Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Rights Advocacy

In this modern era, with the growing trend of multinational corporations, the companies have a social obligation to work towards the development of the society and to shape the future of the country.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of the interdependence of people on one another that was previously unrecognized. The pandemic has also provided an opportunity for companies to support corporate social responsibility by addressing pressing social and environmental issues being faced by the world.

Proponents of corporate social responsibility believe that although they make huge profits at the expense of society, companies and corporations have a moral obligation to give back to the society.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a way through which companies benefit themselves while ensuring that it benefits the society, we live in. This framework of CSR needs to be followed by every individual and company to maintain harmony between the economy and the environment. This newest management strategy is adopted by many organizations to create a positive impact on society while practicing business. It helps maintain and sustaining the equilibrium between the two.

The connection of corporate social responsibility with human rights consists in the recognition that, although companies participate in economic activity, they have a fundamental responsibility to prevent the violation of the rights of individuals and communities. This goes beyond just complying with legal requirements and includes proactive measures to identify and mitigate potential human rights violations in their operations and supply chain.

However, there are times when the human rights violation is takes place and we need organisations to take adequate steps towards the same. This article discusses over such challenges and how organisations advocate human rights along with performing corporate social responsibility.

Introduction

Corporate Social Responsibility is a business approach that is focused to contribute positively towards the society while generating maximum profits and to meet the legal obligations without fail. This approach integrates social, environmental, and ethical concerns together under company’s operations and interactions with stakeholders. The human rights advocacy on the other hand aims that regardless of the individual’s race, gender, nationality, or social status it protects and promotes the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.

In the recent times, the concept of CSR has evolved to encompass human rights advocacy. It is being recognised by many companies that they have a responsibility to respect and uphold the human rights in their operations and supply chains. Corporations impact human rights in significant ways. These impacts have increased over recent decades as the economy and political influence of corporations has grown, and as corporations have become more involved in delivering services previously provided by governments.

Importance of CSR

1. Companies that are committed towards ensuring their corporate social responsibility and engaged in protecting human rights often have a higher brand image. Thus, the Consumers are more likely to support companies who adhere to their ethics and values.
2. The labour market is quite competitive and performing corporate social responsibility can be a crucial factor in attracting and retaining top talent as it gives individual working there a sense of purpose and fulfilment in the work they do.
3. Companies can identify and address potential risks and weaknesses by integrating social responsibility into their business practices. This helps in avoiding any legal and reputational problems, thus ensuring long-term sustainability.
4. CSR provide opportunities for companies to engage with stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities in decision-making processes. Thus, helping companies build stronger relationships and foster mutual trust.
5. It also allows companies to positively impact society by addressing issues related to poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, and human rights abuses.

Role Human Rights Advocacy in Businesses

Protection of human rights involves the promoting and protecting fundamental rights. These rights include both civil and political rights such as freedom of expression and rights to fair trial, as well as economic, social, and cultural rights such as the right to education and health care, etc. So, participating in the promotion of human rights is not only morally necessary, but also makes good business sense.

Companies need to respect human rights to attract more customers, investors, and employees. In addition, addressing human rights issues may entail legal, reputational, and operational risks. To have effective protection of human rights, companies must integrate human rights into their core business by conducting human rights audit, assessing and addressing potential risks, and implementing policies and procedures to prevent human rights violations.

Protecting human rights requires cooperation between businesses, governments, civil society organizations and other stakeholders. Working together, these actors can leverage their strengths and resources to address human rights challenges more effectively and systematically.

It is important for the companies to be transparent. Companies must disclose information about their human rights policies, practices, and activities so that stakeholders can hold them accountable and with regular reporting and independent verification companies can increase their credibility and trust.

How CSR Promotes Human Rights

CSR initiatives must be integrated into a company’s overall business strategy to effectively promote human rights. Potential human rights must be considered to understand how it will impact all the business activities and incorporate respect for human rights into decision-making processes.

To promote human rights companies should ensure fair labour practices throughout their supply chains, which includes providing safe working conditions, fair wages, reasonable working hours, prohibiting child labour, forced labour, and discrimination in all forms.

Suppliers and business partners of the company must respect human rights and it can be achieved through rigorous due diligence processes which includes risk assessment, supplier audits, and contractual obligations. Such collaborations with suppliers to address human rights issues is essential for the companies.

Protection of the environment is closely linked to human rights because environmental degradation often disproportionately affects the marginalized communities. For preservation of ecosystems and the protection of human rights it is important to implement environmentally sustainable practices.

It is vital for the companies to engage with local communities to promote human rights. The affected communities must be consulted by the companies, and they should involve these communities in decision-making processes as it will ensure that their rights and interests are being respected and that the development projects will benefit the community.

Challenges to Corporate Social Responsibility in Human Rights Advocacy

1. Despite the progress of companies in CSR initiatives, a lot of them lack accountability because of the weak regulatory frameworks and limited access to justice. The complex global supply chains make it very difficult to hold these companies accountable for their actions.
2. Companies should refrain from greenwashing which means making false or exaggerated claims. This would undermine the credibility of CSR initiatives and therefore hinder the genuine efforts that are being made to promote human rights.
3. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they often lack the resources and  the capacity to implement these robust CSR programs because they have limited financial resources, expertise, and awareness which makes it even more challenging for SMEs to address the human rights issues effectively.
4. The CSR initiatives often lack as they don’t consider the cultural and contextual factors which are important to be effective. The Local customs, norms, and legal frameworks are important to be considered as they significantly impact the implementation of such CSR programs, particularly in multinational companies that are operating in diverse environments.
5. These Companies also face tensions between the economic objectives and the social responsibilities. For the companies it can be challenging to balance the interests of shareholders, employees, and other stakeholders especially when the short-term financial gains are being prioritized over the long-term sustainability.

Recommendation to Enhance Corporate Social Responsibility

1. There is a need for clear and comprehensive CSR strategies that would integrate social responsibility and human rights as this strategy will align with international human rights standards while also being regularly reviewed and thus updated.
2. Human rights due diligence must be conducted by the companies for identifying, preventing, and mitigating the potential human rights risks and their impact. This includes assessing the actual and potential human rights impact of the business activities and thus taking appropriate action to address them.
3. There should be proper engagement between businesses with their stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and local communities, with the aim to understand each other’s perspectives and to incorporate their feedback into decision-making processes.
4. Collaboration of the companies  with other businesses, NGOs, and civil societies is essential to promote human rights and to advance CSR initiatives. Companies can amplify the impact by sharing knowledge, resources, and best practices.
5. Transparent reporting practices must be adopted by companies, and they should communicate their CSR efforts and performances to their stakeholders. They must ensure that there is regular reporting on social and environmental performance and that there is proper disclosure of information about human rights policies and practices.
6. The supply chains of the companies must adhere to human rights and social responsibility standards by conducting supplier audits and implementing code of conduct. They must also provide training and support to suppliers to improve labour and environmental practices.
7. Companies must support organizations that are working to promote human rights by providing financial support, technical expertise, and advocacy by funding human rights initiatives, offering pro bono services, or engaging in public advocacy campaigns.
8. Companies must engage in policy dialogue with governments to shape regulations and standards that would promote CSR and human rights. They must actively participate in public policy discussions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these two concepts of corporate social responsibility and human rights advocacy are interconnected concepts that can generate significant positive impacts in our society.

This Social responsibility and human rights considerations must be integrated into business operations, companies can thus create a more sustainable and inclusive future of the society.

Various organizations, Governments, NGOs, and civil societies are also playing a  crucial role in promoting and facilitating Corporate Social Responsibility and human rights advocacy and by working together, these actors can simply drive systemic change in the society and build a more just, equitable and responsible business environment.

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Author

Shreya Chopra