[S]ix major engineering and construction companies—CH2M Hill, Vinci SA, Amec Foster Wheeler, Bechtel Corporation, Fluor Corporation and Multiplex—are hosting the inaugural meeting of a new industry-led coalition called Building Responsibly. The group will focus on the rights of workers in global construction supply chains, including those rights related to the recruitment of these workers, to their living and working conditions, and to subcontractor management. 

The formation...represents an important first step forward for an industry that has been slow to address labor rights issues, especially in the Arabian Gulf region...Collaborations like this can promote the sharing of best practices and the development of common industry standards and metrics...[A]s global supply chains have grown increasingly complex, a number of industry groups focusing on labor rights and environmental justice in their own supply chains have been formed...Until now, the engineering and construction industry has yet to develop a similar collective framework...large companies in the sector have faced negative publicity relating to labor practices in construction in Qatar and the broader Gulf region, making an organization like Building Responsibly crucial for the industry’s major players.