Home
We are working to transform how we measure business respect for human rights to focus on what matters most: outcomes for people.
Welcome to Valuing Respect, a global collaborative initiative led by Shift, to research and co-create better ways of evaluating business respect for human rights. We are working with a wide variety of partners across all sectors and geographies. Our goal is to develop tools and insights that can help companies and their stakeholders focus their resources on what matters most: outcomes for people.
Our Six Focus Areas
MAKING EVALUATION MATTER
Business Model Red Flags
Certain aspects of business models can pose inherent risks to human rights. Business leaders and investors who identify these 'business model red flags' are better equipped to address risks to both people and the business.
Tool for Indicator Design
Based on an adapted 'Theory of Change' methodology, this tool helps companies and their stakeholders examine interventions, analyze assumptions, and define leading and lagging indicators of the outcomes for people.
Leadership, Governance, & Culture
What does it mean to have an organizational culture that fosters respect for human rights? Indicators that reflect a mix of formal governance arrangements, senior leadership behaviors and the perspectives of the workforce can carry the answer.
Behavior Change
Behavioral science has long been used by governments to advance public policy aims and by companies to influence consumer decisions. Could it also help companies and their stakeholders evaluate which business processes and systems lead to rights-respecting behavior?
Accounting for Respect
Current financial and management accounting methods do not capture value to business or society that comes from businesses respecting human rights. This area of work explores what changes are needed in our accounting logic and methods to address this gap.
Stakeholder Voice
The voice of those who are negatively impacted by business is key to understanding and shaping a company’s efforts to respect human rights. This area of work explores how to involve affected stakeholders in indicator design, data collection, and identifying improvements.
A flagship project, by Shift
For years, many of us in the world of Business and Human Rights have talked about the need for much better tools and approaches to evaluate what is working and what isn’t. But entrenched practices and the scale of the challenge have deterred concerted action. We decided to do something about that.
At Shift, it is in our nature to push boundaries and challenge assumptions. We love diving into tough challenges and asking ourselves the hard, seemingly unsolvable questions. Above all, we are committed to making sure that both talk and action on business and human rights revolve around what matters most: people’s dignity. Learn more about Shift’s approach.
This three-year project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of our funders, the collaboration of our regional and expert partners, and the feedback and support of all the stakeholders involved in our consultations and pilot processes. Learn more about our process.
FUNDERS
REGIONAL COLLABORATORS
