Last month, I attended an international Business and Human Rights (BHR) conference in Bonn that is organized by business representatives each year. One topic on the agenda was navigating between hard and soft law, which made me think a lot about the power of a smart mix in addressing business and human rights issues.
- A smart mix involves balancing soft law and hard law. Soft law, such as recognized guidelines and voluntary standards, provides flexibility and encourages innovation. Hard law, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), ensures accountability and fosters a harmonized approach. Neither approach alone is sufficient; together, they form a robust framework that can drive meaningful progress.
- In practice, a smart mix of measures is crucial to implement meaningful human rights due diligence. Effective implementation requires not only adherence to international standards but also tailoring actions to local contexts. It requires a smart mix of risk mitigation measures, such as a robust governance and thorough risk analysis, alongside a positive narrative that engages hearts and minds to foster cultural change within organizations.
- Collaboration and stakeholder engagement is another key ingredient for the smart mix. Both the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and the CSDDD emphasize engaging with different stakeholders, including rightsholders. Effective solutions come from collaboration, ensuring they are not only theoretically sound but also feasible in real-world applications.
- Integrating technology is another area, where a smart mix is crucial. Tech solutions can significantly aid human rights due diligence when combined with experience, qualitative information, and stakeholder engagement.
- As we all know, it sometimes takes several tries to find the right recipe, the right mix. Perfection from day one is an unrealistic expectation. Room for trial and error is essential, so that businesses can turn setbacks into opportunities for improvement. This demonstrates the rigor to follow through despite challenges, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
As you can guess by now, I’m a great advocate of the power of a smart mix to address business and human rights challenges. Having tackled due diligence in, with and for companies for many years, I’ve seen that the right mix looks different for each organization. But it’s almost always a combination of rules and innovation, global standards and local adaptations, technology and human insight, and processes and culture.
Finding that right mix of factors for an organization’s human rights risk management is something I really enjoy doing. And that’s why I started a business and human rights advisory firm. If you’d like to discuss the right mix for your business, reach out to me at stephanie@peopleatcore.com.
