Key human rights challenges differ in each industry context. For example, technology companies need to address concerns over privacy and freedom of expression while companies in manufacturing and extractive industries need to focus on labor rights in their global supply chains.
We believe that companies that proactively confront these challenges will be more successful and better equipped for the future. In our work, we focus on human rights challenges that affect multiple companies along the value chain, in the same industry or across different sectors. We are documenting and developing business solutions to human rights challenges concerning different industries and themes, including the following focus areas:
Human Rights in Extractives
Our work on artisanal and small scale mining (ASM), primarily in the cobalt context but also in gold and other minerals, involves conducting research on responsible sourcing practices for critical minerals for the energy transition and the role of different stakeholders.
We offer a safe space to discuss how to best integrate human rights standards in the Congolese cobalt mining industry and make recommendations that are supported by our independent analyses. We also develop case studies based on successful business models that address human rights issues.
Focus lead
This focus area is led by Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly.
Human Rights in Agriculture
Global agricultural supply chains are often characterized by smallholder farming, fragmented supply chains, and reliance on migrant and temporary workers. Workers in the lowest tiers of the supply chain are often the most vulnerable to disruptions and crises. Human rights challenges are often systemic, affecting communities and geographic regions beyond specific supply chains. Among others, our work on resilience in agricultural supply chains sheds light on the effectiveness of sustainability programs during the Covid-19 pandemic, on the underlying root causes of child labor in the West African cocoa sector, and on multi-stakeholder and multi-sector approaches to support migrant workers in Türkiye, by analyzing the impact that corporate and governmental responses have at the community-level.
Focus lead
This focus area is led by Dr. Berit Knaak.
Human Rights in Business Education
As the first human rights center at a business school in Europe, the education of future managers is part of our core mission. We support the integration of human rights in business education. Identifying, analyzing and resolving human rights challenges in management decisions is key to future business success. Through research, teaching, and creating networks of business scholars, we help prepare business school graduates and executives to manage human rights challenges in corporate practice.
Focus lead
This focus area is led by Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly & Dr. Berit Knaak.
Human Rights in Fashion
As a consumer-facing industry, the fashion industry has been one of the first industries that brought human rights challenges to the attention of a broader public, through reports about sweatshops or events like the collapse of Rana Plaza. To date, the industry continues to struggle with challenges around living wages, implications of rising temperatures for workplace conditions, and massive challenges health and environmental challenges. Our work investigates key challenges and seeks to provide examples and recommendations for addressing these challenges.
Focus lead
This focus area is currently led by Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly.
Human Rights in Finance
We aim at understanding how the integration of human rights in the finance industry evolves, through conducting research, collaborating with financial institutions, and providing practical guidance, as well as through educational endeavors, such as the writing and publication of case studies.
Focus lead
This focus area is currently led by Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly.
Human Rights and Security
We support companies in the implementation of human rights policies in complex operating environments. Specifically, we provide practical guidance for companies to better understand the extent of their responsibilities to protect human rights and to improve security arrangements on the ground.
Focus lead
This focus area is currently led by Prof. Dorothée Baumann-Pauly.