Almost two-thirds of the biggest asset managers do not regularly review human rights issues in investments’ supply chains, says non-profit ShareAction, and a fifth only apply social policies to ESG-labelled funds.
Victory Hill Capital Partners head of sustainability Eleanor Fraser-Smith points to UN guiding principles on business and human rights, which were endorsed over a decade ago and include the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. “This due diligence and applying a local human rights lens to investments is not routine [for asset managers],” she told Sustainable Views.
“Life cycle and value chain approaches, and systems thinking, including tipping points, are not routinely considered either. The linkages between biodiversity, climate and community wellbeing and human rights are not well understood, with topics still approached in silos,” Fraser-Smith added. “However, product stewardship and supply chain management is improving, with more focus on chain of custody and ‘as a service’ or circular business models, but we need to see more momentum.”