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“Comply or Die” Sustainable Business Conduct - Implementing Human Rights Due diligence the case study of Global Energy Company – Ørsted

Joseph, Emilia LU (2024) MRSM15 20241
Human Rights Studies
Abstract
Social sustainability is of growing concern for global businesses as EU legislation CSRD, entered into force January 2024. The legislation requires businesses and enterprises to report on their social sustainability impacts. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs) is the framework where human rights due diligence is explicitly described as an important tool for identifying businesses impacts on human rights. Most companies do not conduct human rights due diligence (HRDD) in own operations, although most often refers to UNGPs when reporting on their social sustainability efforts. This thesis seeks out to answer the following questions: What challenges are there to implement human rights due diligence for... (More)
Social sustainability is of growing concern for global businesses as EU legislation CSRD, entered into force January 2024. The legislation requires businesses and enterprises to report on their social sustainability impacts. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs) is the framework where human rights due diligence is explicitly described as an important tool for identifying businesses impacts on human rights. Most companies do not conduct human rights due diligence (HRDD) in own operations, although most often refers to UNGPs when reporting on their social sustainability efforts. This thesis seeks out to answer the following questions: What challenges are there to implement human rights due diligence for businesses? Can human rights due diligence create blue washing for companies? Is there an incentive for companies to adhere to Business & Human Rights obligations, and are we missing
the core issue?
To answer these questions, Global Energy company – Ørsted is studied as an example by interviewing Ørsted Senior Sustainability Manager and analysing four corporate documents such as reports and policies. By applying a mixed method, this thesis aims for a holistic approach by conducting semi-structured interview, content analysis and discourse analysis, through the lens of responsibility required by human rights due diligence and grounded normative business theory. This study shows that companies may experience a variety of challenges when implementing HRDD. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Joseph, Emilia LU
supervisor
organization
course
MRSM15 20241
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Due diligence, HRDD, Business & Human Rights, Responsibility, Sustainability, UNGPs, Ørsted.
language
English
id
9165884
date added to LUP
2024-09-17 14:01:56
date last changed
2024-09-17 14:01:56
@misc{9165884,
  abstract     = {{Social sustainability is of growing concern for global businesses as EU legislation CSRD, entered into force January 2024. The legislation requires businesses and enterprises to report on their social sustainability impacts. United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights (UNGPs) is the framework where human rights due diligence is explicitly described as an important tool for identifying businesses impacts on human rights. Most companies do not conduct human rights due diligence (HRDD) in own operations, although most often refers to UNGPs when reporting on their social sustainability efforts. This thesis seeks out to answer the following questions: What challenges are there to implement human rights due diligence for businesses? Can human rights due diligence create blue washing for companies? Is there an incentive for companies to adhere to Business & Human Rights obligations, and are we missing 
the core issue?
To answer these questions, Global Energy company – Ørsted is studied as an example by interviewing Ørsted Senior Sustainability Manager and analysing four corporate documents such as reports and policies. By applying a mixed method, this thesis aims for a holistic approach by conducting semi-structured interview, content analysis and discourse analysis, through the lens of responsibility required by human rights due diligence and grounded normative business theory. This study shows that companies may experience a variety of challenges when implementing HRDD.}},
  author       = {{Joseph, Emilia}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{“Comply or Die” Sustainable Business Conduct - Implementing Human Rights Due diligence the case study of Global Energy Company – Ørsted}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}