India’s Business & Human Rights National Action Plan

In December 2018, the Indian government initiated the process of developing a Business and Human Rights National Action Plan (NAP) by releasing a zero draft - with a commitment to publish the final NAP in 2020. The Indian Ministry of Corporate...

Interview with Bill Godnick - 3 Simple Questions on Business and Human Rights

I met Salil Tripathi in the mid-2000s when we were both working in Colombia with oil and mining companies and NGOs on security and human rights frameworks in conflict zones. I found he was a person not easily defined as a man from the Global South...

COVID, Housing, and Climate - A Call for a Systems Shift

 The seemingly simple words “stay at home” have exposed the economic and racial inequality that divides most cities, countries, and regions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the centrality of the right to housing – fundamental to our ability to...

The Invisible Transport Workforce Keeping Supply Chains Moving

When we talk of front-line staff in the global coronavirus crisis, how often do we have in mind the docker, the seafarer, the long-distance freight trucker, the delivery driver – those transporting food, medical supplies, fuel and other essential...

Who is an “Essential Worker” in Times of Crisis?

There is a scene in Johan Renck’s highly acclaimed historical drama series, Chernobyl, when the Soviet authorities have to persuade 400 Russian and Ukrainian miners to risk their lives to prevent radioactive waste seeping into the water table and...

Too Few Women at the Top? Remove the Biases

On International Women’s Day, many cosmetic steps will be announced: there will be breathlessly tokenist gestures, such as an oil company changing its name for a day at one gas station, and a prime minister giving his social media handle to women...

Contending with the Coronavirus - What Should we Expect of Business During Global Health Emergencies?

In her opening statement last week to the United Nations Human Rights Council, UN High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet stressed that the unfolding coronavirus, COVID-19, outbreak constituted “a serious threat to the rights to life and to health of...

A Sustainable Maritime Industry Needs to get Human Rights Onboard

Anti-corruption and climate change has been high on the shipping agenda. However, the human rights challenges for crew, in ship building, ship repair and not least ship-recycling are many and complex. The global maritime industry should build on...

Linking Climate and Human Rights Throughout the Built Environment Lifecycle

Decisions about what we build, and how, define our future. And we are on a trajectory for explosive growth. Global building stocks are projected to double by 2060. By then, 70% of the world’s population will be city-based.

This comes at a time when...

The Best of 2019

Companies’ Role in Promoting Social Protectionism in the Coming Trade Wars

This article originally published in Ethical Corporation.

As we move into the third decade of the 21st century, the rules-based free trade system is under significant threat. Last month, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), the...

Reflections on Realising a Next Generation of Trade

As part of events to mark its 10th anniversary during 2019, IHRB hosted a major event on the future of international trade in an era of rising populism and protectionism.

Held at the Museum of London Docklands on 3rd December, the event brought...