Information on HRIA for businesses
According to the UN Guiding Principles, businesses are expected to assess their impacts (including those arising from operations and business relationships) by carrying out human rights due diligence. HRIAs can provide a process for businesses to understand and address their impacts in a specific project, activity or country context.
HRIA of business projects and activities can provide a structured approach to:
- Identify adverse human rights impacts
- Determine measures to address any adverse human rights impacts identified (through prevention, mitigation and remediation)
- Facilitate dialogue between businesses, rights-holders and other relevant parties (for more information on the different stakeholders to engage in HRIA, see Stakeholder Engagement)
- Facilitate capacity building and learning for company stakeholders, rights-holders and others involved in the impact assessment
- Enhance the accountability of businesses
- Build partnerships between businesses, rights-holders and other stakeholders
For more information, see section A.4 of the Welcome and Introduction guidance text.
When should businesses commission HRIA?
Companies may decide to undertake HRIA for a wide range of reasons based on legislative and regulatory requirements, their industry and associated risks, their human rights commitments and/or their legacy around human rights issues. Developing ‘triggers’ for HRIA can be a good method to enable staff in businesses and financial institutions to identify projects or activities where HRIA would be a helpful approach. For instance, companies may decide to commission or undertake HRIA:
- When a financer or investor requires human rights due diligence as part of the contract
- When business partners (e.g., joint-venture partners) have been involved in human rights abuse
- When entering a new country context with known human rights issues (e.g., forced labour, restrictions on freedom of expression or violent behaviour from security forces)
- When an NGO, CSO, human rights group or other whistle-blower raises concerns about human rights impacts arising from the business project or activities
- When beginning a high-impact, high-risk project (e.g., a new mine, dam or large construction project)
- When the project or activities are or will be located on protected land or areas occupied by vulnerable populations (e.g., areas near indigenous communities, protected rainforests or refugee camps)
- When internal risk-identification mechanisms flag a site or project for further review and investigation
- When at risk of complicity in human rights abuses (see Phase 3: Analysing Impacts)
- When the project or business activities will affect common property resources used by an entire community (e.g., groundwater, grazing land or fishing waters); or
- When entering a new market or industry that may place consumers at risk (e.g., infant formula).
Severity of actual or potential human rights impacts should always guide decision-making on which projects warrant a stand-alone HRIA. Projects or business activities with the highest severity of impacts (e.g., threats to lives and livelihoods) should receive the highest priority. For more information on severity, see Phase 3: Analysing Impacts.
For HRIA of projects and activities, the assessment should be conducted as early as possible in the project cycle or when business activities commence. The HRIA should be repeated and re-evaluated at regular intervals and critical project gateways or other significant changes in context.
For more information, see sections A.4.5 and A.4.6 of the Welcome and Introduction text.
Additional information
The full Welcome and Introduction text provides more information on each of the points raised above. The text also includes more information on:
- Why businesses need to assess their human rights impacts
- How HRIA relates to human rights due diligence and the UN Guiding Principles
- The differences and similarities between HRIA and other types of impact and risk assessment
- Whether HRIA should be stand-alone or integrated with other impact assessments
For information on human rights standards and principles, including how they relate to HRIA, click here.
For an introduction to human rights impact assessment, including how HRIA differs from other forms of impact assessment, click here.
To learn more about stakeholder engagement in HRIA, click here.
To go back to the landing page and explore the different phases of HRIA, click here.
Businesses interested in working with DIHR, including on impact assessment and due diligence, can find more information here.