Also see: Shift’s reporting expertise | UNGP Reporting Framework
September 19, 2017 — As businesses become increasingly accountable for their wider impact on society, Mazars and Shift today launch comprehensive Assurance Guidance on human rights, for the first time giving businesses a clear direction on how to assess their human rights credentials in line with international standards.
Jump to the guidance
This Assurance Guidance helps expert practitioners ensure that their work plays a valuable role in advancing the protection of workers, communities and other groups affected by business activities – thereby protecting and creating value for the business in the medium to long term.
Developed over several years by international accountancy and
advisory firm, Mazars, and leading business and human rights non-profit
Shift, the Assurance Guidance supports the 2015 UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework,
the world’s only reporting framework for companies that is wholly
aligned with the authoritative UN Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights. The guidance will help internal auditors to assure
companies’ human rights performance, and support external assurance
providers as they oversee the assurance of companies’ human rights
reporting.
Corporate governance has become a clear focus of
governments to address unethical behaviours in business. A business
that understands and reports knowledgeably on its human rights
performance is likely to be ahead in its responsibilities around
corporate governance.
In the two years since the launch of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, it has been embraced by leading companies, governments, investors and civil society organizations
as a critical tool to help companies improve their human rights risk
management, and show greater transparency and accountability. It has
been formally recommended by numerous governments in guidance to
companies. Leading businesses including Unilever, Citi, Ericsson,
H&M and Microsoft have publicly stated that it has guided them in
their internal risk management and reporting.
Professor John
Ruggie, author of the UN Guiding Principles, comments, “Today, any
company that wishes to demonstrate either its own sustainability or its
contribution to sustainable development, must show how it is driving
respect for human rights across its operations and value chains.
Independent assurance has a vital role to play in enhancing the
credibility of what the company’s Board is told – and tells others –
about its risks and performance.”
Richard Karmel, Head of Human
Rights Services at Mazars, said: “The EU now requires company boards of
all EU public companies with over 500 employees to know how their
organizations are identifying and addressing risks to human rights.
Their investors, their customers and their employees have a right to
know about the progress they are making: it is no longer enough to say
‘I wasn’t aware.’
“Such demands make internal audit and external
audit assurance functions more important than ever. Importantly, the
Global and Chartered Institutes of Internal Auditors have given full
backing to this Guidance. As professional advisers, we can no longer
skirt around the issue of human rights, but must instead integrate it
effectively within our professional skill sets: this Guidance will help
make that possible.”
Caroline Rees, President of Shift,
explains: “This Assurance Guidance helps expert practitioners ensure
that their work plays a valuable role in advancing the protection of
workers, communities and other groups affected by business activities –
thereby protecting and creating value for the business in the medium to
long term.”
She adds: “Companies cannot gamble. There are
significant risks to corporate business reputation, continuity and
opportunity if companies ignore their record in human rights – whether
in their own operations or across their entire supply chain. The only
real defense for business is to have appropriate, effective procedures
in place.”
View the guidance: ungpreporting.org/assurance
Questions? Contact us
See more about the Human Rights Reporting and Assurance Frameworks Initiative (RAFI) here.