Joint report with our partners USPG, Rathbones Greenbank and Finance Against Trafficking (FAT), released October 2015. Download here.

The term ‘human trafficking’ describes a situation where people are recruited then subsequently threatened, forced deceived or coerced for the purposes of exploitation. 

Around a third of trafficking victims are trafficked for the purpose of providing cheap labour in mainstream economic sectors (especially agriculture, horticulture, construction, garments and textiles, catering and restaurants, food processing, health care, contract cleaning and healthcare sectors.)

Many of these industries are characterised by so-called ‘3 D’ work, that is to say the work involved can be dirty, difficult or dangerous.

Listed companies can be at risk of encountering human trafficking in a number of ways:

• Through their supply chains, particularly where these involve agriculture, food processing or textiles.
• Though the use of contract or agency workers. Workers in these situations tend to receive far fewer employment protections than permanent employees and as such are more vulnerable to exploitation.
• If their services, premises or other facilities are used by traffickers.  Hotels, transportation companies, tour operators, visa/travel document providers and employment agencies might inadvertently find themselves in this situation

Download Here

Download Here

Download Here

A year after the CCLA commissioned leaflet was published, engagement with Intercontinental Hotels Group and Whitbread showed how both companies strengthened their approach to this issue and became members of the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) which published a position statement on human trafficking. 

Funded by CordAid, ECCR released a major report in 2010 considering Shell’s impact on the Niger Delta – Download here.

The oil and gas industry operates in some of the most challenging places in the world and faces complex environmental and human rights-related issues both at home and abroad.

Ensuring good human rights policy and practice, both internally and externally, is a critical issue. While individual governments bear the primary responsibility to protect and promote respect for human rights, businesses need to play a key a role in promoting human rights and environmentally sustainable operations.

ECCR has had regular involvement in the oil sector. In 1994 a Roman Catholic sister contacted ECCR about Shell’s impact in the Niger Delta. ECCR research began and a question was asked at the company’s AGM leading to ECCR/Shell dialogue. In 1997 we jointly submitted a shareholder resolution raising questions about the environmental and human rights impacts of the company’s operations in Ogoni, Nigeria. The Chemical Engineer commented: `A new political era is emerging … [the resolution] could signal a change in the way multinational companies … do business throughout the world.’

In 2001, an ECCR delegation visited Nigeria to check on progress since the 1997 shareholder resolution.

More recently we have been supporting the Stakeholders Alliance for Corporate Accountability (SACA) led by Father Kevin from the Kiltegan Fathers UK Order of the St. Patrick’s Mission Society as SACA continues to work in the Niger Delta on a research and evaluation project, to bring insight and understanding into the strengths and weaknesses of Shell’s Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) process.

We participated with others in the ‘Aiming for A’ coalition in the successful BP & Shell shareholder special resolutions to direct the companies to additional annual reporting in relation to the management of the companies’ carbon footprint and responsiveness to climate change issues.

We need to talk …….about Corporate Governance

There is much discussion going on about company behaviour. ECCR has made submissions to the government and to Parliament as part of consultations about corporate governance. The current debate is for every company and all in our society and ECCR wants to stimulate discussion and encourage greater understanding about these issues within the faith sector.

We have developed some materials:

• Detailed notes – can be found here;
• ECCR submission to government – can be found here.

to help ECCR members promote dialogue at church and congregational level to bring greater understanding of corporate governance issues within their neighbourhood.

What can you do?

Would a local business or Rotary group foster a discussion group in your area?

What about the Chamber of Commerce or the Round Table or Churches Together?

These could take two formats:

• Private for the benefit of the participants
• Public with an idea of educating a wider audience about the issues

and might include:

• Directors of local companies
• Local trade union leaders
• Providers of infrastructure (local/county councillors & council departmental managers)

There could be more than one such gathering, perhaps with different participants for some of them. We’ve suggested below some issues that can be discussed. (Detailed notes to support those discussions can be found here.)

Some questions to consider

• What is a company for?
• What is the nature of its supply chains?
• What’s the company’s impact on the environment?
• How are companies ‘governed’?
• What about its people?
• How does it approach human rights?
• What can shareholders do?
• What is good ‘stewardship’?

Do let us know how you get on – we would love to hear from you. Contact: info@eccr.org.uk