BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS ACCELERATOR
The idea of human rights is as simple as it is powerful: That all people have a right to be treated with dignity.
Businesses often impact the human rights of their employees and contract workers, workers in their supply chains, the communities around their operations and even the end users of their products or services. Whether directly or indirectly, they impact virtually the entire spectrum of internationally recognized human rights.
As a result, companies have both a responsibility and an opportunity to advance human rights across operations, supply chains and beyond.
The Business & Human Rights Accelerator is a six-month programme activating companies participating in the UN Global Compact across industries and regions. This hands-on programme will help you move from commitment to action on human rights and labour rights through establishing an ongoing human rights due diligence process.
Structure
The Business & Human Rights Accelerator is a six-month programme that aims to empower your company to advance its human rights journey. Through a series of e-learning courses, peer-learning and working sessions you will be guided and equipped with the tools and knowledge to establish an effective human rights due diligence process aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights.
Stage 1
Participants understand the UN Global Compact Principles and the human rights due diligence process and scope out a core area of the value chain for further focus.
Stage 2
Participants scope the company value chain and identify potential impacts.
Stage 3
Participants prioritize salient human rights impacts and understand their involvement with those impacts.
Stage 4
Participants start implementing and tracking their human rights action plan.
Stage 5
Participants understand how to effectively engage affected stakeholders and communicate their impacts.
Stage 6
Participants understand remedy and grievance mechanisms.
Programme schedule & costs
Registration: September 21 to December 16, 2022
Programme duration: February to July 2023
Effort: 50 hours (over the 6-month period)
Language: English
Costs: Free of charge for UN Global Compact Participants in Switzerland or Liechtenstein
Participation: limited amount of spots available
Read more here
Eligibilty
In order to take part, companies are required to meet the following criteria:
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Be a participant of the UN Global Compact in Switzerland or Liechtenstein or willing to join
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Willing to work on its human rights journey
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Able to appoint
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Two representatives to participate in Accelerator activities and peer-learning sessions (in order to ensure that at least one representative can attend the facilitated sessions)
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An executive-level representative to follow Accelerator developments and provide internal support (participation in high-level events is voluntary)
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Benefits
The Accelerator will empower you to:
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Identify and assess your company’s actual or potential adverse human rights impacts
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Learn how to integrate those findings across processes and take appropriate action
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Track the effectiveness of measures and processes to know if they are working
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Communicate how impacts are being addressed and show stakeholders that your company is taking action and seeing results
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Build a network of peers, UN partners and experts to support your human rights journey and work collectively to tackle persistent barriers to implementing an effective human rights due diligence process
The Business & Human Rights Accelerator will be realised in collaboration with Shift.
