Featured Resources
The Shift Library
Shift’s library has a growing collection of resources, tools and reports designed to help a variety of stakeholders put the UN Guiding Principles into practice. By default, resources are listed chronologically. You can use the search bar to look for titles by keyword or author, or use the filters below to search by change agent, thematic expertise, pillar of the UN Guiding Principles and/or date. Looking for Valuing Respect tools and resources? Visit the dedicated library of resources of the project, here.
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Designing an EU Due Diligence Duty that Delivers Better Outcomes
In our latest report, From Policing to Partnership: Designing an EU Due Diligence Duty that Delivers Better Outcomes, we set out clear recommendations to better align the core content of the duty to do due diligence in the draft Directive with the authoritative international standards for sustainability due diligence.


Shift’s Analysis of the EU Commission’s Proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
Shift welcomes the proposal of the EU Commission for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. This analysis offers our five initial reflections on how the proposal can be optimized by better aligning with the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Enforcement of Mandatory Due Diligence: Key Design Considerations for Administrative Supervision
In the context of the debate around mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (mHREDD) Shift and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have come together to explore how administrative supervision can complement civil liability for harms in the effective enforcement of due diligence requirements, and suggest practical guidance for policy-makers to avoid pitfalls in other areas of corporate regulation.

Audio | Getting Contractual Provisions on Human Rights, Right
A conversation with Shift’s General Counsel, John Sherman III on the Model Contract Clauses for Human Rights published by a working group of the American Bar Association, and how they can help companies incentivize rights-respecting behavior in suppliers – without the need to reinvent the wheel.

Ten Years After: From UN Guiding Principles To Multi-Fiduciary Obligations
Ten years on from the UN Guiding Principles, the soft law of human rights due diligence has helped provide a path beyond shareholder primacy towards stakeholder governance. This is now influencing hard law, particularly in Europe. In this paper, Shift's Chair, Professor John Ruggie, and our two co-founders, Caroline Rees and Rachel Davis explain the journey.

“Signals of Seriousness” for Human Rights Due Diligence
This discussion draft is intended for the consideration of the European Commission and other stakeholders as the Commission develops proposals on mHREDD and considers how national regulators would implement any such legislation. In this discussion draft, we propose some key signals that national regulators could use in assessing the seriousness or quality of a company’s HRDD, grouped into six broad areas of company practice

Accountability as part of Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence: Three Key Considerations for Business
In the context of the European debate on mandatory human rights due diligence, we explore what well-designed mandatory measures could look like, with a focus on the role of accountability – or consequences – for meeting a new legal standard of conduct. We set out three key considerations that we believe businesses that are committed to meeting their responsibility to respect human rights should keep in mind.

Keynote Address by John Ruggie at the Conference ‘Business & Human Rights: Towards a Common Agenda for Action’
These remarks were originally delivered by Professor John Ruggie at the Conference ‘Business & Human Rights: Towards a Common Agenda for Action’, on December 2, 2019. The Conference was co-organized by Shift and the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU. Many thanks to the government of Finland for convening this timely and important conference. […]

The Role of Regulation in a Mix of Measures to Foster Responsible Business Conduct
This panel was moderated by our Vice President, Rachel Davis. The panelists were: Nina Norjama, Director of Social Responsibility at UPM Salla Saastamoinen, Director for Civil and Commercial Justice at DG Just Filip Gregor, Head of Responsible Companies Section at Frank Bold Virginie Mahin, Global Social Sustainability and Human Rights Lead at Mondelez
