Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights

🌍 International Human Rights Day: Advancing a Just Transition On this International Human Rights Day, our director, Prof. Dorothee Baumann-Pauly, is contributing to two key events at Building Bridges 2024, highlighting how human rights underpin successful climate strategies: 1️ Workshop: Navigating a Just Transition: Financial Sector Roadmap 🕒 14:00–15:30 📍 Geneva International Conference Center, Room E Organized by the International Labour Organization, this interactive session outlines a roadmap for integrating just transition principles into financial institutions’ strategies. Participants will explore how to balance environmental and social priorities in the shift to a low-carbon economy.   2️Panel: Just Transition Incorporating Human Rights into Climate Finance 🕓 16:00–17:00 📍 Geneva International Conference Center, Room C Part of the UNEP FI Global Roundtable, this panel examines practical approaches to embedding just transition principles into financial activities. Baumann-Pauly will share insights from her research on cobalt sourcing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A just transition requires equal prioritization of social and environmental sustainability, and financial institutions hold the keys to driving meaningful, systemic change. #HumanRightsDay #BizHumanRights #BuildingBridges2024 #GRT2024 #JustTransition

🗓️ 𝗢𝗻 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗖𝗕𝗛𝗥 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝘇𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱! The half-day, in-person workshops are free of charge and open to UN Global Compact Network Switzerland & Liechtenstein member companies only. These immersive function-specific training sessions will explore human rights due diligence from the perspective of a procurement professional. They will offer real-life examples of responsible purchasing practices, and scenario-based, interactive exercises tailored to the procurement function. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱? 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲:  🇨🇭 𝟰 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 - 𝗭𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵: https://lnkd.in/dfPf-sAD 🇨🇭 𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 - 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗮: https://lnkd.in/dbhDexEQ Trainers: Dorothee Baumann-Pauly Serra Cremer Berit Knaak, Ph.D.

💡 Voluntary sustainability standards are a common tool for companies to start the integration of human rights into their core operations. Last week, our colleague Berit Knaak, Ph.D. contributed to a panel on this topic organized by Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales in Berlin. In a smart mix of voluntary and mandatory initiatives, the development of industry-specific standards is key for advancing human rights in business. They can help define clear expectations and create measurable accountability. Our research with NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights highlights criteria for stakeholder engagement and the complementarity of industry-specific standards to #HRDD: https://lnkd.in/eBDtM6cC Stakeholder engagement is key for developing industry standards. We appreciate the initiative of the German government to bring together key industry leaders across industries and representatives of global and local civil society organizations, the government, and academia to address human rights challenges with a focus on the automotive industry and the energy sector. #ResponsibleManagement #BizHumanRights #SectorDialogues Photo credit: Ralf Rühmeier

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✨ An inspiring morning at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Global Business School Network for Business and Human Rights Impact Community! Yesterday, prominent business and human rights scholars joined business leaders, representatives from international organizations, and civil society at the Université de Genève to exchange insights and strategies for advancing the integration of human rights into business education. We were deeply honored to welcome Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who delivered powerful remarks highlighting the urgent need to align business practices with human rights principles. The meeting focused on actionable strategies for integrating human rights into business school curricula, with diverse perspectives from esteemed speakers, including: Stephane Berthet, Ken McPhail, Jeff Vockrodt, Björn FASTERLING, Matthew Kilgarriff, Ron Popper, Prof. Dr. Katrin Muff, Hany Kamel, Said Elbanna, and Charles Autheman. Key topics explored: -         Leveraging new regulations to drive impactful change. -         Private sector advocacy as a force for human rights. -         Engaging students as future leaders and changemakers. -         Strengthening and expanding the global network. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to these discussions, and to Dorothee Baumann-Pauly and Michael Posner for their inspiring leadership in advancing this critical agenda. A special thanks to the Université de Genève audiovisual team, whose support was instrumental in making this event not only successful but memorable. Stay tuned for the event recording, which will be shared in the coming days! We are also grateful to GBSN, International Labour Organization, Département fédéral des affaires étrangères DFAE, Geneva School of Economics and Management - UNIGE, NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, Pascale Chavaz, Mathias Popee, Brice Chopin, Hélène Morlaix and all the GBSN for BHR research cluster leads: Charles Autheman, Lara Bianchi, Karin Buhmann, Dr. Sandy Chong, John Ferguson, Björn Fasterling, Berit Knaak, Ph.D., Yingru Li, and Stephen Park. We look forward to building on these actionable strategies to make human rights a cornerstone of business education worldwide! 🌍✨ #BizHumanRights #ResponsibleEducation #BusinessSchoolLeaders Photo credits: Fabien Scotti

🌟👋🎉 Five years of GCBHR! Today, we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights. We thank everyone that has supported us along the way. GCBHR Team: Dorothee Baumann-Pauly Berit Knaak, Ph.D. Pascale Chavaz Serra Cremer

We are eager to join this critical discussion at Building Bridges 2024. A truly sustainable transition must address both environmental issues and human rights challenges - two sides of the same coin, inseparable in building a fair and resilient future. https://lnkd.in/evzdPmfC

#WorldChildrensDay this week is a reminder that children have the right to grow up in an environment in which they can learn and develop and thrive. Yet #childlabor remains a reality in many industries.   In our joint white paper with FarmStrong Foundation, we map the root causes of child labor in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire. We analyze why current approaches to reducing child labor only address part of the problem and show that the factors driving child labor are interconnected.   Further research needs to test these links such as the relation between deforestation and child labor risks, including by leveraging earth observation technology that companies already employ.   Read the white paper here: https://lnkd.in/gRTqfY6s   #BizHumanRights #ResponsibleManagement

📢 The 8th Annual Meeting of the Global Business School Network for Business and Human Rights Impact Community (GBSN for BHR) will be held next week! 🗓 Date: November 25, 2024 ⏰ Time: 9:00 am (CET) 📍 Location: Université de Genève (in person) or online If you are a business school instructor, currently teach, or plan to teach business school students, join us either in person or online! This year, we are honored to welcome Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, who will open the meeting with introductory remarks. We are also excited to feature outstanding speakers: Charles Autheman, Dorothee Baumann-Pauly, Stephane Berthet, Björn FASTERLING, Hany Kamel, Matthew Kilgarriff, Ken McPhail, Prof. Dr. Katrin Muff, Michael Posner, Ron Popper & Jeff Vockrodt. Discover the full agenda and secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gtbT2NAA ⚠️ Seating is limited, and in-person registration will close once capacity is reached on a first-come, first-served basis. Special thanks to GBSN, International Labour Organization, Département fédéral des affaires étrangères DFAE and the Université de Genève for hosting us and supporting our work since years. Big thanks to all the GBSN for BHR research cluster leads: Charles Autheman, Lara Bianchi, Karin Buhmann, Dr. Sandy Chong, John Ferguson, Björn FASTERLING, Berit Knaak, Ph.D. Yingru Li & Stephen Park. Find out more about the community here: https://lnkd.in/dFd6zW-E We look forward to seeing you there! Geneva School of Economics and Management - UNIGE NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights #BizHumanRights #ResponsibleEducation #BusinessSchoolLeaders

We conceptualized human rights capacity building training for procurement professionals and we look forward to delivering the training in partnership with the UN Global Compact Network Switzerland & Liechtenstein and working with their members! #responsiblemanagement #bizhumanrights