By fueling economies, institutional investors in particular have a systemic influence over financial markets and the behavior of companies within them... [A] role and responsibility of institutional investors is... to assess whether portfolio companies have robust and effective human rights policies, due diligence processes, and grievance mechanisms in place and take meaningful action based on those assessments. Investors should embed this approach across the whole of the investment lifecycle, including in their activities prior to investment decision-making, in their investment decision-making, and throughout investment stewardship.

... This role for investors in engaging with human rights is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ proposition, as authoritative frameworks and standard-setting bodies at international, regional, and national levels have laid out the expectation that all business actors, including institutional investors, have a responsibility to respect human rights throughout their activities... This Toolkit provides a roadmap for action to help investors meet these growing expectations and tackle the challenge of cultivating responsible and sustainable economic systems that help, rather than hurt, people.