Related initiatives

In 2015, UN Member States adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals. The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights has highlighted the role of business in pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasising the UN Guiding Principles as a framework for positive steps moving forward, and underscoring corporate respect for human rights in the context of sustainable development. It has also published key recommendations for embedding human rights in the private sector’s envisaged contribution to the SDGs.

The Danish Institute of Human Rights has published a database of concrete actions by companies to place human rights due diligence at the heart of their business and their SDG activities.

For further reading, please see this paper by Shift, commissioned by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, which explains the connection between human rights and the SDGs.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has developed Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct which it describes as reflecting “the expectation from governments to businesses on how to act responsibly [in] all key areas of business responsibility, including human rights, labour rights, environment, bribery, consumer interests, as well as information disclosure, science and technology, competition, and taxation.” The Guidelines include information on risk-based due diligence “a process through which businesses identify, prevent and mitigate their actual and potential negative impacts and account for how those impacts are addressed”.

As part of the guidelines, governments establish National Contact Points (NCPs) for Responsible Business Conduct, which promote the guidelines and provide advice on how to “handle cases against companies when the OECD Guidelines are not observed as a non-judicial grievance mechanism.”

Information about the OECD Guidelines in Ireland is available here.

The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. It aims to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders; it supports companies to:

• do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption; and
• take strategic actions to advance broader societal goals, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.

The Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact are derived from: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.

The UN Global Compact promotes tools and resources aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

In January 2021, the Tánaiste addressed a Global Compact event in Ireland and subsequently jointly authored an opinion piece on the issue with the Global Compact chief executive and director, Sanda Ojiambo.

The UN Global Compact Network Germany and the German Institute for Human Rights have published a Discussion Paper which outlines why and how businesses integrate human rights due diligence in their approach to the SDGs.

The UN Global Compact has also partnered with UNICEF and Save the Children to produce Children's Rights and Business Principles which define what business can do to support children’s rights as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) describes itself as “the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment” which works “to understand the investment implications of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors; and to support its international network of investor signatories in incorporating these factors into their investment and ownership decisions.”

The PRI’s six Principles for Responsible Investment were developed by investors for investors and are “a voluntary and aspirational set of investment principles that offer a menu of possible actions for incorporating ESG issues into investment practice.” The PRI describe the principles as attracting “a global signatory base representing a majority of the world’s professionally managed investments.”

The global standards for sustainability reporting (GRI) “create a common language for organizations – large or small, private or public – to report on their sustainability impacts in a consistent and credible way. This enhances global comparability and enables organizations to be transparent and accountable. The Standards help organizations understand and disclose their impacts in a way that meets the needs of multiple stakeholders. In addition to reporting companies, the Standards are highly relevant to many other groups, including investors, policymakers, capital markets, and civil society.”

The Business Working Responsibly Mark is the leading independently audited standard for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability certification in Ireland. The Mark is audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and based on ISO26000. It is open to both members and non-members of Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI). Once achieved, it is valid for 3 years.