Back to News and Views

Viewpoints

Welcome to Shift’s blog, where we use our mix of expertise on the Guiding Principles and unique practical experience with their implementation to address practical challenges and shine a light on leadership and practice.

All Viewpoints

June 2021 | Viewpoints

Covid inequalities highlight the pressing need for social reporting

The lasting impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our personal lives is evident. Beginning with the loss of loved ones and extending to how we work, shop, and socialise. But what will the impact be to our societies and economies in the long run? The truth is that the long-term ramifications are far from clear.

This post was also published by CDSB. The pandemic has accentuated the important interconnections between our social and environmental systems, and the deep inequalities that exist across society. As researchers have emphasised, the likelihood of diseases like Covid-19 increases with environmental degradation and climate change, factors which are driven in large part by an unsustainable and […]

By Caroline Rees

June 2021 | Viewpoints

The Quiet Radicalism of the Responsibility to Respect

Since their unanimous endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council ten years ago, the UN Guiding Principles have been simultaneously lauded for their impact, underestimated by critics, and limited by misunderstanding. What is often missed in such analyses is the inherent radicalism of the UNGPs. This revolution in our expectations of the role of business in an increasingly unequal globalized economy has been reflected in norms of behavior, law and practice. It is worth returning to that quiet radicalism as we take stock of successes and look to the potential to drive further change over the next decade of post-pandemic recovery and beyond.

Since their unanimous endorsement by the UN Human Rights Council ten years ago, the UN Guiding Principles have been simultaneously lauded for their impact, underestimated by critics and limited by misunderstanding.

By Francis West

March 2021 | Viewpoints

No Need to Reinvent Wheels: Drafting Meaningful Human Rights Due Diligence through Model Suggested Supply Chain Contract Clauses

Shift’s General Counsel, John Sherman III explains how the Model Contract Clauses to Protect Workers in International Supply Chains, recently updated by the ABA, can help companies operationalize human rights due diligence in supply chain contracts.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is the largest voluntary association of lawyers and law students in the U.S. and the world. It was the first national bar association to have formally endorsed the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and has made the elimination of modern slavery and child labor in […]

By John F. Sherman III

March 2021 | Viewpoints

Planning for Risk Mitigation: Assessing Human Rights in Strategy Development and Roll out

This short piece describes how Ericsson and Shift embarked on a distinct human rights assessment, looking at potential human rights impacts as the company planned for the roll out of their latest technology, 5G.

When human rights practitioners develop strategies to identify and prevent risk to people, they often feel like their hands are tied: the business is already operating in a certain way, in given markets with different levels of risk, selling a line of products that already exists and partnering with suppliers that have already been decided […]

By David Vermijs

December 2020 | Viewpoints

Audio | Can the UN Guiding Principles Unlock the Power of other Narratives to Transform how Business Impacts People?

In this short conversation, Caroline Rees (Shift) and Phil Bloomer (BHRRC) discuss how Business and Human Rights may offer a unique way to navigate this broad array of civil, political, economic, social and cultural impacts on people, both through their focus on those impacts that reach the point where they undermine people’s dignity and equality, and through their underpinning in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which provides a standard for what we can and should expect of business as well as governments.

ABOUT It is perhaps a cliché to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced the urgent need to reimagine the relationship between business and people. Over the past few months, we’ve seen how the workers that companies depend on the most – essential workers – are also very often the ones that are most vulnerable […]

By Caroline Rees

September 2020 | Viewpoints

Does our human rights work… work? The case for experimentation and testing

Everyone working to ensure that business acts with respect for people is in the business of behavior change. We want companies, and individuals within them, to act in ways that enable respect for human rights. That being so, it’s intriguing that we have not drawn on the vast range of existing psychological insights about how […]

September 2019 | Viewpoints

Are You Making a Difference? Listening to Affected Stakeholders to Improve Business Human Rights Performance

Shift Advisor Jana Mudronova discusses how meaningful stakeholder engagement can lead to more reliable, trusted and meaningful data, and play a key role in informing evaluation

Tracking whether company efforts to prevent and mitigate risks to people from business activities are effective is an integral part of the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights. Many companies undertake a range of monitoring activities to this end, including assessment of human rights risks, impact assessments, audits and reviews of grievances. While these periodically-used […]

By Jana Mudronova

September 2019 | Viewpoints

SMEs and the Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

Shift's Business Learning Program Director Francis West explains how many get it wrong on SMEs, and makes the case for smaller firms to take a bespoke approach.

“SMEs lack the resources and expertise to manage human rights issues.” “They’re too focused on small margins to invest in respecting people.” “SMEs don’t have any leverage.” “Without regulatory and reputational concerns, there’s no business case for small companies to care about human rights.” “How can large multinational companies possibly respect human rights when faced […]

By Francis West

June 2019 | Viewpoints

On LGBT Rights, True Corporate Allyship Means Using a Stethoscope, Not a Bullhorn

Advisor Daniel Berezowsky explains how using the UN Guiding Principles, companies can use their voice to spotlight LGBTQ rights, rather than using LGBTQ rights to cast a spotlight on themselves.

June 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, the event that sparked the modern lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movement. Ever since, queer communities have taken their fight for justice to the streets all over the world in their yearly Pride march. In a few (mostly Western) cities, Pride has become a celebration […]

By Daniel Berezowsky

May 2019 | Viewpoints

Rethinking Remedy and Responsibility in the Financial Sector

Senior Advisor David Kovick explains Shift's ecosystem approach to remedy, and how financial institutions can benefit from incorporating it to close the gap with traditional approaches.

The Remedy Gap There is much debate about the roles and responsibilities of financial institutions when it comes to respecting human rights. But there is one point on which we can all agree:  in too many cases, remedy is not available for people who are harmed by business activities, which are often connected in some […]

By David Kovick

April 2019 | Viewpoints

Valuing Respect: Going from Research that Makes the Case to Tools that Make the Difference

Project Lead Mark Hodge looks back on progress made in 2018 and discusses the beta version of a new tool to help companies evaluate outcomes for people.

In 2018, our work on the Valuing Respect project made one thing clear: better evaluation of business respect for human rights starts with reconnecting to what we are trying to achieve in the world. That is, to remember that corporate policies, systems and programs have always been the means, not the ends, of the responsible business […]

By Mark Hodge

March 2019 | Viewpoints

How Value Chain Mapping is Helping Companies Respect Human Rights

In this piece, Shift Advisor David Vermijs explains what value chain mapping is, and how companies like Heineken and ABN AMRO are using it to leverage business respect for human rights throughout their value chain.

Value chain mapping and traceability are common buzzwords in sustainability circles. But few companies are looking beyond a limited number of commodities or deliberately applying an explicit human rights lens to these processes. From my experience at Shift, working with dozens of companies, human rights value chain mapping is one of the most effective ways […]

By David Vermijs

February 2019 | Viewpoints

Fulfilling the State Duty to Protect: A Statement on the Role of Mandatory Measures in a “Smart Mix”

A statement on the role of mandatory measures in a “smart mix” when implementing the UNGPs

There is a growing number of national and international debates around mandatory measures to ensure business respect for human rights, and specifically a) a binding international instrument on business and human rights and b) national legislation on mandatory human rights due diligence. In these debates, the UN Guiding Principles’ expectation of a “smart mix” of […]

February 2019 | Viewpoints

Beyond Voluntary: What it Means for States to Play an Active Role in Fostering Business Respect for Human Rights

An interview with Rachel Davis, Co-founder and Managing Director at Shift As a senior legal advisor to former UN Special Representative John Ruggie during his mandate, Shift’s Rachel Davis played a key role in the drafting process of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Seven years into the implementation of the UNGPs, she reflects on the relevance of mandatory measures in the State Duty to Protect and the growing debate around comprehensive mandatory human rights due diligence legislation.

As a senior legal advisor to former UN Special Representative John Ruggie during his mandate, Shift’s Rachel Davis played a key role in the drafting process of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Seven years into the implementation of the UNGPs, she reflects on the relevance of mandatory measures in the State […]

By Rachel Davis

January 2019 | Viewpoints

How to Write a More Meaningful Update Report Under the French Duty of Vigilance Law

Get on the right path to writing your first annual update, even if you don’t have everything figured out.

The countdown is on! If you handle reporting for a company covered by the French Loi relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre (the « Duty of Vigilance law »), you know it’s almost time to publish the first annual update on the implementation of your vigilance plan.   Here are […]

By Michelle Langlois

January 2019 | Viewpoints

Most Canadian Mining Companies are Lagging When It Comes to Human Rights Reporting. Here’s Why.

Shift’s analysis of the Canadian mining sector reveals strengths and weaknesses in how mining companies communicate on their management of impacts on people.

The global mining industry is a large, profitable sector, with a particularly strong presence in Canada. Revenue from the top 40 global mining companies, 15% of which are Canadian, amounted to more than $600 billion in 2017. Additionally, 57% of the world’s public mining companies are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). In contrast […]

By Erika Piquero

October 2018 | Viewpoints

Meaningful Engagement with Affected Stakeholders

In this short piece from Senior Advisor David Kovick, he shares takeaways on meaningful stakeholder engagement by companies who are looking to respect human rights in their business practices, and some ways to put them into practice right away at your own company.

It was a busy summer here at Shift. We kicked it off in June with the 13th edition of our Business Learning Workshop. If you have been part of the Shift family for a while, you know how much value we place in the opportunity to engage more deeply with our business partners on a […]

By David Kovick

February 2018 | Viewpoints

When Counseling Clients on Risk, Lawyers Need to Take a Proactive Approach on Human Rights

Developments in the legal profession in regards to providing counsel to corporate clients on preventing human rights impacts continue to advance, most recently in Europe.

I spoke recently to the New York City Bar Association at a Continuing Legal Education program on why business and human rights matter for lawyers. Based on a show of hands, most of the lawyers attending the session were law firm litigators. Only a few were corporate or commercial lawyers. This was unfortunate, because business […]

By John F. Sherman III

February 2018 | Viewpoints

The Way Businesses’ Social Performance Gets Measured Isn’t Working

The way businesses' social performance gets measured isn't working - at Shift, we are starting a major new collaboration to help change that.

VISIT | The Valuing Respect website  Companies’ social performance matters! Thirty years ago that might have been viewed as a radical campaign slogan. Today it is a pretty mainstream observation. The reality of how business activities can negatively affect the lives of people across the world has become inescapable.  Business conversations at major gatherings such as the World Economic Forum […]

By Caroline Rees

September 2017 | Viewpoints

Open Letter on Human Rights and the Sustainable Development Goals

In collaboration with leading civil society organizations, we call on UN Secretary-General António Guterres and United Nations Private Sector Forum 2017 participants to connect sustainable development with business respect for human rights.

The complete letter is published on the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre website and is signed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Institute for Human Rights and Business, the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable, Oxfam International and Shift. Also see: Our short framework for action for any company […]

May 2017 | Viewpoints

Respect for Human Rights: Creating a Holistic Framework for Business Contributions to the SDGs

This short framework for analysis and action offers a straightforward way for any company to work out how it should and can contribute to sustainable development.

Also see this Viewpoint as a PDF. What’s the current problem with the way some organizations are talking about business contributions to sustainable development – and what’s a better path forward? 1. The problem: misunderstanding the nature of respect for human rights The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are setting a new and increasingly accepted basis […]

By Caroline Rees

February 2017 | Viewpoints

Making Economic Globalization Work for All: Achieving Socially Sustainable Supply Chains

In this keynote address to G20 countries, Shift Chair and Guiding Principles author John Ruggie argues that effectively managed global supply chains can be significant leverage points to make globalization work better for all.

On February 15, 2017, Shift Chair and author of the UN Guiding Principles John Ruggie delivered a keynote address to the G20 Labour and Employment Meeting in Hamburg. He was accompanied by Shift’s President, Caroline Rees. The complete text of Professor Ruggie’s address is below. Also see: Shift position paper on the connection between the UN Guiding Principles […]

By Professor John Ruggie

November 2016 | Viewpoints

Making Globalization Work for All: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Business Respect for Human Rights

Respect for the dignity of every person is at the very core of the people part of sustainable development — and is critical for a socially sustainable globalization.

The following is the full text of the keynote address delivered by Shift Chair and author of the Guiding Principles John Ruggie on November 14, 2016 to the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. Also see: Our short framework for action that any company should and can follow to contribute to sustainable development […]

By Professor John Ruggie

September 2016 | Viewpoints

What Do the UN Sustainable Development Goals Have to Do With Corporate Respect for Human Rights?

For business to realize its full contribution to sustainable development, it must put efforts to advance respect for human rights at the heart of its strategy.

Also see: Our short framework for action that any company should and can follow to contribute to the SDGs Update: In January 2017 the Business and Sustainable Development Commission published a position paper on business’s role in sustainable development, Better Business, Better World. That position paper draws on a report authored by Shift and strongly supports our message that respect for human […]

By Caroline Rees

September 2016 | Viewpoints

Forging the Path as Wise Counselors

International Bar Association President David. W. Rivkin writes about the far-reaching implications of the IBA's new Practical Guide for business lawyers on human rights.

by David W. Rivkin, President IBAAlso see: News announcement of publication of IBA Practical Guide | Practical Guide in our resource library  New! On November 1, 2016, the IBA published a reference annex to the Practical Guide for business lawyers. On May 28, 2016, the International Bar Association (IBA) adopted the IBA Practical Guide on Business and […]

August 2016 | Viewpoints

Where We’re At: Taking Stock of Progress on Business and Human Rights

Five years after the endorsement of the Guiding Principles at the UN - and the founding of Shift - we reflect on five positive areas of progress, and five areas where urgent progress is needed.

A little over five years ago, we were sitting in a room at the United Nations in Geneva, eagerly awaiting the endorsement of a groundbreaking standard on business respect for human rights. On June 16, 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously gave that endorsement to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. […]

By Caroline Rees

May 2016 | Viewpoints

What Do Company Directors Need to Know About Human Rights?

New guidance published by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission tells company boards what they need to know about human rights.

Also see: Guidance | Information about this collaboration This Viewpoint was originally published by the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission. The UK Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a short but significant guide today for the directors of UK companies, developed in collaboration with Shift. Its title says it all: “Business and human rights: A five […]

By Caroline Rees

February 2016 | Viewpoints

The Sustainable Development Goals and the Guiding Principles

This open letter was authored by Shift Chair John Ruggie and sent to the heads of the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development.

This open letter was authored by Shift Chair John Ruggie and sent to the heads of the Global Commission on Business and Sustainable Development (now called the Business and Sustainable Development Commission). It discusses the relationship between the Guiding Principles and the Sustainable Development Goals. Also see: Our November 2016 position paper commissioned by the Business and […]

By Professor John Ruggie

September 2015 | Viewpoints

Corporate Contradictions

How companies can avoid four stumbling blocks on the path to respect for human rights.

As the reach of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights extends across ever more corporate sectors and regions, we see increasing numbers of companies putting time, thought and resources into understanding what respect for human rights should mean for their business. We see human rights policies being launched, innovative practices to manage […]

By Caroline Rees

November 2014 | Viewpoints

Six Reasons Why Lawyers Should Practice Law with Respect for Human Rights

The International Bar Association has issued draft guidance for legal professionals on the Guiding Principles.

Update: The draft guidance referred to in this Viewpoint was issued in final form by the IBA in June 2016. Lawyers can play a critical role in helping their clients respect human rights – including their corporate clients. Many lawyers from leading international law firms and in-house legal departments are already supporting their corporate clients’ efforts […]

By John F. Sherman III

July 2014 | Viewpoints

Treaties and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: The Way Forward

Neither companies nor governments should fear that the treaty process in Geneva is a diversion from, or dilution of, what has been achieved in the last 10 years with the Guiding Principles.

This Viewpoint was originally published in CSRWire. In 2004, I was representing the UK Government in the United Nations Human Rights Commission (predecessor to today’s Human Rights Council) when the subject of business and human rights hit its agenda. The proposition was a set of draft human rights “Norms,” supposedly binding on business. Companies were […]

By Caroline Rees

July 2014 | Viewpoints

The Rising Tide of Human Rights Reporting Requirements

The UK Financial Reporting Council's new guidance lays out expectations for companies on reporting on human rights.

Also see: Shift’s reporting program | our resource library section on policy and regulations, including reporting requirements On June 9, the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published guidance on the standards for corporate reporting that were introduced last year in the revised UK Companies Act. That law requires that all quoted companies report publicly on environmental matters, […]

By Anna Triponel

April 2014 | Viewpoints

Pointing the Way Forwards on Non-Financial Reporting

The adoption of the EU law on non-financial reporting is a potentially pivotal moment for the advancement of responsible business conduct.

Last week, the European Parliament adopted a new directive – or law – under which around 6,000 companies will have to report publicly on how they manage the environmental, social and human rights risks associated with their operations. Specifically, they will have to report on the relevant policies they have in place and those policies’ outcomes, […]

By Caroline Rees

March 2014 | Viewpoints

Paradigm Shift: It’s Time to Speak about the Purpose of the Corporation

A critical look at the role of companies in society, and the concept of shareholder value.

by Filip Gregor On February 11, 2014, Frank Bold (a purpose-driven law firm), the Cardiff Business School and Richard Howitt MEP, long-standing rapporteur of the European Parliament on corporate social responsibility (CSR), organized a conference in the European Parliament on the purpose of the corporation. The conference was the first major step in a project aspiring […]

November 2013 | Viewpoints

Corporate Lawyers and the Guiding Principles

Shift Chair and Guiding Principles author John Ruggie reflects on the implications of the Guiding Principles for lawyers.

On October 10, Shift and Microsoft jointly organized a dinner of in-house counsel and other lawyers to discuss the implications of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights for their work. Shift’s Chair, John Ruggie, spoke at the dinner and wrote the following blog about the event, which was also published by Microsoft […]

By Professor John Ruggie

October 2013 | Viewpoints

Tax Abuse as a Business and Human Rights Issue

Can corporate avoidance of taxes also lead to human rights harms?

Corporate tax abuses have been increasingly in the media and political spotlight in recent months. Think of the CEOs of Google, Amazon and Starbucks being called in front of a British House of Commons committee to defend their “immoral” tax practices—said to involve the use of complex tax structures to avoid paying taxes in the […]

By Lloyd Lipsett

September 2013 | Viewpoints

Raise the Curtain: Human Rights in Retail Supply Chains

Moving from auditing and codes to business integration and long-term relationships.

Supply chain human rights issues continue to make the headlines. Even in industries like apparel, it seems we are far from solutions despite significant investments to address systemic supply chain human rights issues since the 1990s. Technological trends suggest that in the next several years we will enter an age of “hyper-transparency” in upstream and […]

August 2013 | Viewpoints

Company-Community Conflicts: Challenges and Opportunities for Mediators in the African Context

Skilled mediators can help resolve complex company-community conflicts.

Also see: Cost of corporate-community conflict | Video series on corporate-community dialogue | Our resource library section on stakeholder engagement Experienced African facilitators, mediators, and leaders of conflict prevention organizations came together in a February 2013 expert roundtable on third party roles in the prevention and resolution of company-community conflicts in Africa. They considered conflicts including articulated grievances […]

May 2013 | Viewpoints

Consulting With Stakeholders in Myanmar

As Myanmar opens for business, how can companies ensure they hear from potentially affected people?

In 2011, the government of Myanmar, led by President Thein Sein, initiated a number of political and economic reforms to open the country up to the outside world. Last month, the European Union lifted all sanctions (except for an arms embargo) against Myanmar. Yet the very same day – April 22 – Human Rights Watch […]

By Anna Triponel

April 2012 | Viewpoints

Professional Responsibility of Lawyers under the Guiding Principles

Hard and soft law developments with implications for lawyers as they advise corporate clients on human rights.

The core responsibility of business under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights is to respect human rights, and to adopt policies, processes, and systems that enable them to know and show that they do so. So how should lawyers advise their corporate clients regarding this responsibility? This is not an idle question, […]

By John F. Sherman III

March 2012 | Viewpoints

The Shift From Principles to Practice

This Viewpoint by Shift Chair and Guiding Principles author John Ruggie looks at the early years of implementation of the Guiding Principles.

First published in June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed a set of Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that I had developed following nearly 50 international consultations. This marked the end of my six-year mandate as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Business and Human Rights. And it represented […]

By Professor John Ruggie
Result