Human rights checklist

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What SMEs need to know

Embedding human rights in the way you operate is key to success on the global stage. All small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have responsibilities to respect internationally recognized human rights, and should have policies and procedures to meet these responsibilities. Use Export Development Canada’s (EDC) checklist below to get started or improve your current practices.

Step 1

Assign responsibility

Who in your company has overall responsibility for human rights?

To ensure accountability and buy-in, appoint a senior figure in the company to lead the effort to address human rights issues.

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

Human Rights 101: EDC Guide for SMEs

Step 2

Understand your human rights footprint

Are you familiar with the full range of human rights your business could impact?

Consider employees, customers, suppliers, community members and any others touched by the operations or activities of your company.
Check human rights laws where you do business, or plan to expand. Also understand the country context (e.g., is there severe conflict, risks of child labour, etc.?)

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

Step 3

Define your human rights commitment

Has your company made a clear commitment to respect human rights? This is a key action set out in the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights. It shows that your company understands its responsibilities.

Develop a statement of policy that expresses your human rights commitments and expectations of staff, suppliers and others connected to your business.
Document it. Put your statement of commitment in writing—either in a stand-alone human rights policy or by integrating the statement into other governance documents such as contracts, codes of conduct (e.g., employee code, supplier code), or other policies.

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

Step 4

Put your commitment into practice

How will you operationalize your human rights commitment? Written commitments are not enough—companies need to show how these are upheld and respected.

Conduct due diligence to identify all relevant human rights risks connected to your business activities. Sector or market-specific risks are important; for instance, human rights risks in apparel in Thailand are different from those in mining in Peru. Consider risks in both your operations and your supply chain.
Make a list of human rights issues to manage. Prioritize those that could be more likely and most severe in terms of impacts to your business and to people.
Put procedures/systems in place to prevent and mitigate these risks. The nature and scale of your actions will depend on your business context.
Create plans to respond to any negative human rights impacts your company may cause or contribute to as a result of business relationships with other parties.

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

Step 5

Establish a problem resolution process

Do you have processes to handle human rights complaints and adverse impacts?

Establish feedback channels for stakeholders to bring issues and complaints to your attention.
Put in place safeguards for employees, customers and stakeholders who may fear retaliation for speaking up such as a non-retaliation policy.
Consider remediation. When people’s human rights are negatively affected, it’s expected that your company will put it right and provide a remedy. Hold suppliers/partners accountable for any resolutions required on their end.

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (refer to Principle #31)

Step 6

Educate and communicate

Is everyone within and outside your company aware of your human rights efforts?

Educate your staff. Build respect for human rights into your company culture. Ensure employees understand how to fulfil your human rights policy commitments.
Tell stakeholders. Make your human rights commitments publicly available (e.g., on your website) and use other ways, if possible, to be transparent about your human rights practices.

Resources

We recommend the following resources:

UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (refer to Principle #22)

Also in this series

Looking to continue this series? Check out the links below:

1 of 14: Sustainability 101: Time to embed sustainability into your business?
2 of 14: How to write a policy
3 of 14: Human rights 101 guide
4 of 14: Human rights checklist (this guide)
5 of 14: Energy efficiency 101 guide
6 of 14: Energy efficiency checklist
7 of 14: Waste management and pollution 101 guide
8 of 14: Waste management and pollution checklist
9 of 14: Health and safety 101 guide
10 of 14: Health and safety checklist
11 of 14: Sustainability management 101 guide
12 of 14: Sustainability management checklist
13 of 14: Business ethics 101 guide
14 of 14: Business ethics checklist

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Date modified: 2023-09-21

Access the human rights checklistUnlimited one-click access through your MyEDC Account

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What SMEs need to know

Step 1

Assign responsibility

Resources

Step 2

Understand your human rights footprint

Resources

Step 3

Define your human rights commitment

Resources

Step 4

Put your commitment into practice

Resources

Step 5

Establish a problem resolution process

Resources

Step 6

Educate and communicate

Resources

Also in this series

Want to learn more?