Technology Solutions For Advancing Human Rights In Global Supply Chains

Barriers for workers include: Intimidation by or mistrustof technology solutions Limited access totechnology and technologyskills Limited voice in the designof technology solutionsBarriers for suppliers include: Transparency and changemanagement challenges Limited ownership toimprove human rightspolicies and practices Limited incentives to movebeyond complianceBarriers for companies include:Opportunities to overcome worker barriers include: Engage workers more frequently and close the feedback loopby sharing the outcomes of worker engagement with workersthemselves Clarify the value proposition for workers by focusing on theirinterests and goals Include workers in the design of technology solutions and inthe design of policies and practices that protect their dataOpportunities to overcome supplier barriers include: Invest in technology-based human rights solutions that focuson long-run improvements in productivity and operatingmargins Prioritize technology solutions that integrate with existingresource management systems Share (positive and negative) human rights data and competeon outcomes, not just on complianceOpportunities to overcome company barriers include: Difficulty quantifying thebusiness case for technologybased human rights solutions Support the business case by breaking through internalinformation silos and sharing the outputs of technologysolutions more widely Limited decision-makingpower and implementationcapabilities Promote open-source human rights data to drive competitionand improve trust and reputation with workers and consumers Data quality andcomparability challengesDevelop common definitions for human rights data toadvance impact measurement efforts and improve datainteroperability The majority of technology solutions do notdescribe their use of responsible designprinciples, such as the Worker EngagementSupported by Technology (WEST) Principlesor the Principles for Digital Development. The majority of technology solutions also donot quantify the overall scale and impact oftheir efforts. Technology solutions providershave an opportunity to provide morequantitative data describing the businesscase and their positive impact on workers’human rights. The majority of technology solutionsproviders are headquartered in NorthAmerica and Europe rather than in thesourcing or destination countries whereworkers live and work. While the reasons forthis separation may differ from onetechnology solution to the next, this maypoint to the need for greater engagementbetween those who are developingtechnology solutions and the workers thesesolutions are ultimately trying to impact.5 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

LOOKING AHEAD: PLACING WORKERS ATTHE CENTER OF THE TECHNOLOGY AGENDATo maximize the scale and impact of technologysolutions, companies, suppliers, and technologysolutions providers have opportunities to: Align with responsible design principles.Despite its potential and promise,technology cannot and should not replaceresponsible and ethical decision making, butshould focus on building knowledge andenhancing users’ ability to positively impacthuman rights. Furthermore, providers andusers of technology solutions, whileattempting to address one human right (e.g.,free expression), should be attentive aboutunintentionally impacting or exacerbatinganother human right (e.g., privacy). Aligningwith responsible design principles can helpmitigate some of these risks.Shift toward a more proactive, outcomebased model. Many in the field believe abroader, behavioral and systemic shift needsto take place for technology to have greaterscale and impact on human rights. Many oftoday’s company-to-supplier-to-workerrelationships—and many of the technologysolutions included in this study—are basedon the traditional social compliance andaudit model. Practitioners urge a shifttoward a more proactive, outcome-basedmodel that emphasizes continuousimprovement, supplier capability building,collaborative assessment, and workerengagement, empowerment, and wellbeing.Use technology to facilitate businessrespect for human rights. Fundamentally,technology should facilitate business respectfor human rights. Human rights, bydefinition, are inalienable rights andcompanies and suppliers especially—whether or not there’s a clear businesscase—have a responsibility to respecthuman rights at all times. Companies andsuppliers should draw from the UnitedNations Guiding Principles on Business andHuman Rights and other standards andframeworks to develop sound human rightspolicies and practices, irrespective of the useof technology.Looking ahead five to ten years, practitionerswould like to see more representatives andleaders from other corporate functions (e.g.,strategy, finance, human resources, IT,operations, government affairs, engineering,sales and marketing) driving the human rightsand technology solutions agenda. Practitionersalso would like to see more companies andsuppliers from different industries engage onthis subject and be willing to use their influenceto drive impact and collaboration. Breakingdown these internal and external silos will helpelevate the technology and human rightsagenda into the mainstream business agenda.Finally, practitioners hope that over the next fiveto ten years—as more technology solutionsemerge, common definitions and datasets arecreated, and system integrations occur—workerswill be placed at the center of the technologysolutions agenda. The dozens of companies,technology solutions providers, human rightsadvocates, supply chain specialists, and otherleaders and experts who contributed to thisstudy believe there is a strong need to createmore opportunities to partner directly withworkers to drive the technology solutionsagenda.Companies, suppliers, and technology solutionsproviders are encouraged to use this study toinform their own approach to identifying andprioritizing technology-driven opportunities thatwill help them achieve greater scale and impacton human rights in global supply chains.6 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

BACKGROUNDDespite growing efforts by business, investors,civil society, and policymakers over the past twodecades, workers in global supply chainscontinue to experience human rights abuses,including human trafficking, forced and childlabor, hazardous working conditions, physicalabuse and sexual violence, excessive workinghours, and insufficient wages.For instance, the International LabourOrganization (ILO) estimates that there areapproximately 24.9 million victims of forcedlabor in the world—and of this figure, about 16million people are exploited in the private sector,in industries such as domestic work,construction, and agriculture. The ILO alsoestimates that more women than men areaffected by privately imposed forced labor:about 9.2 million (58 percent) female and 6.8million (42 percent) male. Furthermore, mostvictims of forced labor suffer from not just one,but multiple forms of coercion from employersor recruiters as a way of preventing them frombeing able to leave the situation.2While conditions have improved in someindustries, existing private sector approaches toaddressing human rights abuses in global supplychains, primarily centered on social complianceaudits, have not been able to consistently andbroadly address the challenge, due in part tolimited capacity and a lack of political will bySource: ILO, “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery:Forced Labour and Forced Marriage,” 2017.3 Source: Council on Foreign Relations, “UnfinishedBusiness: Improving Labor Standards in GlobalSupply Chains,” 2016.2many governments in sourcing and destinationcountries to set and enforce standards forworkplace practices that align with internationalhuman rights norms.3In the absence of robust regulatory interventionand enforcement, supply chain workers in manycountries and sectors—including migrantworkers, which today account for more than 150million workers globally—find themselves with:4 Limited access to information about theirrights; Limited opportunity to voice needs andconcerns; and Limited ability to file grievances and gainaccess to remedies for human rights abuses.As human rights advocates continue to call formore robust regulatory intervention andenforcement of human rights standards, privatesector interventions— including the use oftechnology innovation—provide newopportunities to empower and safeguard therights of workers and enable suppliers andcompanies to respect human rights and provideaccess to effective remedies. The challenge,however, is that many, if not most, of thesetechnology solutions have yet to achieve theneeded scale and impact.4Source: ILO, “ILO global estimates on migrantworkers,” 2015.7 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

CURRENT LITERATUREWhile a significant number of articles, blogs,opinion pieces, events, and forums shed light ontechnology, human rights, and global supplychains, the public domain lacks more in-depthassessments and comparative studies on thissubject. However, as this subject has gainedmore and more attention over the last severalyears, leading institutions and organizationshave increased their funding to support researchto explore this subject in greater depth. Thesestudies have focused on specific human rightsissues (e.g., human trafficking), specific industries(e.g., ICT), or specific technology solutions (e.g.,blockchain) and have provided significant valueto the field, including informing subsequentresearch.published in 2018 by the Global eSustainability Initiative (GeSI), recommendsthat the information and communicationstechnology (ICT) industry, in collaborationwith all interested stakeholders, should takeaction to develop and apply what could becalled “technology for human rights.” Thereport highlights examples of how ICTsolutions are being applied constructively tohelp address and arrest human rightsabuses. The report also defines a businesscase to help develop and apply technologysolutions for human rights.6 “Blockchain technology and its relationshipsto sustainable supply chain management,”published in September 2018 in theInternational Journal of Production Research,examines how blockchain, a potentiallydisruptive technology that is early in itsevolution, can address and aid supply chainsustainability. Four blockchain technologyadoption barriers categories—interorganizational, intra-organizational,technical, and external barriers—areintroduced.7 “Supply Chain Human Rights RiskManagement: Blockchain and EmergingTechnology,” published in November 2018by DLA Piper, outlines some of the potentialopportunities and challenges presented byDistributed Ledger Technology (DLT), orblockchain, to manage human rights andresponsible business conduct risks in supplychains and increase transparency. The paperis framed around investors' views on humanrights risk management and supply chaintransparency and focuses on examples fromthe minerals and metals supply chains.8Some of the more recent studies and effortsinclude: “Transformative Technology for MigrantWorkers Opportunities, Challenges, andRisks,” published in November 2018 by theOpen Society Foundations, examines fiveareas in which digital platforms are beingdeveloped to protect and empower migrantworkers and considers practical, legal,ethical, and technological implications andthe risks associated with them. The reportconcludes that digital technology cannot fixstructural inequalities, missing institutionalcapacity, or a lack of political will to addresslabor exploitation. But when usedresponsibly and with worker protection andoutcomes as a priority, it offers new andamplified opportunities for migrant workerempowerment and justice.5“EnablingRights - The TransformativePotential of Digital to Enable People's Rights,”Source: Open Society Foundations, “TransformativeTechnology for Migrant Workers: Opportunities,Challenges, and Risks,” 2018.6 Source: GeSI, “EnablingRights - The TransformativePotential of Digital to Enable People's Rights,” 2018.5Source: International Journal of Production Research,“Blockchain technology and its relationships tosustainable supply chain management,” 2018.8 Source: DLA Piper, “Supply chain human rights riskmanagement: Blockchain and emerging technology,”72018.8 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

Table 1. Current Literature on Technology, Human Rights, and Supply ChainStudy Scope: Supply chainRights holders: Migrant workersIndustry focus: All industriesTechnology focus: Digital platforms for migrant workerengagementEnablingRights - The TransformativePotential of Digital to EnablePeople's Rights Scope: Value chainRights holders: Workers, contractors, and customersIndustry focus: ICT industryTechnology focus: All typesBlockchain technology and itsrelationships to sustainable supplychain management Scope: Supply chainRights holders: Workers in global supply chainsIndustry focus: All industriesTechnology focus: BlockchainSupply Chain Human Rights RiskManagement: Blockchain andEmerging Technology Scope: Supply chainRights holders: Workers in global supply chainsIndustry focus: Mining and extractives industriesTechnology focus: Blockchain Scope: Value chainRights holders: All people vulnerable to forced labor,human trafficking, and modern slaveryIndustry focus: All industriesTechnology focus: All typesTransformative Technology forMigrant Workers Opportunities,Challenges, and RisksThe role of digital technology intackling modern slavery Scope “The role of digital technology in tacklingmodern slavery,” published in June 2017,summarizes a dialogue formally exploringhow digital information and communicationtechnologies can provide opportunities for astep change in tackling modern slavery.Hosted by Wilton Park and in associationwith BT and Nokia, this dialogue has sparkednew industry collaborations, such as TechAgainst Trafficking, a joint coalition oftechnology companies collaborating withglobal experts to help eradicate humantrafficking through the use of technology.Launched in June 2018 and led by theRESPECT Initiative and Business for SocialResponsibility (BSR), the coalition’s goal is towork with civil society, law enforcement,academia, and survivors to identify andcreate technology solutions that disrupt andreduce human trafficking, prevent and9 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

identify crimes, provide remedy mechanismsfor victims, and support survivors throughinnovation, collaboration, guidance, andshared resources.9,10PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STUDY A “supplier” produces, manufacturers,assembles, or provides goods or servicesthat are sold and delivered to a company.For this study, a supplier is a first-tiersupplier of a multinational corporation. A “company” is a multinational corporationthat purchases direct or indirect goods orservices from a supplier, as defined above.For this study, a company is a brand orconsumer-facing entity. A “technology solutions provider” is anorganization that designs and brings tomarket technology-driven solutions, tools, orresources that seek to identify, prevent, orremediate human rights abuses in globalsupply chains.The purpose of this study is to provide:1.An assessment of current technologysolutions on the market today that seek toaddress human rights challenges in globalsupply chains;2.An understanding of existing barriers thatprevent these technology solutions fromachieving greater scale and impact; and3.An identification of potential opportunitiesto overcome these barriers.This study is intended for companies, suppliers,and technology solutions providers seeking toaddress human rights challenges in globalsupply chains. Human rights–focused teams andpractitioners within CSR, ethical sourcing, orsupplier responsibility, are especially encouragedto use this study to inform their own approachto identifying and prioritizing technology-drivenopportunities that will help them achieve greaterscale and impact on human rights in globalsupply chains.This study recognizes that a company, such as aconsumer goods retailer, employs low-wageworkers who can benefit from many of thetechnology solutions reviewed in this study.However, this study focuses on supply chainworkers versus workers who are directlyemployed by a company.METHODOLOGYThe methodology for this study included threemajor components:1.Literature review: The authors of this studyreviewed publicly available literature tounderstand the current state of evidence onchallenges and potential opportunities forusing technology to address human rightschallenges in global supply chains. Theauthors reviewed the five main studiesreferenced earlier in this section, as well asarticles, blogs, and opinion pieces on thissubject (see Appendix C for a full list ofreferences).2.Landscape review: To support the literaturereview, the authors of this study conductedsemi-structured interviews with 20KEY DEFINITIONSThe following definitions have been developedfor this study: 9A “worker” is an individual employed on afull-time, part-time, or temporary orcontractual basis by a supplier, the primaryemployer of supply chain workers. Thisindividual is the primary rights holder thatthis study seeks to improve outcomes forwith technology solutions.Source: Wilton Park, “The role of digital technologyin tackling modern slavery,” 2017.10Source: BSR, “Announcing a New CollaborationUsing Tech to Combat Human Trafficking,” 2018.10 Technology Solutions for Advancing Human Rights in Global Supply Chains

companies, technology solutions providers,human rights advocates, and supply chainspecialists to understand the landscape oftechnology solutions seeking to addresshuman rights challenges in global supplychains. In total, the authors identified 44technology solutions, which were thenexamined further to determine broad trends,gaps, and opportunities. The landscapereview also helped inform the developmentof a set of hypotheses on key barriers andchallenges preventing these technologysolutions from achieving greater adoption,scale, and impact.3.Stakeholder engagement: Insights from thelandscape review and interviews set thefoundation for two stakeholder workshopsheld at the University of California, Berkeley,in January and April 2019. Workshopparticipants—which included 32practitioners, leaders, and experts frombusiness, human rights, and technology—met to review existing barriers andchallenges, discus

The Human Rights and Business Initiative, a joint initiative of the Human Rights Center and the Center for Responsible Business at the Haas School of Business, envisions a world where all companies respect human rights. Launched in 2015, the Human Rights and Business Initiative works to advance the concept