Introduction

In today’s business environment, corporate actions play an increasing important role in promoting international standards of human rights.  This fact is underlined by the Global Compact—a voluntary code established by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2001 to ensure that companies fulfill their social obligations—which lists adherence to human rights as its first principal.

The Role of Business in Respecting and Promoting Human Rights Conference will explore the ways in which companies can integrate respect for human rights into their daily operations and long-term planning. The conference will bring together students, academics and other leading figures from civil society, government, business and the international community to share experiences and perspectives for how companies are using a human rights framework to ensure that business activities yield a positive social impact.

The conference will feature two moderated panel discussions: Policy Frameworks for Social Responsibility and Finance and Investment to Uphold Human Rights.  The emergence of policy guidelines and principals for corporate social action, such as the OECD guidelines for multinational corporations, the Global Reporting Initiative and Accountability 100, have helped to make companies increasingly accountable for their business activities. Though voluntary, these reporting guidelines serve as a valuable tool to attract public scrutiny, increase industry pressure and act as a common platform from which to compare performance and share experiences. The question remains, however, if guidelines can go beyond voluntarism and reporting.  What will the future regulatory environment for social responsibility look like?  Can the promotion and of human rights within this framework be strengthened?

One of the many ways in which the global business community influences the social outcomes of a given environment is through investment.  There is a growing recognition by both the public and private sector of the power that investment decisions have to influence human rights practices, and studies are showing that companies who integrate respect for human rights into their business practices can create shareholder value and stimulate further investment. Initiatives like the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the FTSE 4 Good are becoming new international standards for making socially responsible investment decisions, and a number of other institutional investors, such as Calperts and the Norwegian Pension Fund, are increasingly using a human rights framework to guide for their investment activities.