|
|
The role of human rights in the EU Sustainable Finance agenda, while indispensable, is currently limited, with one of the reasons for this misalignment being the lack of reliable data. Figures on how corporate activity influences - and is influenced - by human rights is indeed available at a much lesser extent than similar data on climate or environmental impacts. In addition, when available, such information is often presented in formats not useful to investors, who are increasingly interested in standardized, concise and meaningful information to guide their risk management. These limitations subsequently cascade down the investment chain, preventing an accurate assessment of how the financial system impacts and is impacted by human rights.
To bring light on the limitations and opportunities related to the measurement, collection and reporting of human rights metrics, ShareAction and ACCA partnered for a lively conference in Brussels. A wide range of European and international experts examined the state-of-play of human rights data, and ‘translated’ lessons learnt into concrete recommendations to reach scale on high-quality human rights metrics through the sustainable finance agenda.
Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction said: “Today’s event brought together an impressive range of human rights experts, investors, civil society leaders and legislators to engage constructively with the opportunity presented by the EU’s Sustainable Finance agenda. Collectively, we acknowledge and welcome the ambition of these legislative proposals but we call on the Commission to recognise that to be credible, sustainable finance must be socially sustainable. Europe deserves, indeed needs, humane as well as green financing of its economy to serve the public interest.”