Virtual Forum on Responsible Business & Human Rights: New Challenges. New Approaches

Name: Virtual Forum on Responsible Business & Human Rights: New Challenges. New Approaches
Start: 2020-06-09
End: 2020-06-12
Location: Thailand

9 - 12 June 2020

Bangkok, Thailand

Overview

Side Events

In March 2018, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launched its Environmental Rights Initiative at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The initiative “brings environmental protection nearer to the people by assisting state and non-state actors to Promote, Protect and Respect Environmental Rights.” Through this initiative, UNEP is promoting access to information on environmental rights and supporting business to better understand their environmental rights obligations to move beyond a compliance culture to championing environmental rights.

UNEP is engaging with business actors through the Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum to exchange information and practical ideas for policies and business practices that enhance environmental rights for all. UNEP is also working very closely with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights (UNWG) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to provide further stimulus to the responsible business and human rights discourse in Asia and the Pacific.

UNEP is organizing four exciting events for this year's United Nations Virtual Forum on Responsible Business and Human Rights: New Challenges. New Approaches, which will be held on 9-12 June 2020.

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

10 June 2020, 10:00-11:30 (Bangkok time, GMT+7) Moving the needle on climate change - business actions for a 1.5°c future
11 June 2020, 11:30-13:00 (Bangkok time, GMT+7), Ensuring a Sustainable Recovery: What Role for the Finance Sector?

SIDE EVENTS

12 June 2020, 13:00-14:30 (Bangkok time, GMT+7), Building Back Better: Responsible Business Conduct, Human Rights and the Environment
12 June 2020, 14:00-16:00 (Bangkok time, GMT+7), Workshop on banking and human rights for ASEAN banks

Moving the needle on climate change - business actions for a 1.5°c future

10 June 2020, 10:00-11:30 (Bangkok time, GMT+7)

The UN Climate Action Summit held in New York In September 2019 helped instil a sense of urgency and drum up ambition to address climate change. However, since then this has been overtaken by a more immediate emergency, the Covid-19 global pandemic. While the lockdowns and other emergency measures to deal with the pandemic have temporarily lowered emissions and reduced air pollution in the Asia-Pacific region, we should not risks diverting our focus from the ongoing emergency posed by climate change. Instead, it is critical to bring the lessons from the Covid-19 emergency to climate change to avoid the risk of runaway climate change, with disastrous long-term consequences for people and the natural systems that sustain us. Private sector ambition and action will be critical to move the needle and ensure quick progress in this regard. What is needed is leadership by bigger companies to lead by example, advocate for ambitious policies, and inspire action by business at large in the region.

Session Description

Setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with climate science can help business take a lead on climate change and future-proof the business.

As so often stated, you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Climate impact assessment, reporting and target setting will thus be critical to move business action.

Various initiatives such as the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiatives have been set up to improve reporting and advance action on climate. Businesses are also expected to integrate climate considerations as part of human rights due diligence under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Some major international companies have also started coming forward and targets of net-zero carbon by 2050 or before. Climate leadership is growing in the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, some 25% of the 800+ signatories to the science-based targets initiative are from the region, about half of which had developed climate action targets by early 2020.

Ensuring a Sustainable Recovery: What Role for the Finance Sector?

11 June 2020, 11:30-13:00 (Bangkok time, GMT+7)

The current crisis has shifted public focus away from the climate emergency to the immediate need to protect people and jobs. It has highlighted inequalities and vulnerabilities in supply chains and exposed the precariousness of gig economy. At the same time, the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis cannot wait. Clearly, governments cannot tackle all these challenges alone. There is an urgent need to engage businesses, investors and civil society to work collectively to address these challenges and ensure to build back better.

The finance sector has an important role in driving responsible and sustainable business. Its different actors – from regulators to asset owners, investors, and banks – all have a role to play in creating a financial ecosystem that accurately prices risk and rewards long-term sustainability and helps direct funds to sustainable purposes, thus supporting the move towards a more sustainable recovery pathway. Investors and banks have critical roles to play in this regard, both through how they allocate capital and prompting corporations to manage environment, social and governance (ESG) challenges and opportunities.

Session Description

This session will discuss the role of the finance sector in driving more responsible business practices and investments, in support of a more sustainable recovery. It will hear what banks and responsible investors, including institutional investors are doing in that regard, and discuss how government can help drive the change towards more integration of ESG criteria in investment and financing decisions, to push more ambitious action of companies, including as regards climate change.

Building Back Better: Responsible Business Conduct, Human Rights and the Environment

12 June 2020, 13:00-14:30 (Bangkok time, GMT+7)

The discussion will cover 4 key themes:

Setting the Scene – International instruments, global guidance and trends on the nexus between Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), human rights and the environment

The importance of understanding and addressing environmental and human rights supply chain vulnerabilities and building resilience in the immediate and post COVID-19 recovery

Examples of good business practices in the face of environmental challenges will include a focus on plastic pollution, waste management, and climate change.

Discussion of how business can be supported in better understanding, identifying and addressing the linkages between human rights and environment-related risks, adverse impacts, and capacity to contribute positively to global environmental challenges.

Session Description

This session explores business models, tools, and practices that capture and address both environmental and human rights impacts, mitigate risks to vulnerable groups and make positive contributions to people and the planet.

Drawing on international instruments including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, panelists will discuss the role of business in driving practical action to address both environmental challenges as well as the human rights, needs and interests of affected populations. Particular attention will be paid to the environment and human rights nexus in terms of immediate and longer-term recovery measures in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.

The event will provide global context around instruments governing Responsible Business Conduct and share trends and practical examples of business practices in the face of environmental challenges such as plastic pollution and climate change.

The session will raise awareness of links between business responsibilities and the intersection with human rights and the environment and will focus on sharing of ideas and good practices that are practical and solution-oriented.

Workshop on banking and human rights for ASEAN banks

12 June 2020, 14:00-16:00 (Bangkok time, GMT+7)

Many of the direct human rights risks and issues faced by banks are generic to all businesses. In addition, under the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights when providing funding or financial advice to a business client, a bank can be exposed to the human rights concerns which relate to that business and its sector. This workshop focus specifically on human right issues for banks in ASEAN on this latter point as a lender.

Session Description

This is an introductory workshop on banking and human rights for the banking community in the ASEAN. This will be a safe space for bank practioners to ask questions and discuss with experts. Chatham house rules will be applied.