ICCR Establishes Advisory Committee of Leaders in Business and Human Rights Movement
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) today announced that it has formed a Human Rights Advisory Committee to provide input on shareholder strategies related to corporate human rights impacts.
ICCR’s historical engagement of companies on a range of human rights issues places it in a unique position to make significant progress in improving corporate performance in global operations, supply chains and communities. The work of the HR Advisory Committee will help ICCR to build on and leverage the effective strategies of long-term NGO allies to help amplify the impact of ICCR’s shareholder advocacy campaigns.
ICCR is establishing the HR Advisory Committee at a pivotal time: it has been five years since the UN adopted the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and nearly two years since the Executive Order - Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts has been in force. While significant gains to combat slavery and trafficking were made during the present administration, human rights advocates are mobilizing to prevent any post-election regression in the human rights and business arena.
Said David Schilling, ICCR’s Senior Program Director for Human Rights, “ICCR members have been doing great work over the years engaging companies to address their human rights responsibilities. As we move forward, input from these thoughtful, accomplished and committed partners will be invaluable. The breadth and depth of human rights and business knowledge and experience these individuals represent is truly remarkable, and our staff and members look forward to working beside them.”
The members of ICCR’s Human Rights Advisory Committee are:
- Lauren Compere—Managing Director, Boston Common Asset Management
- Rachel Davis—Managing Director and Co-Founder, Shift
- Bennett Freeman—Former Senior Vice President for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Investments; Chair of the Advisory Board of Global Witness
- Chris Jochnick—President & CEO, Landesa
- Adam Kanzer—Managing Director, Domini Impact Investments
- Amol Mehra—Executive Director, International Corporate Accountability Roundtable
- Caroline Rees—President and Co-Founder, Shift
- Annabel Short—Deputy Director, ALIGN: The Alliance for a Greater New York
- Irit Tamir— Senior Advisor, Private Sector Department, Oxfam America
- Patricia Zerega— Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Mercy Investment Services
Amol Mehra, Executive Director of the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable said, "ICCR serves a vital role against mounting threats to human rights and the institutions ensuring their promotion and protection. By moving investors to action around the respective duties and responsibilities of governments and companies, ICCR's work can be a catalyst for corporate reform and transformative of government policy."
Said Caroline Rees, President and Co-Founder of Shift, “ICCR has had a long-standing leadership role in building a world where business gets done with respect for human rights. We see much progress on this issue — but we also know there is a long way still to go. We must build on the examples of the Bangladesh Accord and ACT, harnessing collective action with accountability to tackle human rights challenges; we must develop more meaningful ways to assess companies’ progress in addressing human rights risks; and we must find new opportunities to bring the voices of affected people into the heart of these efforts. We look forward to supporting ICCR through the advisory committee, to explore these and other critical areas for action.”
Said Josh Zinner, CEO of ICCR, “ICCR has been a hub for human rights-centered shareholder work for decades. The establishment of this advisory committee sends a powerful signal that we intend to focus our collective resources and influence to increase corporate action on human rights challenges. Today more than ever, it is critical that communities negatively impacted by corporate operations have access to meaningful human rights remedies and we are grateful to our committee members for the confidence they have demonstrated in ICCR by agreeing to serve in this advisory role.”
Contact:
Susana McDermott, Director of Communications, ICCR
212-870-2938
About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
Celebrating its 45th year, ICCR is the pioneer coalition of shareholder advocates who view the management of their investments as a catalyst for social change. Its 300 member organizations comprise faith communities, socially responsible asset managers, unions, NGOs and other socially responsible investors with combined assets of over $200 billion. ICCR members engage hundreds of corporations annually in an effort to foster greater corporate accountability on questions such as climate change, corporate water stewardship, sustainable food production, human trafficking and slavery in global supply chains and increased access to financial and health care services for communities in need. www.iccr.org
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