White & Case is committed to helping clients navigate the complex human rights issues they face as they operate around the world. These issues include compliance with the growing body of national laws requiring human rights reporting for operations and supply chains, the need for more sophisticated due diligence to identify risks and the growing threat of lawsuits or reputational damage based on alleged human rights abuses. In addition, effective management of business and human rights issues offers benefits such as lower cost of debt, increased market share and improved employee morale and productivity.
Business and human rights issues cross practice groups, industries and regions. So we devised a comprehensive, global solution to best serve our clients. In 2019, the Firm’s Business & Human Rights interest group created a nine-minute training video, “Fundamentals of Business & Human Rights for Lawyers.” The video, which provides an overview of recent developments, risk areas and business opportunities, is being incorporated into practice group trainings in our regions around the world. It sets the stage for tailored discussions focused on issues relevant to each practice group.
We’ve put our training into practice, counseling clients on a wide range of business and human rights issues globally. For example, we have assisted with disaster response and crisis management; applied corporate benchmarking and reporting requirements, including environmental, social, and governance factors and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; and provided pro bono support to the Global Battery Alliance, which aims to create a responsible global battery supply chain.
Going forward, we will continue to focus on this evolving area of the law, ensuring that our clients have the tools they need to maximize opportunities and manage risk.
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