7 - Reporting - Why | Toolbox Human Rights

7

Reporting
What does this mean for your organisation?

Why is reporting important?

Workers preparing for shipment of the 6,000 ton Gudrun module for shipment

The UNGP encourage the use of reporting to disclose information about how organisations identify, manage and address adverse human rights impacts and harms.

Reporting is important for organisations and for states, because it facilitates the monitoring of how organisations comply with their human rights duties and manage human rights risks. Reporting is, above all, a key instrument for stakeholders and society in general, because it is a way of releasing information about actual or potential human rights risks of the activities of organisations. Reporting also increases accountability and transparency of organisations. The Belgian Code of Corporate Governance (principle 9) requires corporations to ensure adequate disclosure of their corporate governance information, although it does not explicitly refer to human rights issues.

Reporting is also important to guarantee accountability to stakeholders, as they can use this information to demand action from organisations to address actual or potential human rights adverse impacts.

It is also an important tool for organisations, because it is a systematic self-assessment exercise that serves to identify weak points inside an organisation and in its relations with partners or its value chains. However, it is also important to promote systematic reporting by all kinds of organisations, as many of their activities can have adverse human rights impacts.

Non-financial reporting is not new. On environmental issues, the 1992 Rio Earth Summit marked a point of departure with respect to the number of sustainability reporting requirements, even if they have not always been mandatory disclosure requirements. According to the Insights from the Reporting Exchange: ESG Reporting Trends (2018), at this moment over 1000 reporting requirements have been introduced by national and supra-national authorities. This means that the original objectives of the tool can also represent a challenge or even an obstacle. The Reporting Exchange refers to ESG reporting which is identified with the concept of non-financial reporting.

What does this mean for your organsation?

Large corporations

Reporting is a central tool in human rights compliance assessments. It is based on indicators that measure how organisations deal with adverse human rights impacts, and facilitates their communication to stakeholders. Thus, reporting systems also disclose how organisations comply with their human rights obligations.

Reporting is important for holding organisations accountable and increasing their transparency, as disclosing information is a step towards evaluating their performance on complying with human rights duties.

Reporting systems are numerous - some are mandatory; others are voluntary or purely guidelines for public and private organisations.

Small and medium-sized corporations

Reporting systems are numerous - some are mandatory; others are voluntary or purely guidelines for public and private organisations.

non-profit corporations

Reporting systems are numerous - some are mandatory; others are voluntary or purely guidelines for public and private organisations.

state-owned corporations

Reporting systems are numerous - some are mandatory; others are voluntary or purely guidelines for public and private organisations.

public entities

As the state is the main party responsible for the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all persons in its jurisdiction, it should promote the use of human rights reporting systems by public and private organisations.

The state should also guide public and private organisations on the systematic implementation of human rights reporting to disclose relevant information about the actual or potential risks their activities may cause.