abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Article

1 Dec 2014

Author:
Michael Posner, NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, in Chronicle of Higher Education (USA)

Universities can use economic clout to help protect human rights, says Michael Posner of NYU

"Universities Can Put Their Economic Clout to Good Use", 17 November 2014

...[Universities] have a responsibility to respect human rights in the ways they operate. When the issue of global labor practices in manufacturing emerged in the 1990s, American colleges and universities led the way in developing practical labor standards and better, affordable ways to monitor and improve the production of their licensed products...[Some] universities still need to assume greater responsibility for labor rights in their licensing programs...Universities also...include human-rights standards in their purchases of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods and services each year...The investment policies and practices of universities are a third area where universities can and should be doing more...Universities need to move...to a more affirmative approach, examining how they can maximize their investments in companies that adopt longer-term business models that embrace sustainable environmental and human-rights business practices.