UN Global Compact launches new Business & Human Rights Navigator with the German Helpdesk on Business & Human Rights and Verisk Maplecroft

New business resource guides companies around the world to better understand and address human rights impacts in their operations and supply chains.

UNITED NATIONS, New York, 29 March 2022 — Today, the United Nations Global Compact together with the German Government’s Helpdesk on Business & Human Rights and Verisk Maplecroft launched the Business & Human Rights Navigator (“BHR Navigator”). The user-friendly online resource has been specifically developed to help companies around the world better understand and address human rights impacts in their global operations and supply chains.

Users will be able to access clear, actionable guidance from internationally recognized experts and access in-depth analyses of key human rights issues, due diligence recommendations, as well as impactful case studies illustrating how other businesses have responsibly addressed their human rights impacts.

The BHR Navigator is informed by and aligned with the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) with the aim of enhancing companies’ understanding of the Ten Principles and how they can be effectively operationalized in response to key human rights challenges, particularly through the implementation of an ongoing due diligence process. The BHR Navigator comes at an important juncture in the business and human rights landscape as emerging legislation on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence gains traction around the world, including through the recent draft proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence from the European Commission.

“Today’s businesses face a variety of interconnected challenges when it comes to respecting human rights, particularly when they face complex social, political and economic contexts. The solutions to these dilemmas are not always straightforward,” said Sanda Ojiambo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. “The Business & Human Rights Navigator cuts through the noise and provides clear, comprehensive guidance in line with international standards to show businesses everywhere how to enact an effective due diligence process and take meaningful actions that contribute to a world where no one is left behind.”

Companies can currently explore ten key issues through the BHR Navigator including freedom of association; forced labour; child labour; discrimination; occupational safety and health; living wage; working time; gender equality; migrant workers and indigenous peoples.

Critically, the BHR Navigator includes unique guidance on how these issues can be managed by providing:

• An overview of the human rights issue 
• Risk factors for key industries
• Due diligence suggestions
• Case studies
• Additional recommended resources

The BHR Navigator also guides the user through the following due diligence steps:

• Policy development
• Impact assessment
• Integration/actions to address impacts
• Performance tracking
• Communication of performance
• Remediation and grievance mechanisms

The resources were developed in coordination with UN Human Rights (OHCHR). The International Labour Office (ILO) provided technical support on the principles of international labour standards as they concern company operations. Global Compact Network Germany advised the project as a conceptual partner. The Navigator was further supported by review and inputs from Global Compact Local Networks in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Nigeria, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The BHR Navigator is available in English, German and Spanish.

About the United Nations Global Compact

As a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 12,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and 69 Local Networks, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world.

For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.

About the Helpdesk on Business & Human Rights

The Helpdesk on Business & Human Rights is a free support service of the German Federal Government. We advise companies of all sizes individually, confidentially and free of charge on the topic of human rights due diligence. Our experienced advisors serve as a point of contact for initial advice and referrals, and help you to integrate environmental and social standards along your supply and value chain. Our services also include tailor-made training, different event formats, project support and free online tools.

The Helpdesk is situated within the Agency for Business & Economic Development (AWE). The AWE is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and its executing agencies are the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and DEG — Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of KfW Bankengruppe.

For more information, follow @HelpdeskWiMR on social media and visit our website at wirtschaft-entwicklung.de/en/helpdesk-on-business-human-rights.

About Verisk Maplecroft

As organisations strive to understand and adapt to a fast-changing world, Verisk Maplecroft empowers them to put the environment, human rights and political risk at the heart of their decision-making. We do this by providing unparalleled intelligence on sustainability, resilience and ESG – stitching together these disparate issues into an interconnected global view, built upon objective insight and data. By thinking ‘big picture’ we capture what matters most to our partners; making positive outcomes possible in a time of change; helping people, business and societies become stronger; creating value with values. Verisk Maplecroft is a Verisk business (Nasdaq:VRSK).

For more information, follow @MaplecroftRisk on social media and visit our website at maplecroft.com.