TOOLS

UN Guiding Principles

Here you can read more about the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Frequently asked questions about the guiding principles on business and human rights

Linked to the UN Guiding principles on business and human rights, there is a framework for reporting that companies can use.

• UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework

The Swedish Government has published a national action plan for business and human rights. The action plan aims at implementing the UN Guiding principles at the national level.

• The Swedish government’s action plan for business and human rights

The Business & Human Rights Resource Center has compiled examples, articles and guides about the UNGP. See also their implementation hub, where the material is divided according to target group.

• UN Guiding Principles
• Implementation Hub

The Somo Institute has published a guide for organisations that want to investigate companies based on the UNGP and run campaigns.

• How to use the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Company Research and Advocacy

The EU directive on sustainability reporting (2014/95/EU) states that all companies with 500 employees or more must publicly report how they implement policies regarding environmental stewardship, social responsibility and treatment of employees, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribes, as well as diversity in the board.

You can read more about how Sweden has chosen to implement the directive here:

• Company reporting on sustainability and diversity policies

The EU Commission has produced a practical guide on how the UNGP can be implemented in small and medium companies:

• My Business and Human Rights – A Guide for Small and Medium Enterprises

Human Rights Due Diligence

The OECD has developed a due diligence guide with recommendations suited to supply chains that include minerals from conflict and high-risk areas. These guidelines are applicable and relevant for all companies in OECD countries, including Sweden, regardless of where a company is positioned in the supply chain.

• OECD guidelines for multi-national companies
• Material compiled from the OECD on mineral extraction
• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas and infographic
• OECD Practical actions for companies to identify and address the worst forms of child labour in mineral supply chains (2017)

UNICEF has published a toolkit for companies that provides support on how children’s rights should be respected in large-scale mining.

• Child Rights and Mining Toolkit

Oxfam has published a guide for managing impacts related to equality and gender in extractive industries.

• Gender-focused HRIA

Oxfam has also released a toolkit for local communities and organisations to identify human rights violations, find ways to combat them, and engage companies and local authorities to ensure that they respect human rights.

• Community-based HRIA

NomoGaia has developed a range of tools for companies wanting to carry out human rights impact assessments. They have also conducted three case studies on completed impact assessments in the extractive industries. These illustrate the most common pitfalls and provide suggestions on how these can be avoided.

• Human rights toolkit

The Danish Institute for Human Rights has published a step-by-step guide for how companies can conduct a human rights impact assessment that includes the entire due diligence process.

• Human rights impact assessment guidance and toolbox

Shift has a guide for due diligence in high-risk countries.

• Human Rights Due Diligence in High Risk Circumstances

Stakeholder dialogue

There are several guides detailing how companies can engage with their stakeholders in the due diligence process: 

OECD

• OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector

Global Compact Germany

• Stakeholder engagement in Human Rights Due Diligence

Danish Institute for Human Rights

• Cross-Cutting Stakeholder Engagement

Global Deal for Decent Work and Inclusive Growth (initiative from Sweden supported by the OECD and the ILO)

• Partnership initiative with governments, business, trade unions and others to promote social dialogue between stakeholders to ensure for example decent working conditions.  

Risk tools

The Department of Labor (US) has a tool that allows you to search products that are at risk of being produced by child or slave labour

• List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor

MVO Nederland has a comprehensive risk assessment tool that compiles reports and information about companies’ impact by country.

• Risk check

Environmental Justice Atlas has a tool for identifying conflicts linked to environmental impact (states and companies).

• Environmental Justice Atlas

Shift has a report to guide companies on how they can identify and prioritise risks in the supply chains.

• Business and Human Rights Impacts: Identifying and Prioritizing Human Rights Risks

FIDH (International Federation of Human Rights) has a guide for organisations and victims that describes various complaint mechanisms.

• Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Abuses A Guide for Victims and NGOs on Recourse Mechanisms

Verité has developed a tool that maps risks for different products.

• Commodity Atlas Update

The Responsible Sourcing Tool maps risks for a variety of products and sectors.

• Sourcing Tool

Know the Chain is a platform for companies and investors that wish to understand and manage risks for forced labour in their supply chains.

• Benchmarking forced labour

Fairphone has published a report that explains which materials and minerals are used to make smartphones.

• Smartphone Material Profile

Reports

ForumCiv has published a report on the linkages between the extractive industries and threats to human rights defenders/civil society and a report on the effects of coal mining in Colombia, where the Swedish energy company Vattenfall and the national pension funds (AP-fonderna) are investigated.

• Defending their rights, risking their lives – Shrinking civic space and extractive industries
• As black as coal – Business and human rights with focus on coal mining in Colombia

Swedwatch has published several reports on extractive industries, including copper, jade and platinum.

• Overlooked and undermined – jade mining operations in Myanmar
• Carrying the costs – human rights risks in South Africa’s platinum industry
• Copper with a cost – a case study from Zambia about human rights and environmental risks in the copper mining sector
• Undercutting rights – human rights risks due to clearing of rainforest in Cameroon
• Childhood lost – child labour at diamond mines in Congo Kinshasa

Human Rights Watch has published a report and a film on child labour used at gold mines in the Philippines.

• What… if something went wrong?
• Kids risk death diving for gold

Amnesty International has published a number of reports on human rights abuses linked to the extraction of natural resources.

• This is what we die for
• Time to recharge – abuse at cobalt mining sites in Congo Kinshasa 
• Negligence in the Niger Delta – oil companies and oil spills in Nigeria
• When land is lost, do we eat coal? – coal mining and indigenous peoples’ rights in India

Global Witness has published several reports about oil, gas and mining as well as logging.

• Oil, gas and mining
• Forests
• Responsible minerals

International trade unions such as International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and IndustriALL Global Union have published several reports about risks for workers, for example within mining.

• Why is mining still so dangerous?
• Scandal – Inside the global supply chains of 50 top companies
• Modern slavery in company operation and supply chains – Mandatory transparency, mandatory due diligence and public procurement due diligence