Human Rights

Based on principles like dignity, fairness, respect and equality, human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to everyone, regardless of who you are, where you live and how you choose to live your life.

Human rights issues, often referred to in the built environment as workers’ rights or labor rights, are becoming an increasingly important consideration for all organizations and their supply chains. This is being driven by investors, due diligence legislation worldwide, stakeholders, clients and increased evidence highlighting the business benefits of being a responsible employer.

The built environment is known for its increasingly complex supply chains, the widespread use of sub-contractors, precarious contracts and part-reliance on unskilled, migrant or temporary workers, both in the US and overseas. These conditions increase the risk of human rights violations such as forced labor, which remains a concern even in developed nations.

Through our procurement practices we can either contribute to or perpetuate these issues that exist in the countries from which we buy, and in our supply chains.