Supply Chain Contracts are Protecting Human Rights, with Sue, Patrick and Olivia Social Impact Pioneers

Carefully formed supply chain contracts can protect human rights and save lives. With the EU laying down rules for companies to respect human rights and the environment in global value chains – how can businesses do this in practice?

Social Impact Pioneers Sue Maslow, Patrick Miller and Olivia Windham Stewart are part of the Responsible Contracting Project - collaborating across industries, communities to tackle the challenge of embedding human rights protections into international supply chain contracts. If you are wondering how to act on the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) or looking to protect your business from breaches in your supply chains, this podcast is for you.

The concept of popping a few lines on human rights due diligence into a supplier contract seems like a simple idea – but the devil is in the detail. Contract law is complex, time consuming and expensive if done badly. Contracts that exert unreasonable commercial pressure or place unrealistic expectations on suppliers don’t help anyone.

During this conversation Sue, Patrick and Olivia explain how templates of internationally recognised human rights due diligence principles have been developed to help businesses and those in procurement. Check out the links below to see how they have combined their legal and human rights expertise to explain how the principles of human rights due diligence can be embedded directly into business supplier contracts to enhance effectiveness and improve human rights outcomes. Wherever your organisation is on caring for those in your supply chain take a listen.

Social Impact Pioneers:
· Sue is Co-Founder and Partner of Antheil Maslow & MacMinn, LLP. She is Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Business Law Section Working Group to Draft Model Contract Clauses to Protect Human Rights in International Supply Contracts; Chair of the American Bar Association Business Law Section’s Corporate Social Responsibility Law Committee and Senior Legal Advisor to the Responsible Contracting Project.
· Patrick is the Founding Attorney of Impact Advocates, focusing on international commercial dispute resolution through arbitration, mediation and litigation. Patrick is a Legal Advisor to the Responsible Contracting Project and advises companies on a range of ESG issues, including establishing responsible supply chain frameworks.
· Olivia is Deputy Director of the Responsible Contracting Project; Deputy Director of the Business and Human Rights Law Program and Senior Fellow at Rutgers Law School, New Jersey, USA. She is an independent business and human rights specialist enhancing corporate accountability and improve human rights due diligence across sectors.

Links:
Impact Advocates: https://impactadvocateslaw.com/
Patrick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-miller-ab933520/
Olivia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-windham-stewart-4414b683/
Sue: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suemaslow/
Center for Human Rights: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/human_rights/business-human-rights-initiative/contractual-clauses-project/
Bloomberg Law Article #1: How Contracts can Improve: https://aboutblaw.com/ZzG
Bloomberg Law Article #2: The Demise of Plausible: https://aboutblaw.com/ZzH
Bloomberg Law Article #3: Sharing Responsibility under UNGP: https://aboutblaw.com/ZzE
MCCs and Schedules in The Business Lawyer, Winter Issue 2021 (January 2022): https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/business_lawyer/2022/77_1/report-intl-supply-chains-202201.pdf
SSRN, Balancing Buyer and Supplier Responsibilities: Model Contract Clauses to Protect Workers in International Supply Chains, Version 2.0: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3829782
Association of Corporate Counsel: Introduction to the Model Clauses: https://www.acc.com/resource-library/balancing-buyer-and-supplier-responsibilities-model-contract-clauses-protect