Can Contracts Support Promoting Responsible Business?

If you are looking for an industry podcast recommendation, I highly recommend “Frankly Speaking.” Frankly Speaking is a podcast series on “responsible business - discussing the latest political, legal and business developments in the field of ESG, business and human rights and corporate reporting” and in my opinion, always insightful. 

Episode #45 - “Sarah Dadush: Can Contracts Support Promoting Responsible Business?” is no exception. In this episode Richard Howitt, host of the podcast series and pioneer in the field of corporate disclosure and former Member of the European Parliament, talks to Sarah Dadush, writer and professor in business and human rights at Rutgers Law School and founder of the Responsible Contracting Project, the mission of which is to improve human rights in global supply chains through innovative contracting practices, about a “different way of doing contracts where there is a shared responsibility where suppliers have their obligations of course, but so do buyers and where the rights of people affected by the company are also properly respected and supported.” 

Although this podcast is a few months old, the conversation is still very fit with current times where, with the rise of new legislation, there is most certainly a fear of companies shifting responsibility and liability on their suppliers and where due diligence approaches have been criticized as simply using contractual clauses to pass off risk and responsibility down the supply chain.

Listen here to learn more on the “magic of a contract that places shared responsibility at the heart of it” by the use of the three Rs of responsible contracting: 1.) Responsible allocation of risks and responsibilities, 2.) Responsible purchasing practices, and 3.) Remediation first.