O CEO Guide to Human Rights launched by CEBDS is an initiative of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development that involves 35 large companies, present in 17 countries and responsible for generating 2.8 million jobs, in addition to moving extensive supply chains in various industry sectors.
The publication is part of a series originated by the WBCSD and which aims to directly influence the highest level of business leaders, with the aim of ensuring the incorporation of sustainable development issues into the company's decision-making.
Two other guides for CEOs have already been released in Portuguese: CEO's Guide to Water, with the intention of bringing the issue of use, availability, risks and security of water resources to the center of decision-making and business strategies and the Guide for CEOs on the Sustainable Development Goals, which sets out clear actions that CEOs can take to align their organizations with the SDGs and chart a course to unlock the value they represent.
“We want to motivate business leaders to go beyond legal compliance. Companies have a fundamental responsibility to respect human rights, but they also have opportunities to transform people’s lives for the better,” says Marina Grossi, president of CEBDS.
Companies deal with human rights constantly in their interactions with employees, suppliers, consumers, partners and communities. The guide is based on the premise that leading businesses by guaranteeing universal human rights is one of the most powerful opportunities to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs.
Human Rights on the CEBDS Agenda
The proposals of business leaders associated with CEBDS for the area of human rights are gathered in the document CEBDS Agenda for a Sustainable Country, launched during last year's presidential elections and delivered to each of the candidates.
The document advocates constant and official monitoring of gender and race representation in politics and public power, allowing for the assessment of the effectiveness of policies that encourage the qualification, participation and balanced remuneration of women and black people. In addition, it proposes the search for mechanisms that ensure greater transparency in gender and race representation in public administration, promoting greater equity.
A CEBDS Agenda proposes that a platform with updated data on the profile of its civil servants be maintained on the Federal Government's Transparency Portal. This would allow the entire population to monitor how the Brazilian government is advancing and adapting to the goals of reducing inequalities, especially those related to gender and race.
Likewise, the document states, companies must commit to keeping public data about their social profiles, so that everyone can monitor whether there is progress towards the SDGs.
