Report B&HR India 1Nov2017 - twentyfifty · ! 3! SPECIAL!SESSION:!DRIVING!BUSINESS!&!HUMAN!RIGHTS!IN!INDIANBUSINESSES!!!!! 1NOVEMBER!2017,!NEW!DELHI!!...

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SPECIAL SESSION: DRIVING BUSINESS & HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIAN BUSINESSES 1 NOVEMBER 2017, NEW DELHI

Jindal Stainless Ltd. (JSL) and twentyfifty Ltd. convened this special meeting to share local & global experiences; discussed pathways of a Business Form in India on Business and Human Rights (B&HR). 12 participants from diverse backgrounds attended this session, which was kindly hosted by JSL at their head office in New Delhi. The key note was presented by Mrs. Jindal, reemphasising the need of sensitization of all employees on responsible business practices, such as B&HR. For the closing remarks, Mr. Kamal Singh (Executive Director-‐GCNI1) and Ms. Christine Chung (OHCHR2) shared their engagements of their respective organisations. All participants felt a strong need for the following:

• A forum for businesses in India, to discuss and share PRACTICAL experience of implementing responsible business practices, such as B&HR.

• Regular sensitisation remains important (with employees, business partners & communities) to develop traction on B&HR.

Following structure was proposed of the forum for businesses. This will be refined with further consultations with businesses and interested stakeholders:

• Objective: Peer learning and collective action by businesses in India.

• Scope: focus on practical implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD).

• Members: all businesses based in India (preferably a diverse group), with commitment from top leadership.

• Meetings: once a quarter with a sponsoring company hosting the venue and refreshments

• Training for the group: once in 6 months, facilitated by international and regional experts.

• Commitment: an annual fee from each participating company, which will cover training and facilitations.

• Local publications and guidance: group will explore with GCNI and academic institutions.

1 Global Compact Network India 2 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

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Below are key discussion points and outcomes of this session:

• Landscape of B&HR in India (facilitated by Brig Rajiv Williams, Corporate Head CSR, JSL)

‘Business & Human Rights are two sides of the same coin’

o Shift of focus needed-‐ Customer, investors and other stakeholders are asking questions on business impacts. Shifting focus to engage on this topic requires open conversations on business impacts, which can propel actions for addressing chronic issues, i.e. land acquisition, bribery, migrants, inclusion, etc. The effective expansion of Indian businesses can only happen when there is an active engagement to address these issues. B&HR should be considered an important enabler of businesses.

o Reporting needs effective measurements-‐ the NVGs3 (Principle 5) and GRI G44 requires companies to report on their human right impacts. There is a certainly a long way to go in measuring impacts. Mere compliance to national and local requirements has limited value.

o Sharing of business practices-‐ many leading companies in India are taking action; however, there is a need to create a safe space for discussing issues and sharing of best practices. In 2012, a CEO forum5 was launched under the guidance of Mr. Narayana Murthy, however sustaining this forum had multiple challenges. In 2017, CII6 (along with NHRC7) and GCNI are driving various areas of responsible business agenda, which is very important for Indian businesses. Lemon Tree Hotels are embedding inclusion in their core business and sharing their learnings with other companies. However, to scale up B&HR initiatives in India (also to include MSMEs), there is a strong need of a common platform.

• Sharing of global experiences (facilitated by Luke Wilde, CEO twentyfifty)

‘Businesses should be developing a strong process of inquiry and action about their HR impacts’

o Effect of NAPs8 on businesses-‐ many countries have published NAP on B&HR (UK, Germany, US, France,

etc.). The new legislation being developed from these NAPs (US California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, EU Directive on disclosure of non-‐financial and diversity information, UK Modern Slavery Act, French Duty of Vigilance Law, German CSR-‐Directive, Dutch Child Labour Law, EU Conflict Minerals,

3 National Voluntary Guidelines of India 4 Global Reporting Initiative 5 Initiated by Global Business Initiative (GBI) and supported by GCNI 6 Confederation of Indian Industry 7 National Human Rights Commission 8 National Action plans on Business & Human Rights

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etc.) has resulted in increased due diligence, especially in supply chains. Since India is a major supply base of the world and aspires to be the preferred location for FDI, there is a huge opportunity to simultaneously drive economic growth and responsible business practices. A short presentation of global experiences has been shared with this report (includes links to publications).

o Leveraging from other peer learning groups-‐ twentyfifty shared its work of facilitating a ‘peer learning group’ for German businesses (along with DGCN9). The group actively discusses priority areas and shares developments on B&HR. To develop a Business Forum in India, it was proposed to leverage from the learnings of the German group and other coalitions.

• Enabling B&HR in India (facilitated by Rishi Singh, twentyfifty)

o Advancing HR Due Diligence-‐ B&HR has clearly a business case, however there is a long way to go in India. Companies need to advance from merely reporting impacts to creating performance. Human Right Due Diligence (HRDD) provides a holistic approach in engaging on all responsible business practices (SDGs, UNGC principles, CSR, NVGs, climate change, reporting-‐ BRR, GRI). Some companies have started using the HRDD, especially HR Impact Assessments and more companies can benefit from this holistic approach.

o Capacity building of businesses-‐ Almost every practitioner agreed on the need of building capacity of business managers and partners. Demystifying B&HR is essential to develop operational sense at all levels in a business.

o Business Form in India on B&HR-‐ considering the strong need of collective action, it was proposed to create a forum specifically for businesses in India. This forum will leverage from previous initiatives (CEOs Forum, other peer learning efforts) and provide a space for business to engage and discuss on B&HR topics. HR Due Diligence will be the core process driving the activities of the forum. Various suggestion from participants were noted, especially on desired outcomes and commitment of potential members.

9 German Global Compact Network

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• Closing remarks and other points:

o Christine Chung (OHCHR)-‐ explained the role of OHCHR in the UN system, and its interest in Business and Human Rights. OHCHR supports civil society engagement with the international human rights mechanisms and the High Commissioner's mandate requires that OHCHR monitors the overall human rights situations in India. Collective action on B&HR is certainly welcomed.

o Mr. Kamal Singh (ED, GCNI)-‐ GCNI has taken steps to increase awareness of members on B&HR. A primer on B&HR was launched earlier this year and there is growing focus on driving UNGC’s Principle 1. There is a need to develop partnerships to lead the responsible business practices. GCNI has offered full support for driving this agenda and Business Forum on B&HR.

Organisations represented in this session:

• Amnesty Worldwide Movement for Women and Child Rights • Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) • Global Compact Network India (GCNI) • Gram Unnati • Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) • Human Rights Council • Jindal Stainless Ltd. (host) • Jubilant Life Sciences • Lemon Tree Hotels • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights • twentyfifty Ltd. (facilitator) • UN office in India

Report prepared by: Rishi Sher Singh Special thanks to Ms. Vileena (from CSR team of JSL) for coordinating this event. Date: 8th November 2017

‘Ease of doing business should

include responsible business

practices such as HR Due Diligence’

Report B&HR India 1Nov2017 - twentyfifty · ! 3! SPECIAL!SESSION:!DRIVING!BUSINESS!&!HUMAN!RIGHTS!IN!INDIANBUSINESSES!!!!! 1NOVEMBER!2017,!NEW!DELHI!!...

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