The complexity and multitude of social and human rights issues linked to a portfolio have long hindered investor’s ability to engage meaningfully on the “S” in Environmental Social Governance (ESG) leading to a situation where social and human rights factors have not yet received the attention and effort they deserve. Difficulties in measuring social performance as well as the lack of feasible tools have often been mentioned as reasons for focusing more on the E and G, rather than the S.

Recently, however, this paradigm has begun to shift, as new tools and a growing number of international guidelines and documents have made it possible for investors–from shareholder advocates to passive investors–to understand and act on social and human rights risks. For example OECD’s Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors’ recommends that investors should screen for actual and potential links to adverse human rights impacts in their portfolios as part of their due diligence process. Despite the guidance and increasing consumer expectations, there is still a gap to fill in order for human rights due diligence to become a household name in the Finnish investment sector. Tapahtumasivuille