독일에서는 여전히 논쟁이 진행 중이지만, 인권 실사는 이미 많은 국가에서 완료된 거래입니다. 법적 의무의 도입으로 인해 많은 기업이 사회 감사의 기능을 재정의해야 합니다. 이 기사에서 우리는 인권 실사의 맥락에서 사회 감사가 할 수 있는 역할에 대해 논의합니다.
이미 일어난 일:
2017년 9월에 독일 국가 기업 및 인권 행동 계획이 발표되었습니다. 이 계획은 기업이 경제 활동의 인권 영향을 식별하고 잠재적인 부정적인 영향을 피하기 위한 적절한 조치를 취하도록 요구합니다. 그러나 행동 계획을 준수하지 않는 회사에 대한 제재 조항은 없습니다. 계획은 법률이 아니며 법적으로 집행할 수 없습니다. 이것이 바로 이른바 가치사슬법(Value Chain Act)이 좁히려는 간극입니다.
제안된 법안에 대한 추가 정보를 여기에서 수집했습니다.
Rethinking social audits
Social audits are increasingly being used to meet corporate due diligence obligations with regard to human rights. This requires a rethinking of the traditional social audit:
- Motivation: from voluntary to legally required
- Function: from a freely definable function within the CSR strategy to a supportive and diagnostic function in a clearly defined due diligence approach
- Criteria: From a freely definable code of conduct for suppliers to a human rights catalog
- Consequences: From a reputation question to a liability question
In the following, we explore the question of how social audits should be designed to contribute to effective compliance with human rights due diligence.
How do social audits contribute to compliance with
human rights due diligence?
Nearly all legal requirements for human rights due diligence stem from the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. According to these, all companies must develop a "human rights due diligence process" to "identify the human rights impacts of their operations, prevent violations, mitigate impacts, and take responsibility."
The Guiding Principles do not describe what role social audits can play in this process. However, it stands to reason that they primarily help to determine the status quo in the supply chain and identify actual and potential human rights violations. In this respect, their function is mainly diagnostic.
In addition, social audits can also have a preventive and even corrective effect:
- By letting suppliers know that inspections may take place, measures are taken to protect employees.
- Corrective action plans are usually drawn up for any deviations found during an audit.
However, as NGOs and human rights activists rightly point out, social audits alone are not enough to significantly and permanently improve working conditions. Social audits in themselves only contribute to compliance with human rights due diligence when audit findings are taken into account, follow-up actions are initiated, and root causes are addressed.
What criteria must be covered by the audit
for it to contribute to compliance with
human rights due diligence?
The United Nations Guiding Principles are based on internationally recognized human rights as well as international labor standards as set out in the International Bill of Human Rights and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions.
A number of standards and initiatives exist that have established audit protocols based on these documents. These include general standards such as Sedex SMETA and SA 8000, as well as industry-specific initiatives such as the Responsible Business Alliance, Together for Sustainability, Aluminum Stewardship Initiative, Farm Sustainability Assessments and many more.
What are the liability implications for
conducting social audits?
Companies facing human rights violations in the supply chain are exposed to liability risks. To minimize risks, it is advisable to follow best practices. Specifically, this means:
- Applying international standards rather than developing your own audit checklists.
- Join industry initiatives when available
- Only accept audits from recognized audit organizations (keyword APSCA)
- Adhere to audit follow-up procedures and document both the corrective actions taken by audited suppliers and your own actions related to the supplier relationship.
DQS CFS GMBH - German Association for Sustainability
All offices of DQS Group have a common goal:
To contribute to the sustainable success of our customers by providing value-added assessments. Within the Group, DQS CFS GmbH bundles all certification and audit services related to sustainability and consumer safety. In addition to the certification of quality and product safety management systems, this also includes the performance of supplier audits, inspections, product certifications and the verification of sustainability reports and indicators.
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타이즈 윌라에르트
Thijs Willaert 박사는 지속 가능성 및 식품 안전 부문의 마케팅 및 커뮤니케이션 책임자입니다. 그는 또한 지속 가능성 보고서의 외부 감사를 위한 심사인이기도 합니다. 그의 관심 분야는 지속 가능성 관리, 지속 가능한 조달, 감사 환경의 디지털화입니다.
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