Early-stage private capital investors help steer technological innovation and ultimately have a significant impact on corporate behaviour within the tech sector. The report highlights the impending mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation and provides regulatory compliance recommendations.

The report recognises that investors’ access to credible information about the impact of their portfolio companies on people globally is not always easy. Hence, meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders such as digital rights groups including organisations focused on tech and gender, the environment, racial justice, and persons with disabilities becomes imperative. They provide an expert source to help effectively mitigate human rights risks linked to operational, compliance and reputational concerns in various locations.

Investors who create pre-established and publicly available communication channels for digital rights groups, recognise disparities in resources and access to funds to include diverse civil society representatives in multi-stakeholder discussions will ensure meaningful engagement with stakeholders. The report suggests that investors share how the discussions have impacted their businesses and consider the recommendations during their decision-making process. Investors can also use information gathered during stakeholder engagement to convene dialogues with investee companies, participating in coordination efforts, carrying out research, and signing public pledges with groups of like-minded investors. These tactics encourage companies to build up their human rights due diligence procedures and share best practices from other investee companies, independently decrease the cost of capital for tech companies that have strong environmental, social, and governance performance and engage with stakeholders to learn from and respond to the harmful impacts of their investments.

The report concludes by suggesting that investors interested in learning more about stakeholder engagement should engage with human-rights-centred alliances and coalitions and provide regular support to digital rights conferences promoting their commitment to ensure their capital is not used to harm or undermine human rights. Investors should also consider developing rights-related blacklists for repeat-offender companies and exclusionary screens for technologies that are fundamentally non-compliant with international human rights law. They should have a responsible divestment strategy based on best practices identified by civil society and process for exiting relationships realistically no longer exists.