All Social issues articles – Page 17
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News and press
PRI releases new guide on how to integrate social issues into investment decisions
To help investors integrate social issues into their investment decisions, the PRI has released a new practical guide, ESG integration: how are social issues influencing investment decisions?
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News and pressPRI submits investor statement in support of introduction of Australia Modern Slavery Act
The PRI has submitted an investor statement in support of the establishment of a Modern Slavery Act in Australia to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade of the Parliament of Australia. Australian funds HESTA, IFM Investors and Cbus led the initiative while the statement was signed ...
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News and pressInternational Labour Day: shining the spotlight on working conditions
Forced labout: The US$150 billion industry Although slavery was legally abolished by most countries 150 years ago, millions of men, women and children are still enslaved; according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 21 million people are in forced labour. Other sources put this figure at nearly 46 million and ...
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News and press
Why World Health Day is an investor issue
The highest level of health is a fundamental right. Despite this, two billion people globally lack access to the health-related products and services they need.
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Blog post
Values to valuation
There has been growing interest from signatories in addressing human rights, inequality and labour standards.
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Blog post
Economic inequality: Putting the S into ESG
Economic inequality is the financial equivalent of high blood pressure: it affects the whole body and suggests problems elsewhere.
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Case studyCalculating labour standards' impact on revenue and discount rate
Case study by Union Investment
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Engagement guideFrom poor working conditions to forced labour - what's hidden in your portfolio?
Recent legislation such as the UK Modern Slavery Act, along with prominent examples of labour breaches in agricultural supply chains - which include child labour in the cocoa industry or forced labour in the seafood industry – are exposing food and beverage companies to heightened operational, regulatory and reputational risks.
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Engagement guide
Why engage on agricultural supply chain labour practices?
Improving supply chain labour standards can help mitigate operational, legal/regulatory and reputational risks, as well as present opportunities to benefit from innovative suppliers, access to more markets and contracts, loyal customers, productive/committed employees and secure supplier relationships.
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Engagement guide
How to engage with agricultural supply chain companies
The following engagement recommendations are based on findings from the engagement, as well as findings from other stakeholders and sources.
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Engagement guide
Expectation 7 for food and beverage companies: target setting and disclosure
In each of the above areas, companies should report regularly and publicly on policies and processes as well as on performance against measureable and time-bound targets. We encourage a combination of quantitative reporting, such as the G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, and qualitative reporting, such as the UN Guiding Principles Reporting ...
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Engagement guideExpectation 6 for food and beverage companies: monitoring and corrective action
Companies should regularly assess the labour performance of at least new and existing direct suppliers, and ensure that their direct suppliers assess and monitor their sub-suppliers. Companies should report on the results of these assessments. They should request corrective action plans from non-conforming direct suppliers and sub-suppliers, and, as a ...
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Engagement guide
Expectation 5 for food and beverage companies: collaboration on systemic issues
To address systemic issues, companies should collaborate with external stakeholders such as trade unions, civil society organisations, human rights experts, governments, and sector peers.
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Engagement guide
Expectation 4 for food and beverage companies: sourcing and supplier relationships
Companies should evaluate suppliers for labour performance, including on minimum labour compliance criteria and on suppliers’ capacity to manage compliance of their own suppliers.
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Engagement guide
Expectation 3 for food and beverage companies: traceability and risk assessment
Companies should map their supply chains, by geography and by product, and assess labourrelated risks in the supply chain, by geography and by product.
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Engagement guide
Expectation 2 for food and beverage companies: governance
Companies should ensure oversight at board level, and that board members are regularly trained. They should establish processes that enable them to identify and respond appropriately to legislation and ensure relevant departments (e.g. human resource and labour/ environmental compliance, senior management, procurement or sourcing, communications and/ or marketing, production) are ...
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Engagement guide
Expectation 1 for food and beverage companies: supplier code of conduct
Companies should have a publicly available supplier code of conduct that reflects international standards such as the ILO core labour standards (covering child labour, forced labour, trade union rights and equal opportunities), covers health and safety and working conditions, and contains at least a longer term target for a living ...
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Engagement guideHow to engage retailers on employee relations
Happy employees are good for business: highly engaged employees tend to stay longer, and are more likely to be productive and provide good customer service.
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Engagement guide
Three recommendations for future engagement with retailers
Although 22 of the 27 companies (81%) engaged improved their reporting, there remains significant scope for further improvement in both reporting and performance.
