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Ensuring Respect of Human Rights
Background
A key challenge for businesses Sanofi is committed to incorporating the principles of human rights into the Group’s operating activities. We are convinced that these principles apply to people, nations and, by extension, to businesses. Striving to ensure respect for human rights in companies has become a key CSR topic today, when international standards are becoming more stringent and stakeholders are putting more pressure on companies to provide information about their practices. The ISO 26000 standards contains the basic principles of social responsibility including the respect of human rights. Beyond legal ramifications, human rights issues may pose a risk for a company’s image or reputation, especially when violations are committed by others potentially within its sphere of influence (e.g., suppliers). For this reason, non-financial rating agencies and ethical investors take human rights issues into account in their evaluations and ratings. In addition, the implementation of human rights principles is a major factor of motivation for the employees and helps companies to be an attractive employer on the job market. In June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed a set of Guiding Principles for Businesses and Human Rights, based on extensive research and consultation by Professor John Ruggie, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Business and Human Rights. For the first time, this set of principles introduced a global standard for business when it comes to human rights. Designed to provide tools to measure real progress in people’s daily lives, the Guiding Principles outline how governments and businesses can better manage human rights challenges and live up to their responsibilities.
Professor John Ruggie of Harvard University is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Business and Human Rights. He conducted research for six years to develop the Guiding Principles, which are based on consultations with governments, businesses, affected individuals and groups, investors and other stakeholders in more than 20 countries. In line with the UN Guiding Principles to ensure respect for human rights, businesses must: The Group’s human rights policy and actions are designed to go above and beyond compliance with these four steps. Sanofi is considered a leader in this field thanks to our pro-active initiatives to ensure we apply the principles of human rights as comprehensively as possible across the entire Group. For more information:
Respecting human rights is a priority for us. We have made a strong commitment to complying with international standards and principles, particularly the UN Global Compact. Gilles Lhernould,
Senior Vice President, CSR |
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