Will respecting human rights make the business more profitable?

Increasingly the answer is yes. The issue of human rights is moving up the agenda. Though it is not that straight forward. Typically it will take a while before you can see it on the company’s bottom line.

Focusing on human rights, and other ethical approaches, can help build your company’s transparency. It can serve as a radar or early warning system.

ETHICAL IS CORPORATE THINKING
Business is getting better at recognizing the importance of the human rights agenda. We are no longer debating whether business has a responsibility to respect human rights. The conversation has moved on to focus on how business can effectively embed this responsibility across corporate value chains.

Personally I think it is encouraging to see, that businesses of all sizes, across different sectors and geographies are increasingly cognisant of the need to respect human rights, and the implications of failing to do so. Human rights are no longer perceived as fringe issues for global business, but are increasingly being placed at the centre of how businesses operate.

Progress is for sure being made to embed human rights in corporate thinking. There remains an imbalance in how businesses are going about implementing the considerations.

BENEFITS
It enables you to identify potential problems and to resolve them before they become more serious and costly. It may also improve customer relations and reputation, and enhance employees job satisfaction with a positive impact on productivity and efficiency.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE
Some companies have chosen to work together with other companies who face similar issues.
Anglo-American, the London-based multinational mining company, has done this with its Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT), sharing its knowledge and experience in developing and undertaking human rights impact assessments, by making the tool available to be used by others.

WHY (SEAT)
Anglo American is committed to making a lasting positive contribution to the communities associated with its operations, and to being a partner of choice for host governments and communities, as well as an employer of choice. The effective management of social issues
is a necessary element of good overall operational management, and a source of competitive advantage.

WHAT IS SEAT?
It is a tool to manage impacts on both host communities – where operations are located – and
associated communities – those from where labour is drawn or which are otherwise impacted by our operations. SEAT provides managers with international best-practice guidance and tools to develop strategies for enhancing the positive impact of their operations, while also mitigating any negative impacts. SEAT is firmly rooted in the practicalities and commercial considerations of the business.

Since its launch in 2003, SEAT has been used at over 50 operations in 16 countries, and has become an important tool in how the Business Units manage their business performance. SEAT has been used, for example, to inform local procurement decisions; as part of the risk management process; and to provide guidance to capital projects implementing their stage gate requirements.

Seat has business value. It provides a framework to build constructive and transparent dialogue with stakeholders. It helps managers identify business strategies with
positive socio-economic impact. It helps local operations secure their licence to operate and the trust of stakeholders.

Learn more about the tool here.

Please share this blogpost if you like it.

Learn more about Responsible Procurement Excellence and how we can help your company build a more ethical approach. Download our free stuff, participate in our webinars or simply dive into our articles and blog posts for more inspiration.

Responsible Procurement Excellence has specialized in helping companies around the world develop and integrate an actionable approach to Responsible Procurement. 

An actionable approach goes beyond compliance, has a positive effect on the reputation, raises efficiency and generates revenue. 

Stay connected, sign up for the newsletter.