Accessing learning in due diligence and grievance mechanisms

Need for increased alignment in due diligence processes

As more national laws and regulations move to requiring Human Rights Due Diligence processes, the need for clear guidance and experience in what establishing these systems entails becomes more and more important. Sustainability systems like Bonsucro and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) have a responsibility to align their practice with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, with transparency in their due diligence process.

Responding to the gap in guidance

Bonsucro and the RJC have been working to bolster their respective systems. In 2020, Bonsucro tightened due diligence requirements for members with the release of a new Code of Conduct and new Grievance Mechanism. The RJC, a member of the OECD Multi-stakeholder group (MSG), enhanced its Human Rights Due Diligence Toolkit for members and auditors in 2022, offering practical steps to carry out due diligence. Both organisations were challenged by the lack of guidance guidance specifically to sustainability systems like themselves, and decided to join forces to help fill that gap for the community guided by their own experience.

Supporting the development of due diligence systems

The project has advanced our understanding of the role that multi-stakeholder initiatives have in supporting the implementation on the UNGPs, capturing key recommendations as well as identifying the main challenges for effective human rights due diligence integration and implementation. The project also created the opportunity to share and document good practice to strengthen grievance mechanisms, and has illustrated how third-party partners can support sustainability systems in the design and implementation of grievance mechanisms.

Download project outputs

Resource for Partnerships in Grievance Mechanisms | The Remedy Project for Bonsucro & RJC

Resource for Partnerships in Grievance Mechanisms | The Remedy Project for BO & RJC

Resource for Partnerships in Grievance Mechanisms | The Remedy Project for BO & RJC689.64 KB

Human Rights Due Diligence Briefing Note | twentyfifty for Bonsucro & RJC

Bonsucro and Responsible Jewellery Council engaged Business & Human Rights consultancy twentyfifty Ltd to conduct a research project on learning and good practice from the experience of ISEAL Community Members in implementing Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). This briefing note is intended to give a summary of the key findings from this. The objective is to support ISEAL Community Members and other multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) and voluntary sustainability standards’ (VSS) in strengthening their implementation of the UNGPs, which is increasingly a requirement of several international frameworks and national legislations.

The findings and recommendations presented in this publication are a summary based on the results of desk-based research and interviews carried out by twentyfifty Ltd between January and June 2022 with representatives of ISEAL and eight ISEAL Community Members.

Human Rights Due Diligence Briefing Note | twentyfifty for Bonsucro & RJC540.12 KB

Grievance Mechanisms Briefing Note | twentyfifty for Bonsucro & RJC

Bonsucro and Responsible Jewellery Council engaged Business & Human Rights consultancy twentyfifty to conduct a research project into Grievance Mechanisms within Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS). The research investigated how grievance mechanisms have been set up and how grievances are managed and remediated within their memberships. The document is intended to give a summary of the key findings from this research, share good practice as well as give practical examples for VSS to either introduce new or strengthen existing grievance mechanisms, in alignment with the UNGP and OECD Guidelines.

The organisations included in the research, which was carried out between January and June 2022, were Better Cotton Initiative, Bonsucro, Forest Stewardship Council, Marine Stewardship Council, Rainforest Alliance, Responsible Jewellery Council, Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials and The Copper Mark. The research involved an in-depth document review of policies, reports & public information as well as an interview with each organisation to get a more in-depth understanding of their grievance processes.

Grievance Mechanisms Briefing Note | twentyfifty for Bonsucro & RJC886.76 KB

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