New report on Nestlé Human Rights Impact Assessments

A summary report of the views expressed by stakeholders during a panel discussion on Human Rights Impacts Assessments has now been published by the rapporteur of the event, SustainAbility. The roundtable took place in April 2014 and was facilitated by the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The panel discussion was part of a Roundtable on Nestlé’s approach to human rights and rural development and gathered approximately twenty human rights and rural development experts from NGOs, intergovernmental organizations, think tanks, consultancies and trade associations.

Two breakout sessions were held to discuss stakeholder views on issues such as human rights governance, the scope of human rights impact assessments, stakeholder engagement and reporting. Stakeholders identified a number of areas where Nestlé might adjust its approach and improve performance. Generally, they would like to see Nestlé:

  • Continue to develop and communicate its approach and practices on human rights impact assessments (HRIA) and rural development, serving as an exemplar and supporting improved practices across the industry.
  • Strengthen governance of human rights through escalation processes and effective local accountability systems.
  • Engage in multi-stakeholder action with industry, civil society, governments and intergovernmental agencies to improve human rights and rural development outcomes.
  • Engage with stakeholders to jointly define scope and priorities for human rights and rural development activities.
  • Apply a rights-based lens to deepen its HRIAs and align its work in human rights and rural development
Nestlé and Human Rights
The basis of discussion was the White Paper which describes the methodology and outcomes of 7 Human Rights Impact Assessment conducted by DIHR and Nestlé.

‘Talking the Human Rights Walk: Nestlé’s Experience Assessing Human Rights Impacts in its Business Activities’,