Due Diligence Implementation /
Our work /
Shift advises companies and financial institutions to implement human rights due diligence across their operations, and upstream and downstream value chains.
For more than 15 years, we have worked with businesses and associations in diverse sectors to establish the foundations for effective and credible due diligence implementation, while also supporting them to address some of the most complex and entrenched human rights challenges connected to their activities and value chains.
Our principled and pragmatic approach helps our partners to deliver positive impact, meet stakeholder expectations, and build more resilient businesses. Partners also benefit from the trusted position we hold with expert stakeholders, local partners, and civil society organisations around the world. We bring these relationships and networks into our work to strengthen company analysis and responses, and the evaluation of their effectiveness in practice.
Our approach /
Building the organisational foundations for effective due diligence
We support companies and financial institutions to establish the governance structures, policies, processes, and cross-functional collaboration needed to embed human rights due diligence across the business. We have helped hundreds of organisations to identify, prioritize and act on the most significant impacts on people connected to their business; and embed the necessary competence across all parts of the business critical to successfully anticipating and managing impacts and risks.
Helping to navigate complex and high-stakes human rights challenges
We support companies and financial institutions to understand and address some of the most entrenched and complex human rights challenges in their operations and value chains. Drawing on extensive global experience, we provide practical support on issues including child labour, forced labour, land rights, digital rights, FPIC, and living wages. We also conduct deep-dive due diligence and support organisations operating in high-risk contexts.
Supporting collective action and industry leadership
We help industry associations and multi-stakeholder initiatives raise sector-wide standards, tackle shared human rights challenges, and achieve impact at scale. Our support includes developing practical guidance, due diligence tools, and training aligned with the UN Guiding Principles. We also facilitate collective action, stakeholder dialogue, consensus building, and collaborative due diligence and remedy processes across sectors and geographies.
Building effective and credible responses to due diligence and reporting requirements /
We help companies respond to due diligence and reporting and requirements in ways that are practical, credible, and scalable. This includes advising on compliance with EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Forced Labour Regulation (FLR).
As due diligence and reporting requirements become increasingly interconnected, and as sector-specific and issue-specific regulations continue to emerge, we help companies avoid fragmentation and duplication by aligning existing systems and practices wherever possible. We pay special attention to what strengthens, versus distracts from, their ability to manage impacts on people and respond to evolving expectations.
We develop coherent and integrated approaches to due diligence and reporting, using the common foundation of the UN Guiding Principles to build a consistent “one methodology” approach that can meet external compliance and stakeholder expectations as well as internal risk management imperatives. This enables companies to generate more reliable information, reduce duplication of effort, and ensure greater consistency between what they do to identify and address impacts and what they disclose externally.
Featured resources /
Doing business with respect for human rights
A comprehensive guide to putting the UN Guiding Principles into practice across company operations and business relationships.
Establishing effective due diligence structures: Getting closer to a risk-based approach
Fair Circularity Principles
Principles for advancing a just transition to circular economy models that respect the rights of informal waste workers.
ETI Technical Guidance on Responsible Disengagement
A framework for ending business relationships responsibly while reducing harm to workers and affected stakeholders.
ICMM good practice guide on grievance mechanisms
Practical guidance for establishing and strengthening operational-level grievance mechanisms.
Advancing Responsible Development and Deployment of Generative AI
Recommendations for integrating human rights due diligence into the development and deployment of generative AI systems.
Using Leverage in Business Relationships to Reduce Human Rights Risks
Embedding Respect for Human Rights Within a Company’s Operations
Practical insights on building the leadership, governance, communication, and organizational culture needed to embed respect for human rights throughout a company’s operations and business relationship.
Operationalizing Remedy
Guidance on designing effective approaches to remedy that meet the expectations of the UN Guiding Principles.