Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business

This study explores the relationship between the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability  (CS) through a business  and human  rights  (BHR) lens.  It affirms established guidance that companies must show respect for human rights. As a new factor, the study considers how co...

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Main Author: Tequila V. Bester
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Indonesian Forestry Certification Cooperation 2021-10-01
Series:Sustainability Science and Resources
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journalssr.com/index.php/ssr/article/view/1
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author Tequila V. Bester
author_facet Tequila V. Bester
author_sort Tequila V. Bester
collection DOAJ
description This study explores the relationship between the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability  (CS) through a business  and human  rights  (BHR) lens.  It affirms established guidance that companies must show respect for human rights. As a new factor, the study considers how corporations recognise civil rights. The authors examine annual reports and other material of five Fortune Global 500 multinational enterprises (MNEs) from five sectors to establish their relationship with UNGPs, SDGs and civil rights. They also review policies and reports to determine the MNEs management system(s) (MS) and system certifications. While the sample is too small to make correlations, the authors find that the sample MNEs do recognise civil rights under the guise of human rights. They appear to address civil rights issues that trend globally, not necessarily the problems that occur on the national or local level.  Although the sample countries contribute to SDGs, this engagement seems connected to the MNEs business strategy. Their SDGs involvement can change from one fiscal year to the next, depending on the business strategy. In the study, the authors focus on corporate management systems (MSs) and seek to identify elements of a good MS. They recommend that companies expose their MSs to audit and certification processes to ensure that respect for civil and human rights are embedded in their systems.
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spelling doaj-art-e31e2a7aad9f4f408029f6b6f14916722025-08-26T04:54:48ZengIndonesian Forestry Certification CooperationSustainability Science and Resources2809-60292021-10-011Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in BusinessTequila V. Bester0Programme Coordinator, Foundation for International Human Rights Reporting Standards (FIHRRST) This study explores the relationship between the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability  (CS) through a business  and human  rights  (BHR) lens.  It affirms established guidance that companies must show respect for human rights. As a new factor, the study considers how corporations recognise civil rights. The authors examine annual reports and other material of five Fortune Global 500 multinational enterprises (MNEs) from five sectors to establish their relationship with UNGPs, SDGs and civil rights. They also review policies and reports to determine the MNEs management system(s) (MS) and system certifications. While the sample is too small to make correlations, the authors find that the sample MNEs do recognise civil rights under the guise of human rights. They appear to address civil rights issues that trend globally, not necessarily the problems that occur on the national or local level.  Although the sample countries contribute to SDGs, this engagement seems connected to the MNEs business strategy. Their SDGs involvement can change from one fiscal year to the next, depending on the business strategy. In the study, the authors focus on corporate management systems (MSs) and seek to identify elements of a good MS. They recommend that companies expose their MSs to audit and certification processes to ensure that respect for civil and human rights are embedded in their systems. https://journalssr.com/index.php/ssr/article/view/1Corporate SustainabilitySustainable Development GoalsCivil RightsHuman RightsUNGPsManagement Systems
spellingShingle Tequila V. Bester
Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
Sustainability Science and Resources
Corporate Sustainability
Sustainable Development Goals
Civil Rights
Human Rights
UNGPs
Management Systems
title Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
title_full Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
title_fullStr Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
title_full_unstemmed Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
title_short Corporate Sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals: Respect for Civil Rights in Business
title_sort corporate sustainability and the sustainable development goals respect for civil rights in business
topic Corporate Sustainability
Sustainable Development Goals
Civil Rights
Human Rights
UNGPs
Management Systems
url https://journalssr.com/index.php/ssr/article/view/1
work_keys_str_mv AT tequilavbester corporatesustainabilityandthesustainabledevelopmentgoalsrespectforcivilrightsinbusiness