8th Conference on Corporate Social ResponsibilityCroatian Business Council for Sustainable Development

Zagreb, CroatiaDecember 1, 2016

Tomislav Ivančić, Advisor

• Leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

• We facilitate dialogue and build capacity through direct engagement

• We work with select companies, governments, civil society, industry and international organizations

• Non-profit, mission-driven

WHO IS SHIFT?

1. What is Business and Human Rights?

2. An introduction to UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

3. What are the new expectations of business?

4. What is expected of states? Examples of state action, human rights disclosure, public procurement, NAPs

5. What does this mean for companies and governments in Southeastern Europe, including Croatia?

OUTLINE

1. WHAT IS BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS?

http://www.wbcsd.org/Clusters/Social-Impact/Resources/Business-Human-Rights-From-Principles-to-Action

KEY BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS

SINCE 2011

2. WHAT ARE THE UN GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN

RIGHTS?

FRAMEWORK

CONVERGING STANDARDS

3. WHAT IS EXPECTED OF BUSINESS?

RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT

Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

• Focus on risk to people, not just risk to business• In own operations and all business relationships• Compliance with local law may not be sufficient• Cannot offset negative impacts by ‘doing good’

Policy Commitment and Embedding

Human Rights Due Diligence

Remedy and Grievance Mechanisms

HUMAN RIGHTS RISK HEAT MAP

EXAMPLE: ICT COMPANY IN HIGH RISK AREA

USING LEVERAGE

Leverage:the activity of influencing another's behavior

Leverage is not just about what is possible today, but also how leverage could be built to have more influence tomorrow

4. WHAT IS EXPECTED OF STATES?

STATE DUTY TO PROTECT

• Set clear expectations for business

Policy coherence (or at least reduce incoherence)

Need for a smart mix of policy and regulation

• Pay attention to the state-business nexus

Eg, state ownership, procurement, export credit

• Establish a foundation of state-based remedy

HUMAN RIGHTS DISCLOSUREUnited States

• Dodd-Frank Act and SEC rules on conflict minerals

• State Department reporting requirements for Myanmar

• California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (and federally?)

United Kingdom

• Companies Act requirements for directors of listed companies

• Modern Slavery Act 2015 for all companies with turnover > £36 million in UK

European Union

• Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014 applies to c 6,000 largest companies. Conflict minerals?

PROCUREMENT

US Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)

• Covers trafficking and forced labor with additional requirements if contract involves overseas goods or services

• Disqualification of contractors that have repeatedly violated US labor laws

• Agencies may choose to require disclosure of sub-contractors

European Union

• Revision to the EU’s Procurement Directives, now include reference to social responsibility, active as of 2017

NATIONAL ACTION PLANS (NAPs) ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

NAPs completed/underway in >35 countries, structured to the UNGPs

European Union

• Completed - the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Lithuania, Finland, United Kingdom

• Norwegian NAP – encouragement of improved human rights disclosure using UNGP Reporting Framework

• NAPs underway - Poland, Spain, France, Ireland, Germany

International

• NAPs completed in Chile, Colombia, underway in several countries around the world, including the United States and Japan

5. BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: A LOOK AT CROATIA

AND SOUTHESATERN EUROPE

WHERE TO START

• Business and Human Rights? Ča će mi to?

• Framing salient human rights risks: higher risk sectors such as tourism, agriculture, construction, shipbuilding

• Oil exploration in the Adriatic?

• Larger Croatian companies, SMEs

• Examples on how to mitigate risks:

– What can businesses do?

– What can the government do?

EXAMPLE: COMMUNITY RIGHTS

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-bosnia-camp-idUKBRE8750X020120806

EXAMPLE: NON-DISCRIMINATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

http://www.vecernji.hr/hrvatska/diskriminacija-najveca-na-poslu-i-pri-zaposljavanju-424981

https://career.hm.com/content/hmcareer/hr_hr/workingathm/get-to-know-us/our-workplace.html

SUGGESTIONS: GOVERNMENT ACTION

• Reaching out to citizens and businesses

• National Action Plan - involving relevant ministries and government bodies

• State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)

• Good jobs: embedding business and human rights in inward investment

• Long-term thinking: what impacts will decisions have on risks to people, and in turn, how will that effect the economy?

Hvala!

Tomislav Ivančićtomislav.ivancic@shiftproject.org