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Business and human rights in 2025: surfing uncertainty with style

28 January 2025
Several of my colleagues have commented on the number of ‘2025 trends’ for business and human rights in their LinkedIn feeds so far this year. And it seems to me that the top trend which we can most confidently predict is... uncertainty.
With January already almost over, this confidence does not seem misplaced. But by being late to the party, I at least have the chance to take a slightly different approach.
So here goes: here are my top six tips for human rights leads to surf 2025’s uncertainty with style!
1. In times of uncertainty, international human rights standards are your guide
As Alison Taylor wrote in her 2024 Financial Times Book of the Year-listed Higher Ground:
"A company can more readily and reliably decide where and how to act in response to an enormous range of pressures, if it bases its ethical commitments on its impacts on human beings.... Indeed, a corporation’s impacts on human beings constitute the very roots of its legal, operational, and reputational risks.’’
2. CSDDD: build on your foundations
The big corporate responsibility news of 2024 was the passing of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The good news is that this legislation is clearly aligned with the UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Responsible Business Guidelines.
Sustainability and human rights leads have been working to identify and address business impacts on human rights for the last decade, if with limited resources and support. Now this is a question of legal compliance, it is the time when many other departments, not least the legal team, need to get involved and will have much to offer.
But let’s not forget to build on the sound foundations that human rights teams have worked hard to put into place.
3. As a human rights lead, your time is now!
If you are a human rights lead, you probably found 2024 a tough year. Early in 2024 the cranks started turning on the response to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Multi-functional teams were formed, consultants appointed, long lists of risks compiled and tested with stakeholders.
It turned out that you knew the social impacts of your business better than others, and you had to work hard to get your insights integrated into the double materiality assessment.
This next legislation, the CSDDD, cements the due diligence approach which comes from the human rights world. Hence in 2025 it is the human rights leads that companies must turn to for the insights and experience to put this legislation into practice. Expect another demanding year.
"We made our commitments to respecting human rights before CSDDD, and we had started developing human rights due diligence practices because that’s what our customers, investors, employees and stakeholders expect...so why would we stop now?"
4. Putting human rights into practice means changing behaviours
Early learnings from work we are doing to prepare clients for the CSDDD is underlining the importance of implementation and behavioural change.
It is one thing to ensure the policies and toolkits are in place, and another to encourage their use and that they influence decision making. Further, senior leaders are searching for the carrot to complement the stick.
Reaching out to those in human resources who know the levers of behavioural change and transformation teams could be critical.
5. HREDD is more important than ever
Back to uncertainty. No doubt there will be a lot of consternation about the law’s demands, and omnibuses will rumble forward. But we made our commitments to respecting human rights before CSDDD, and we had started developing human rights due diligence practices because that’s what our customers, investors, employees and stakeholders expect...so why would we stop now?
After all, it is human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) that is building the muscle of companies to gain insights into, and navigate the complex (and uncertain!) social and environmental upheavals that are underway on our planet and ultimately building more adaptive, resilient and - simply - strong companies.
6. To 2030 and beyond
2025 is also the year when human rights due diligence will need to find its way into companies’ climate transition planning. This is the year when companies will plan the ‘just transition’.
This will take human rights considerations into the reshaping of the business and its strategies, identifying and enhancing its social value, and the inclusion of stakeholders in these processes.
So there we go – a few thoughts on a year of uncertainty and how returning to basic human values may well help businesses (and individuals) through the year, and build capabilities and strength for the future.
twentyfifty can help you navigate HREDD, CSDDD, the just transition and more. Contact us and we’ll put you in touch with our expert team. info@twentyfifty.co.uk