Further Reading
Key Standards
Investors should be aware of the following standards that underpin effective initiatives:
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
UNGPs
The global standard for preventing and addressing the risk of adverse impacts on human rights linked to business activity. Endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011, these principles are grounded in international human rights law and provide a framework for states and businesses to uphold human rights in a business context.
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct
OECD Guidelines
A set of recommendations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for multinational enterprises operating in or from adhering countries, aimed at promoting responsible business conduct consistent with applicable laws and internationally recognized standards. They cover a wide range of areas to ensure that MNEs contribute positively to economic, environmental, and social progress.
International Labour Organization’s Core Conventions
ILO Core Conventions
Eight fundamental international labor standards established by the International Labour Organization. These conventions cover essential principles and rights at work, aimed at promoting decent working conditions and protecting workers’ rights worldwide.
ISEAL Alliance
ISEAL
A global membership organization that brings together sustainability standards and certification bodies that commit to the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice to drive measurable change in environmental sustainability, social justice, and economic development.
International Organization for Standardization
ISO
A non-profit organization that convenes global experts to standardize approaches on various topics from product development to project management.
Recommended Reading
- Angelini, Antonella, and Shauna Curphey. “The Overlooked Advantages of the Independent Monitoring and Complaint Investigation System in the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Model in US Agriculture.” Business and Human Rights Journal 7, no. 3 (October 2022): 494–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/bhj.2022.25.
- Kelly, Ilona M., Christie Miedema, Ben Vanpeperstraete, and Ilana Winterstein. “Fig Leaf for Fashion. How Social Auditing Protects Brands and Fails Workers.” Clean Clothes Campaign, 2019. https://cleanclothes.org/....
- Kashyap, Aruna. “‘Obsessed with Audit Tools, Missing the Goal.’” Human Rights Watch, November 15, 2022. https://www.hrw.org/....
- Kuruvilla, Sarosh. Private Regulation of Labor Standards in Global Supply Chains: Problems, Progress, and Prospects. Cornell Scholarship Online, 2021. https://doi.org/10.7591/....
- LeBaron, Genevieve, Andreas Rümkorf, Jessie Brunner, Luis C. deBaca, Vivek Soundararajan, and Priscilla Fisher. “Social Auditing and Ethical Certification.” Re:Structure Lab, July 2022. https://restructurelab.org/....
- MSI Integrity, Not Fit-for-Purpose: The Grand Experiment of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in Corporate Accountability, Human Rights and Global Governance. MSI Integrity, July 2020. https://www.msi-integrity.org/not-fit-for-purpose/.
- Outhwaite, Opi, and Olga Martin-Ortega. “Worker-Driven Monitoring – Redefining Supply Chain Monitoring to Improve Labour Rights in Global Supply Chains.” Competition & Change 23, no. 4 (August 2019): 378–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/....
- Quijano, Gabriela, and Joseph Wilde-Ramsing. “A Piece, Not a Proxy.” SOMO, November 25, 2022. https://www.somo.nl/a-piece-not-a-proxy/.
- Short, Jodi L., Michael W. Toffel, and Andrea R. Hugill. “Monitoring Global Supply Chains.” Strategic Management Journal 37, no. 9 (2016): 1878–1897. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2417.
- Transparentem. “Hidden Harm: Audit Deception in Apparel Supply Chains and the Urgent Case for Reform.” October 2021. https://transparentem.org/project/hidden-harm/.
Additional Resource
Investors may also find the ITC Standards Map helpful — a map containing detailed information on voluntary sustainability standards, codes of conduct, audit protocols, and reporting frameworks.
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