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Recent media highlights
What money managers are doing with Israeli assets
Financial Times
Human rights due diligence key to avoiding lawsuits against green projects
Sustainable Views (Financial Times)
2024 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
Labour rights: Global apparel and footwear supply chains
FINANCIAL TIMES: “We often view the low prices and resultant labour rights abuse as baked into the fast fashion model but those problems are more pervasive than that. There’s the expectation that if you are buying something luxury it is very bespoke and has been created closer to home. Often, that’s not the case.”Natalie Swan, Labour Rights Programme Manager at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
A year after quake disaster, Syrians in Türkiye battle unemployment and exploitation – The New Humanitarian
Vise tightening on Myanmar’s economy 3 years after military takeover triggered civil strife – Associated Press
Fashion Sector Lets Water Risk Slide – ESG Investor
Can Türkiye’s textile industry bounce back? – Vogue Business
New platform to track garment workers rights – EcoTextile
How to build better supply chains in four key sourcing countries – Vogue Business
Freedom of association is a human right. Why are garment workers still denied it? – Vogue Business
What Bangladesh’s political shake-up means for fashion – Vogue Business
Investors justify fast fashion holdings in Article 9 funds – Responsible Investor
Just energy transition
FINANCIAL TIMES: “[The Osage case] brings into sharp relief that disregarding the rights of local communities and indigenous populations in the race to a decarbonised economy . . . is short sighted, and there’s real consequences for the bottom line as there is for the surrounding population."Michael Clements, director of international programmes at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
In conversation... corporate responsibility and inequality – Reuters (Sustainable Switch newsletter)
Is the 'clean energy' mineral boom failing Africa? – Corporate Knights
Empowering Indigenous Voices Might be the Key to a Successful Green Energy Transition – TriplePundit
The EV industry can’t shake its human rights abuse problem – The Verge
Blood in the EV Supply Chain – The Nation
EV battery production tainted by charges of environmental damage – DPA International
KENYA NEWS: “There are material risks to failure to respect human rights in terms of reputation, damage, legal risks and litigations. These may slow down the renewal energy transition that the country has envisaged, if businesses are interrupted and their licenses withheld by the regulator."Dr Joseph Kibugu, African Regional Director at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
Land grabs and vanishing forests: Are ‘clean’ electric vehicles to blame? – Al Jazeera
Locals slam Zimbabwe for turning a blind eye to Chinese miner’s violations – Mongabay
Indigenous peoples ‘seek energy transition rights’ – ReNews
Canada failing to protect human rights activists from mining companies operating overseas – Globe & Mail
Indonesia Nickel “Riddled” in Social, Environmental Harms – ESG Investor
China accepts U.N. recommendations to improve environmental conflicts in Latin America – Mongabay
THE MOSCOW TIMES: "... A just transition to clean energy cannot come at the expense of people and the environment. Significant changes are urgently needed in the mining sector throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia if the energy transition is to be fast and fair, as the sector is riddled with human rights and environmental abuses."Ella Skubenko, Senior Researcher for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Tensions grow as China ramps up global mining for green tech – BBC News
Extractive ‘green’ capitalists are abusing workers and communities in Europe and Asia for transition minerals – The Canary
‘Blood minerals’: What are the hidden costs of the EU-Rwanda supply deal? – Al Jazeera
Climate defenders under attack for challenging corporate harms – Energy & Power
'Blatantly failing': Human rights abuses 'widespread' in transition metals mining sector, report warns – Business Green
Mining tied to climate goals fueling human rights abuses, report says – E&E News (Politico)
Mining Linked to Human Rights Abuses – ESG Investor
Corporate legal accountability and the energy transition
“If you do the just transition right, then workers, communities, the private sector and states really can benefit from it."Elodie Aba, Senior Legal Researcher at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Investors Face Rising Renewables Litigation Risk – ESG Investor
Human rights due diligence key to avoiding lawsuits against green projects – Sustainable Views (Financial Times)
BHRRC reports uptick in critical mineral litigation for human rights abuses – Mining Journal
Human rights and the ‘just transition’ in the new scramble for Africa – Leigh Day
Forced labour in global supply chains
VOGUE BUSINESS: “Attention to labour exploitation in apparel supply chains has traditionally focused on so-called fast fashion companies, while the luxury segment has largely avoided scrutiny based on the perception that higher price points, Europe-based direct suppliers and quality artisanry meant garments were produced ethically."Áine Clarke, Head of KnowTheChain and Investor Strategy at Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Clothing brands failing to eradicate forced labor risk in supply chains, research finds – CNBC
Corporate human rights concerns come into focus amid strengthening regulations – Financial Times (Moral Money newsletter)
Investor Engagement Crucial to Fashion Sustainability – ESG Investor
Fashion firms relying on paper promises to tackle forced labour – Press Association, The Evening Standard
Luxury Brands Lag on Efforts to Reduce Forced Labour – Business of Fashion
New resource to enhance supply chain diligence – EcoTextile
In data: 58% of companies ready to address forced labour risks – Just Style
Forced Labour in Construction Hidden from Investors – ESG Investor
THE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM: "It is crucial for companies to demonstrate that they have engaged in a dialogue with any stakeholders reportedly affected by allegations of abuse."Áine Clarke, Head of KnowTheChain and Investor Strategy at Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
Supermarkets ditch pineapple products from Kenyan farms over human rights risk – PA Media, Evening Standard, The Independent
Morrisons and Iceland ditch pineapples from Kenyan farm over human rights abuses – The Mirror
Migrant workers in global supply chains
THE DIPLOMAT: "Care worker migration could be a “win-win-win” scenario: workers from across Asia find opportunities for career development, acute labor shortages in the Global North are relieved, and sending countries receive remittances that can boost development. Instead, migrant workers from South and Southeast Asia are left traumatized from abuse, while recruitment fees eat away at remittances with consequences for entire families and communities back home."Catriona Fraser, Migrant Workers Researcher at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.
UK Rife with Migrant Worker Abuse – ESG Investor
UK listed as the most common location for migrant worker abuse in 2024 – PA Future
Conflict & security
The Case for Defence – ESG Investor
What money managers are doing with Israeli assets – Financial Times
Investors Fail to Engage on Israel Arms Exports – ESG Investor
Tech companies operating with opacity in Israel-Palestine – Computer Weekly
Big Tech Fails to Account for Israel-Palestine Role – ESG Investor
Storebrand divests from IBM over supply of biometrics to Israel – Computer Weekly
Mandatory due diligence
EU urged to pass CSDDD as matter of urgency amid delay – Just Style
EU supply chain law overcomes latest hurdle after text watered down – Global Trade Review
What does the EU's CSDDD mean for UK businesses? – Business Green
Final approval for EU due diligence law – EcoTextile