"What "good" looks like – Meaningful stakeholder engagement", April 2025

In 2011, the States in the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)...The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights (GBI) is the only business-led initiative solely focused on supporting companies through peer learning to improve the implementation of their responsibility to respect human rights under the UNGPs and carry out human rights due diligence. That work has resulted in a substantial and detailed repository of practice-based insights and knowledge about what human rights due diligence means when facing real-world challenges, and what can reasonably be expected of companies in their pursuit of respecting human rights and the environment. As regulations such as the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act and similar national laws establish binding obligations that largely codify and operationalise the core principles of the UNGPs, GBI is now sharing its experience and practice-based insights in a guidance series about “what good looks like.”

The aim of this series is to help further the development of mandatory due diligence legislation on sustainable business in the European Union and elsewhere in ways that are practical, realistic, and in line with the UNGPs. This guidance also aims to help companies to understand what “good” looks like when it comes to implementing mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.

Why meaningful stakeholder engagement is essential

Meaningful stakeholder engagement is an essential component of human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD). It ensures that due diligence processes are informed, effective, and aligned with international standards, ultimately helping businesses mitigate risks, uphold human rights, and enhance their long-term success. Done well, meaningful stakeholder engagement can help companies to:

1. Identify risks and impacts Stakeholders [...]
2. Strengthen risk mitigation and prevention [...]
3. Enhance legitimacy and accountability [...]
4. Improve access to remedy [...]
5. Reduce legal, reputational, and operational risks [...]
6. Strengthen long-term business sustainability [...]

To accompany the launch, GBI will host a webinar on 22 April for companies and policymakers on meaningful stakeholder engagement and invites all interested to join in this discussion. Register for the webinar here.