Principle 10: Businesses are accountable

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Businesses are accountable for GBVH and learn from GBVH risks and reports. 

As part of their responsibility to prevent GBVH and conduct GRHRDD, businesses are accountable to workers and stakeholders, including boards and shareholders, for their actions and impacts.  This includes transparently reporting about own operations and due diligence with supply chain partners. GBVH is complex. Businesses may not get things completely right the first time - seek lessons to improve and share these insights with other stakeholders.

10.1 Engage in monitoring, evaluation, accountability and learning with workers and their representatives/trade unions. 

  • Regularly monitor and evaluate GBVH prevention and response efforts within own business operations and supply chains with workers, especially women and LGBTQI+ workers, and their representatives/trade unions, and other external stakeholders (such as NGOs or independent gender experts) (See Principle 4.1).
  • Collect and review data on reports, incidence, risk assessments, NGO and trade union reports (e.g. sector reports), perception of safety and risk from workers at the workplace,1 especially those at risk and gender experts.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of policies, procedures, including grievance mechanisms and training/awareness programmes, with workers and their representatives/trade unions, using opportunities to learn from reports, while respecting confidentiality, to prevent future incidents.

10.2 Report transparently to workers, their representatives/trade unions, and other stakeholders on risk, mitigation and remediation efforts. 

  • Regularly report outcomes and learnings from grievance mechanisms and remediation to affected rightsholders, workers and their representatives/trade unions, and surrounding communities, if applicable,2while respecting case confidentiality.
  • Collaborate with workers and rightsholders on solutions in response to findings as part of the learning process.

10.3 Share good practice and lessons with supply chain partners and peers.

  • Share challenges and lessons with business partners and peers to support collaboration in understanding systemic root causes and solutions.

References

1. Workforce surveys can be an effective tool for gathering information from a large sample...
  1. Workforce surveys can be an effective tool for gathering information from a large sample but should not replace discussions with workers and their representatives/trade unions. For example, survey results should be discussed with workers.
  2. This is important where businesses are embedded in local communities such as where they are large employers, provide accommodation to workers and their families, and work closely with community leaders and institutions for recruitment.

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