6 - Economic sectors of relevance to Belgium - How

6

Economic sectors of relevance to Belgium
What does this mean for your organisation?

How can the different economic sectors comply with human rights obligations?

In a Secure High Level Laboratory Scientists in a Coverall Conducting a Research.

The laws, guidelines and initiatives described give detailed requirements or guidance for organisations to implement the UNGP, the OECD Guidelines and the UN Global Compact.

They are also related to OECD Due Diligence Guidelines and to multi-stakeholder initiatives.

The standards that are described in this tool can be integrated into the following mechanisms:

Reporting

Human Rights Due Diligence and impact assessment

Operational Grievance Mechanisms

Self-assessment Compliance

What does this mean for your organsation?

Large corporations

Businesses and corporations must know and comply with the legal obligations specific to their sector and evaluate the risks that their activities involve for human rights.

Industry initiatives, multi-stakeholder initiatives and certification schemes seek to promote, support, facilitate and enforce compliance with human rights law.

Participation in an industry or multi-stakeholder initiative does not shift responsibility from the business to the initiative for adverse impacts that it causes, contributes to, or to which it is directly linked.

Small and medium-sized corporations

Small and medium-sized corporations must know and comply with the legal obligations specific to their sector and evaluate the risks that their activities involve for human rights.

Industry initiatives, multi-stakeholder initiatives and certification schemes seek to promote, support, facilitate and enforce compliance with human rights law.

non-profit corporations

Non-profit organisations have an important role in driving initiatives to hold businesses accountable for their practices and pressure them into ethical conduct.

Non-profit organisations can be responsible for raising awareness among consumers, educating the market and ensuring that sustainability remains a relevant topic on the public agenda.

state-owned corporations

Businesses and corporations must know and comply with the legal obligations specific to their sector and evaluate the risks that their activities involve for human rights.

Industry initiatives, multi-stakeholder initiatives and certification schemes seek to promote, support, facilitate and enforce compliance with human rights law.

public entities

EU member states are also subject to obligations contained in EU regulations, as is for instance the case with the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation.

Certification schemes aim to assure consumers that the production of a certified product complied with a particular standard. However, certification schemes have been criticized for not delivering promised benefits while providing cover for participating organisations.