Human rights due diligence is the ongoing process companies use to identify, prevent, reduce and account for actual and potential human rights impacts in their operations and supply chains.
Human rights due diligence (HRDD) is a risk management process for finding and addressing the ways a company may cause, contribute to or be linked to harm to people. The concept comes from the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), endorsed in 2011, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
In 2022, the ILO added a safe and healthy working environment to its fundamental principles and rights at work. This means occupational safety is now a core part of human rights due diligence, alongside freedom from forced labor and child labor.
Several countries require forms of HRDD, and the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will require large companies to carry it out. Its scope and timeline were narrowed and delayed under the EU's 2025 Omnibus simplification package.
A retailer's HRDD assessment flagged a garment supplier with blocked fire exits and no fire drills. It paused new orders, worked with the supplier on an evacuation route and fire safety plan, verified changes with an independent audit, and reported the case in its annual statement.
No. It is a continuous process that should be updated as risks change.
Yes. Contractor and agency workers are often among the highest-risk groups.
Modern slavery statements report on part of the same process, focused on forced labor and trafficking.
Part of SafetyIQ's EHS glossary: plain-English definitions of workplace health and safety terms.
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