When I first entered the field of just and sustainable business in the mid-1990s, it was based on a vague notion that big business should “do the right thing” by addressing social and environmental concerns. We had few normative goals, and we certainly had no standards to which we could hold business accountable.
This void was filled over the following quarter century.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and continued evolution in international human rights instruments provided a clear destination — the “what” of just and sustainable business.
New global norms, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the plethora of multi-stakeholder initiative codes and principles, provided clear guidance for the role of business in reaching the destination —” the how” of just and sustainable business.
New global standards, such as…
