Business and Human Rights
The days when lip service could be paid to the issue of human rights are long behind us; it is now essential every business ensures its policies, processes, procedures, and controls do not harm others.
Companies can harm people in many ways: not paying a living wage, discrimination, poor working conditions, unethical behaviours in supply chains. Each has the potential to destroy value in the company. It is therefore vital that companies have in place systems that not only mitigate against these risks arising but also procedures to react when they do arise.
The UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights (UNGPs) are the lead guidance and Mazars was the co-author of the authoritative framework (www.UNGPreporting.org) to help companies embed such robust systems.
How we can help
Mazars can help your business understand its actual and potential human rights impacts in a way that is beneficial to you as a company and your stakeholders.
- Undertake human rights due diligence.
- Map out risks and opportunities related to human rights via a risk assessment
- Design and assist in the implementation of appropriate procedures and controls to mitigate against adverse human rights impacts.
- Design an appropriate internal monitoring methodology.
- Develop a communications strategy that relays a business’s commitment to human rights and how it is addressing the risk of its impacts.
- Review, track and report performance; and recommend industry best practices that are applicable to the company. • Preparation of Strategic Report content (UK) and Non-Financial Statement (EU).
- Drafting of standalone human rights reports or relevant sections to wider sustainability reports.
- Independent assurance of human rights reports.
Contacts