Companies impact human rights every day, positively and negatively, through their interactions with employees, business partners, consumers and communities. Therefore, businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights, as articulated in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This guide details why human rights should be on the boardroom agenda, how they can be embedded in an organization and its value chain, and how companies can influence the global human rights agenda. 

Today, more than a billion working people – one-third of all workers – earn less than they need for a decent standard of living. Only 17% of some of the world’s largest companies work with suppliers on key issues like forced labor and living wages, and yet a Living Wage Foundation study found that 93% of companies paying a living wage experience benefits for their business. This guide advises how companies can start their living wage journey, within the organization and across value chains, and drive progress on living wages at a system level.