How can businesses take the first step in adopting a children’s rights approach?

Companies and investors that want to include a child rights perspective in their business can undertake several key actions:

Commit to Children’s Rights: The first step is for senior leadership to commit to prioritising children’s rights within the company. This commitment should be integrated into the company’s core values and business strategy.

Understand and Assess Risks: Conduct a comprehensive assessment to identify potential risks to children’s rights within your business operations and supply chains. This includes looking into child labour, working conditions, sourcing practices, products and marketing, and any other areas where children’s rights might be at risk.

Children should be viewed as a material topic for many companies which do not have children as a direct customer. Our Children’s rights Industry Risk Tool is a valuable resource to aid your investigation and the heat map within our Engagement Toolkit on Children’s Rights guides companies and investors to relevant areas in support of children’s rights, viewed on an industry level.

Adopt a Children’s Rights Policy: Develop and implement a clear and robust children’s rights policy that outlines the company’s commitment, principles, and approach to respecting and promoting children’s rights. This can be stand-alone, or incorporated in relevant existing policies such as Code of Conduct, Human Rights Policy, Sourcing or Supply Chain Policy, or Human Resources Policy.

Raise Awareness and Build Capacity: Train employees and partners on children’s rights and their relevance to the business. Ensure that staff employed at all levels understand their roles in upholding these rights.

Due Diligence: Implement a due diligence process to identify, prevent, and mitigate potential negative impacts on children’s rights. This involves assessing risks, taking corrective actions, and regularly monitoring progress.

Engage Stakeholders: Collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including NGOs, government agencies, and civil society organisations, to gain insights and expertise in addressing children’s rights effectively.

Transparency and Reporting: Enhance transparency by reporting on efforts to respect and promote children’s rights. This can be done through sustainability reports, annual statements, or other forms of disclosure.