Library | ESG issues
Human Rights
Human rights are the basic freedoms and protections every person holds regardless of nationality, status or circumstance. For financial institutions the central reference is the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which set out a responsibility to respect those rights through due diligence across operations, supply chains and investment portfolios. Adverse impacts such as forced labour, displacement of communities and unsafe working conditions carry legal, reputational and financial consequences, and increasingly fall within mandatory due diligence law.
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More than net-zero: Responsible corporate board activity & the just transition
This report examines the role of corporate boards in advancing a rights-respecting just transition. It details regulatory pressures, international guidance, and collaborative frameworks for integrating human rights into climate strategy. While highlighting best practices through case studies, it identifies significant governance gaps in current corporate implementation and accountability.
Social safeguarding process for landscape and jurisdictional initiatives (LJIs): Minimum expectations guidance
This guidance outlines a minimum social safeguarding process for Landscape and Jurisdictional Initiatives. It details four core stages—commitments, assessment, planning, and monitoring—supported by governance and grievance enablers. The report provides practical recommendations and case studies to help organisations protect stakeholders from unintended harm during project implementation.
Human rights assessment of the AI data supply chain
This BSR report assesses human rights impacts in the AI data supply chain. It identifies structural risks like buyer concentration and precarious platform models. Key findings highlight inadequate wages and psychological harm, offering strategic recommendations for companies to improve visibility and governance across their global sourcing practices.
Nuclear weapons no thanks - Except in portfolios: Do asset managers break their own rules on investing in nuclear weapons producers?
This report examines the nuclear weapons policies of 15 major asset managers against their actual investments. It finds that while many institutions claim adherence to international treaties, narrow definitions allow for continued financing of nuclear producers. The study highlights significant inconsistencies, particularly in sustainable funds, regarding companies in India and Israel.
How businesses are sustaining human rights progress in a rapidly changing world
This report outlines strategies for businesses to embed human rights into core operations despite geopolitical and economic volatility. It highlights how evolving legislation and strategic internal repositioning can transform human rights into a strategic priority, utilising data-driven narratives and cross-functional alliances to sustain progress in a rapidly changing world.
Grievance mechanisms and remediation: Disclosure by ASX100 financials and materials companies as reported in the modern slavery statements under the 8R Framework
This research assesses how ASX100 Financials and Materials companies disclose grievance mechanisms and remediation in modern slavery statements. Using the 8R Framework, the study finds disclosure is limited, averaging 14.28 out of 40. Materials firms outperformed Financials, highlighting gaps in remedy and stakeholder engagement across both sectors.
A World Bank Group strategy for engaging in fragility, conflict and violence affected settings (2026-2030)
This report outlines the World Bank Group 2026-2030 strategy for fragility, conflict, and violence-affected settings. It introduces four strategic shifts: anticipating risks, adopting differentiated approaches, unifying the jobs agenda, and enhancing operational toolkits. The strategy aims to scale impact through flagship initiatives and improved human resource practices.
Water Under Fire: An urgent call to protect water, sanitation and hygiene in conflict
This report is part of a series examining the impact of armed conflict on water, sanitation and hygiene systems globally. It identifies patterns of harm to infrastructure, personnel and users, while detailing adaptive approaches and conflict-resilient strategies to maintain essential services in fragile environments to protect children.
Mindful Money Impact Tool
The Mindful Money Impact Tool provides transparency for New Zealand investors, allowing them to check fund holdings and filter for ethical criteria such as climate friendliness and human rights. It is a key resource for ESG analysis and values-aligned portfolio management.
Transition minerals in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
A tracker from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre monitoring environmental and human rights allegations linked to 20 critical transition minerals across 16 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Data centers and social impacts: What matters for financial institutions / Financial Institutions Practitioners Circle
This report examines the social impacts of AI-driven data centre expansion. It identifies five key challenges for financial institutions, including community opposition and developer unfamiliarity with international standards. The research provides practical insights for banks to integrate social due diligence and leverage influence to improve project outcomes.
Modern approaches to modern slavery: Addressing risks and impacts in investor portfolios
This research examines how investors can move beyond policy-based assessments to identify modern slavery risks. It introduces Schroders' risk model and Shift's business model red flags to address structural vulnerabilities and supply chain opacity, helping investors protect long-term value through targeted engagement and improved data disclosure.
Collective power: The struggle for protection for land and environmental defenders
Global Witness reports that 124 land and environmental defenders were killed in 2025, bringing the total since 2012 to 2,375. Colombia remains the deadliest country. The report advocates for collective protection mechanisms and highlights the criminalisation of Indigenous communities resisting land grabs in Peru and Indonesia.
Decent work in the platform economy must include outsourced and migrant workers
This Equidem briefing highlights how platform companies use outsourcing and algorithmic management to evade labour responsibilities. It calls for international standards to include migrant workers and subcontractors, addressing issues like recruitment debt, opaque management, and fragmented accountability across digital supply chains in regions including the Gulf and the Philippines.
The state of domestic work in 2025: 15 years after Convention No. 189
This International Labour Organization report examines global domestic work trends for 2025. With 80 million workers, the sector remains 83.1 per cent informal. Key findings highlight significant wage gaps, gender disparities, and extreme working hours, underscoring the need for formalisation and improved labour protections to achieve decent work.
Investor expectations of companies on deforestation
This report details investor expectations for companies to eliminate deforestation and associated human rights risks. Using a five-pillar framework—Commit, Assess, Transform, Engage, and Disclose—it aims to mitigate material financial risks while building supply chain resilience and supporting international climate and biodiversity targets by 2030.
