Nestlé first company to publicly share its human rights training for employees

On Human Rights Day, 10 December 2018, the world’s largest food and beverage company internally launched its updated human rights training for its employees. In order to inspire and guide other companies on how to train its employees on human rights, Nestlé has now decided to share its training module publicly.

The decision is a result of the company’s long-term collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights. The Institute has been collaborating with Nestlé on the company’s commitment to respecting human rights since 2010. In 2018, the Institute supported Nestlé in revising its human rights training for employees to help Nestlé fulfil its commitment to train all of its employees on human rights by 2020.

“Addressing human rights issues trumps commercial interests”

Making the training available beyond the company’s walls was a no-brainer for Yann Wyss, Senior Public Affairs Manager, Social and Environmental Impact, who is leading the initiative:

“The need to address the human rights issue simply trumps other considerations – commercial or competitive. This module is open to all companies and individuals interested in gaining a better understanding of the human rights issue. They can choose to use this training in its current form, or to adapt it to meet their own needs,” said Yann Wyss.

Built around three chapters – understanding human rights, human rights challenges, and practical solutions – the training module manages the feat of conveying complex information in simple language, devoid of legal and technical jargon. The training also culminates with a quiz for maximum engagement.

“Corporate transparency is key to responsible business”

Since the late 1990s, the Institute has worked directly with companies to help them conduct their operations while respecting human rights.

“We encourage companies to be transparent about their human rights challenges and how they address them. It is commendable that Nestlé is breaking new grounds in sharing their human rights training publicly, inspiring other companies to develop similar trainings for their employees,” Dirk Hoffmann, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights & Business at the Institute, said.