Joanne Bauer speaks about the impact of the Trump administration’s on Business and Human Rights at a B&HR Access to Justice Lab webinar

March 20, 2025

Co-founder Joanne Bauer participated in a webinar hosted by B&HR Access to Justice Lab titled: The future of business and human rights under the Trump administration. During the discussion, she, alongside fellow Business and Human Rights expert, Marti Flacks explored how the Trump administration’s dismantling of the Fed, attacks on DEI, and mercurial foreign policy are having immediate and deeply concerning implications for US companies’ operations, the private sector’s ESG efforts, particularly DEI, and the global economy.

Watch the webinar recording here.

Discussion Summary on Climate Week Workshop Published: Creating a Pooled Fund for Communities in the Carbon Credit Market

February 13, 2025

During Climate Week, Rights CoLab, Rights and Resources International (RRI), Namati, and Just Ground co-convened a workshop to explore the development of a pooled fund for technical and legal support for communities affected by the carbon credit market. Discussions focused on designing legal, technical, and market support mechanisms, catalyzing business and financial sector participation, and piloting the fund. Read the full discussion summary here. 

Read the original report, “How to Address the Corporate-Community Engagement Gap: The Case for a Pooled Fund for Legal and Technical Support,” published by Rights CoLab, Just Ground, Grassroots Justice Network, and Namati.

Joanne Bauer contributes to the Investor Alliance for Human Rights’ vlog series on the Corporate Responsibility to Respect (CR2R)

November 5, 2024

Joanne Bauer contributed to the Investor Alliance for Human Rights’ vlog series on the Corporate Responsibility to Respect (CR2R). She highlighted the financial implications of poor human rights management and the necessity of meaningful rights-holder engagement. Joanne also previewed Rights CoLab’s upcoming Stakeholder Engagement Guide, a resource for investors to assess corporate engagement practices, set for release in June 2025. Watch the vlog episode here.

Rights CoLab hosts investor feedback session for our new resource, Certifications Red Flags

October 29, 2024

Rights CoLab hosted a learning and feedback session on a new tool, Certifications Red Flags, for investors from the APAC region. The feedback is being incorporated into the final version of the tool. More investor sessions to come.

PRI-in-Person 2024 Side Event: Beta-testing the Stakeholder Engagement Guide

October 2, 2024

Join Rights CoLab and EIRIS Foundation to beta-test our upcoming Stakeholder Engagement Guide, part of the Investor HREDD Precision Tools. Stakeholder engagement is core to effective human rights due diligence, but doing it well is complex. This session previews a prototype of the guide designed to help investors assess the quality of the stakeholder engagement of their portfolio companies, improve corporate engagement, and ensure supply chain risks are identified and addressed. PRI Advance will also present its work in progress on investor’s direct engagement with stakeholders, which when completed will be a stand alone tool as well as form a complementary part of the Stakeholder Engagement Guide.

Register here

When: Tuesday, October 8 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EST 

Where: OMERS – E&Y Tower, 21st Floor, Room 21E
100 Adelaide St. West, Toronto, ON M5H 1S3, Canada

New report explores how a pooled fund can strengthen corporate-community engagement

September 18, 2024

A report from Just Ground, Rights CoLab, Namati, and Grassroots Justice Network, How to Address the Corporate-Community Engagement Gap: The Case for a Pooled Fund for Legal and Technical Support, highlights how a pooled fund can provide essential legal and technical support to communities affected by corporate land negotiations. The report outlines governance principles, implementation strategies, and success stories demonstrating how legal support improves company-community dialogue and reduces operational risks.

Launch of Precision Toolset for Investors

August 8, 2024

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Investor HREDD (Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence) Precision Tools website, developed in collaboration with EIRIS Foundation, ESG Inteligente, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility/Investor Alliance for Human Rights, Principles for Responsible Investments, Responsible Contracting Project, and Workforce Disclosure Initiative. 

Created for and with investors, each tool addresses an HREDD pain point for companies. At its launch this week, the website features the first two tools:  

1. Certifications Red Flags (Beta Version), developed by Rights CoLab

2. Investor Guidance on Responsible Contracting, developed by the Responsible Contracting Project and Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). 

Three more tools – on Stakeholder Engagement, on Remedy, and an Engagement Script – are forthcoming. Designed as an open platform and one-stop shop of tools, aligned with international standards, the partnership welcomes HREDD tools developed by other organizations. 

In the coming months Rights CoLab will be hosting interactive Learning and Feedback sessions with investors to further test and refine the tools. 

 The website can be accessed here. http://www.investorhreddtools.org

Launch of the Investor HREDD Precision Tools Website

July 29, 2024

Rights CoLab, along with our partners, the EIRIS Foundation, ESG Inteligente, ICCR, PRI, Responsible Contracting Project, and WDI, launched the Investor HREDD Precision Tools website, a centralized platform designed to help investors navigate human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD.)