HRIA in Petroleum and Energy
The human rights impacts of petroleum and energy have historically been either severely negative of significantly positive, with little space in between. Norway has used its oil wealth to generate...
View ArticleHRIA in Agriculture
Human rights risks in agricultural investments often start with the land evaluation and acquisition process, extending into major risks of workforce and community welfare as operations commence. HRIA...
View ArticleHRIA in Finance
The UN Guiding Principles are explicit that financial institutions share the corporate duty to respect human rights. However, human rights due diligence of investors is, of necessity, different than...
View ArticleIs there child labor in my ice cream?
In a word, yes. This is Miguel*. He’s 45. He has been harvesting cane for 30 years. His son is out of the frame here, because he’s still slashing stalks with a 3-foot machete. Two years into the job,...
View ArticleThe biggest threat to human rights in the sugar industry isn’t what you think...
How the commodities market is pummeling sugar rights holders Sugar. It’s such a labor-intensive crop that it drove the slave industry in the Caribbean for decades. Even in the two centuries since then,...
View ArticleWhat do Child Soldiers, Peanut Butter and Dish Soap Have in Common?
Palm Oil. In the past decade, Liberia has licensed 7% of its land (2,400 square miles — picture Delaware) to palm oil producers. Palm oil has been replacing canola in household products and processed...
View ArticleTrick or Treat? Palm Oil Makes Halloween Candy Both
This week zoos have put out a warning to the fans of their primate exhibits – if you love Orangutans, make sure your Halloween candy isn’t ruining their habitat. Palm oil is now a major ingredient in...
View ArticleEquatorial Palm Oil HRRA
While piloting a methodology for Human Rights Risk Assessment (HRRA), NomoGaia evaluated the risks of one particular plantation in Liberia: The Equatorial Palm Oil (EPO) plantation owned by Malaysia’s...
View ArticleHow a handshake can hurt a company’s human rights record
The growing importance of human rights to businesses According to a recent BSR/GlobeScan survey, human rights are the single greatest sustainability concern for businesses. The Economist Intelligence...
View ArticleWhen Banks and Human Rights Collide
Warwick University is home to The Centre for Human Rights in Practice, one of the leading human rights and business institutions worldwide. Mark Wielga gave a talk there in October. View the...
View ArticleTrump & Brexit Might Make Companies Better Global Citizens
Last week, while US President-Elect Donald Trump proposed dismantling financial reforms and vastly curtailing government spending and regulations, business and bank representatives from across the US...
View ArticleDanish Institute Practitioner Workshop
NomoGaia presented at a practitioner’s workshop for HRIA in Geneva in December 2016. The Danish Institute for Human Rights facilitated. Our presentation is here....
View ArticleWe’re watching the wrong companies responding to the Muslim Travel Ban EO
All the press about companies and the “Muslim Ban” have missed a deeper story. Corporations involved in implementing the ban have been almost entirely silent about it. That’s why NomoGaia has reached...
View ArticleCompanies are Helping the US Government Keep Travelers Out: Is it...
Yesterday the second iteration of President Trump’s “Travel Ban” Executive Order was slated to come into force. The evening prior, a federal judge halted its implementation, citing its “purpose to...
View ArticleUnited’s Human Rights Problem is the Same as Nestle’s and Nike’s: Supply Chain
The United Airlines passenger removal fiasco is a microcosm of global supply chain problems. (Full Disclosure: Our Executive Director, and the author of this post, is married to a United pilot) By now...
View ArticleHRIA Webinar
Along with UK-based TwentyFifty, we co-hosted the first of three webinars in a series about HRIA. Check out our presentation slides, or view the webinar recording online. For information on future...
View ArticleWhat do Sprint and Facebook have to do with Philando Castile’s shooting?
This month, as a court acquitted Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the death of Philando Castile, additional details of the shooting and ensuing investigation emerged. Gizmodo and the...
View ArticleWhy we should all care about what the Dutch development bank just did
This month, the Dutch Development Bank went public with its commitment to “explicitly and systematically address human rights” across its investment process. The announcement accompanies a detailed...
View ArticleThe Tokyo Olympics are 1000 days away! We should have some concerns
Forced evictions, bacteria-laced waters, corrupt contracts – the Rio Olympics caught plenty of flak for human rights risks. Though I won’t claim it ranks as popular literature, there’s now a...
View ArticleWhy we should care how Japanese pensioners’ money is invested
This summer, the world’s largest pension fund expanded its focus on environmental, social and governance investing. Japan’s $1.26 trillion fund is so big it can actually drive the market. Immediately...
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