in football more generally, the NBA in China, and Liverpool FC in Qatar, have all highlighted the potential negative human rights impacts that are caused by the world of sport along with the positive role sports has to promote human rights...

  • Following up on the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment at work

...the annual session of the International Labour Conference adopted a new ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work along with an accompanying Recommendation...C190 is ground-breaking for addressing everyone’s right to a working environment free of violence and harassment, be it formal or informal workers, interns, volunteers, job applicants, and third parties such as clients, and for broadening what is understood by the ‘workplace’. 

  • Living wage initiatives continue to gain ground

Significant attention has been brought to the topic of “living wage” in 2019 which will intensify focus on the issue in the coming year...In terms of practical steps, a number of sectoral commitments have been undertaken in the last year, from which various implementation programs are to be expected over the 2020-2025 period, including the Banana Retail Commitment, the African Sustainability Program (ETP and IDH) and Beyond Chocolate (Puratos)... 

 

  • W(h)ither recruitment fees

The need to eliminate the recruitment fees paid by workers to get a job in many parts of the world is now broadly accepted...There will be a greater focus on practical strategies in 2020 based on work by organisations such as the Responsible Business Alliance and also emergent certification standards for labour agents, such as the IRIS standard promoted by the IOM...

  • Transport and logistics under scrutiny

Risk assessments are bringing new sectors and activities into the working conditions spotlight. Transport and logistics is one such area, from working conditions in warehousesto those for workers in road and maritime trade routes, including those connected to China’s belt and road initiative...

 

  • The rise of HRIAs [human rights impact assessments]

Attacks on the utility of social audits and corresponding calls to go 'beyond audits' have been around as long as Ergon (see the Clean Clothes Campaign's most recent critique here) but there is increasing understanding of some alternative tools and techniques...With the rise in expectations and requirements for human rights due diligence, there will more consideration about conducting human rights impact assessments... 

  • Smarter global risk assessment tools

...Driven by investor demands, moves towards mandatory due diligence and a more general embedding of the UNGPs into corporate processes, we expect these risk assessments to become more granular and to extend into a broader range of non-consumer-facing corporate sectors (see above on transport and logistics)...