How to innovate human rights for the next generation

The theme of this year’s Human Rights Day on 10 December is ‘Youth Standing up for Human Rights’. It’s fitting testimony to the leadership collective youth movements have shown this year on issues such as climate change, gun control, racism, hate speech and LGBTQ+ rights. It’s also a reminder that the next generation have the right to a say in what their future looks like.

While human rights are fundamental to every individual and do not change, the societal context does not stand still. Therefore, we must be vigilant and address new realities effectively to ensure the protection of human rights and to advocate for the next generation of rights such as those linked to the changes, for example, that technology and the digital economy bring.

My role in developing Unilever’s rights and social impact agenda is both a magnificent opportunity and a tremendous responsibility. In today’s world where some states may fail to protect and conditions are inconsistent with the rights and values Unilever promote, we can find ourselves filling that gap

Here are four areas where we can all innovate to ensure that human rights remain strong for this generation and the next.

In the 1990s, the American political strategist James Carville attracted the attention of the US electorate with the phrase ‘It’s the economy, stupid’. My own version is ‘It’s the business model, stupid’.

When we talk about human rights, we often address the symptoms, not the cause.

This is the reason why we have Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan. It ensures we look at human rights across the entire value chain from R&D to manufacturing, distribution, the use of products and their disposal.

And it changes to reflect business change. For example, we are currently ensuring that the human rights and labour conditions of workers are built into the new models we’re developing to support a new plastics economy. Or we’re tackling the emergence of borderless workforces by putting responsible recruitment policies in place.

Companies are not legislative entities but we can – and must – lend our voice for human rights stewardship and the advancement of sustainability.

Participation and collaboration are key to innovating policy and we have worked hard to embed this in our own strategy and culture.

On the world stage, that has seen us take an active stand in the support of the Paris Agreement to tackle climate change.

On a company-wide scale, it has seen us work to address our own salient human rights issues in our 2017 Human Rights Report.

At a brand level, it has seen Ben & Jerry’s take a stand on marriage equality and refugee rights.

We need collective action and a transformation of markets to reward long-term value. In his letter to shareholders this year, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, which manages nearly $6 trillion in investment, said that “society is increasingly looking for companies both public and private to address pressing social and economic issues”.

The good news for investors is there is a link between purpose and profit. Our Unilever brands with purpose have outperformed other brands – not only financially, but also on positive social impact.

But the most important stakeholder in helping business promote human rights is you – our consumers.

With every purchase you are enabling business practices that make an impact. With every choice you make you are playing your part in driving financial investment and the markets. With every purchase you make, you are voting for what matters to you.