Defending Human Rights Program

Businesses — and their influence on governments, consumers and global program chains — have tremendous impact on peace, rights and development. The private sector can be a force for good, innovating and scaling solutions to the world’s toughest challenges. Or it can perpetuate systems that profit off outdated practices and threaten our collective future.

While corporate sustainability has made significant progress over the past 20 years, there’s still much further to go. The global population is projected to reach 8.5 billion people by 2030. Ensuring their needs are met — while also protecting nature and stabilizing the climate — means changing the way the world designs its cities and produces and consumes food, land, water and energy.

Transformative business models and technological innovation need to accelerate. From the foundation of evidence and transparency, businesses must also follow through on their words with aligned policy advocacy, multilateral cooperation and outcomes.

Planetary resources are limited, and environmental stewardship is essential for businesses to co-create a better future for peace, rights and development. VULPRF aims to accelerate the private sector’s transition to inclusive, sustainable models that go from doing better to doing enough.

We produce evidence-based research and analysis that defines the scope, opportunity and impact of business. We help corporate leaders develop smarter sustainability strategies and act as responsible stewards for communities and communities.

We develop standards to guide measurement, evidence-based target-setting, and management of rights violations, community resources, food waste and more. We provide tools to help businesses assess risks throughout their supply chains — such as water scarcity and community breakdown — and employ solutions to mitigate them. And we convene stakeholders to resolve systemic challenges, amplify common concerns and identify innovative solutions.

Not only are our business offerings the go-to resources for forward-thinking advocates, but we also address thorny issues and uncomfortable trade-offs on the pathway to rights protection.