As financial service providers and participants in the global economy and society, financial institutions have an important contribution to make to the long-term promotion of human rights. 

To achieve this, financial institutions are encouraged, and increasingly required, to align their operations, policies and processes with their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles of business and human rights (UNGPs). Those that fail to adapt risk reputational damage, legal consequences and missed opportunities in an increasingly values-driven economy.

To help its members understand the impact of the right to a healthy environment on their business operations, UNEP FI has developed a new Human Rights Toolkit, to guide banks and other financial institutions through a step-by-step process to integrate human rights considerations into their own operations and business relationships including their retail banking, lending and investment activities.

UNEP FI members can also join the Human Rights Community of Practice to participate in facilitated peer learning.

Explore the Human Rights Toolkit

Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) can use the toolkit to further their work towards delivering on their PRB commitments. It is designed to be useful more broadly to all relevant stakeholders, including investors, insurance companies, civil society, states, real economy companies, and national Human Rights Institutions, among others.

The toolkit includes background information and context on human rights and finance, with a focus on specific issues relating to different industry sectors, geographies and human rights issues. It provides detailed guidance on how banks can assess, manage and take action on human rights-related risks in their own operations and their investments and lending.

It provides guidance on the key components of the framework to Protect, Respect and Remedy as laid out in the UNGPs. In practice, financial institutions are expected to:

  • Develop and integrate their policy commitment to human rights across the organisation and its activities,
  • Conduct effective human rights due diligence on their own operations and business relationships including investments and lending, and
  • Ensure and enable, where necessary, there is appropriate access to remedy for affected parties.

The toolkit includes a section dedicated to the cross-cutting theme of stakeholder engagement. This is a foundational aspect of any approach taken by financial institutions, and may offer an opportunity for banks and other financial institutions to deepen their work to respect and promote human rights in a rich and rewarding way.

Case studies are included throughout to provide insight and inspiration from financial institutions already underway in their work to promote a high quality human rights practice.

For more information on UNEP FI’s human rights work, please contact Joana Pedro.