Find materials to support companies, investors, service providers, and communities interested in working together to collect and share locally-sourced data to improve due diligence and local social and environmental outcomes. For questions, contact Tim Derr.
A Path for Companies and Investors to Strengthen Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence and Support Community Tenure in Land-Based Sectors
Watch this video to learn the three key reasons why companies and investors should use community-sourced data on the social and environmental impact of their #supplychains and #investments.
This framework, developed by AsM Law Office, serves as a guideline for evaluating the fulfillment of the rights to food and livelihood.
"In these principles, knowledge and aspirations of primary stakeholders are given a key role in defining what land-based investments should or should not be. Inadequate operational management of land-based investments can negate the benefits of due diligence processes. We call on business actors to integrate these principles as powerful tool to avert this risk. These principles also shed light on the importance of considering the heterogeneity of ‘communities’, their mixed interests, needs and power positions. And they provide a much-needed framework for communities to strengthen their capacity and confidence in monitoring business operations. Over the years, community engagement has proven to be challenging. Only when local mechanisms and procedures are meaningfully integrated into corporate accountability mechanisms will community engagement lead to sustainable results for communities. Allocating adequate time and resources to forge consensus within the community, integrating voices of women, youth and men will not only guarantee better safeguards of community interests, but will also help getting out of business as usual in land-based investments."
Barbara Codispoti, Senior Land Policy Advisor at Oxfam
Oxfam
“Communities are in the best position to identify and monitor impacts and threats to their rights to land and resources. While that information can be useful to those conducting those activities to measure their success and learn from their mistakes, they must do so only in ways that respect the autonomy and rights of the community over that information. Landesa supports the Interlaken Group’s set of emerging principles and good practices that helps to guide companies and investors on how to engage with community monitoring efforts while respecting communities’ rights and autonomy.”
Laura Eshbach, ProgramDirector, Corporate Engagement at Landesa
Landesa
“The principles of community monitoring provide a clear process for companies and investors to start openly engaging with stakeholders that can include Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples, and build a balanced approach to addressing environmental and human rights issues, particularly around land tenure rights along their supply chains. In these times of increased regulatory reporting requirements on human rights and environmental issues, companies and investors need to be more actively involved and accountable as to any potential or real impacts their project may have on local peoples. Community monitoring practices can be applied during project development and implementation cycles which can lead to improved project outcomes, assist in fulfilling regulatory due diligence requirements, build long term trust and relationships between stakeholders, and enable project stakeholders to address any issues and potential impacts through open dialogue.
I would like to see more companies and investors actively take up the challenge of applying the community monitoring principles and practices through active engagement with any Indigenous People, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples groups potentially impacted through their projects.”
Roger Steinhardt, Responsible Land-Use Leader at IKEA
IKEA
"Despite many good efforts and intentions, there often remains a disconnect between companies, investors, and development finance institutions and the realities facing communities in company operations and value chains. We have seen firsthand the major opportunity for more comprehensive due diligence for investments that affect forest landscapes, going beyond operational, technical, and economic dimensions to give equal weight to environmental and social standards. These principles on community monitoring provide a much-needed foundation to transform business-as-usual approaches to due diligence, strengthening the role of communities in support of more sustainable investments, while advancing their self-determination and livelihoods."
Daphne Yin, Head of Climate and Sustainability, Indufor North America
Indufor North America
“SESDev welcomes and strongly support these principles on community monitoring because we believe that when companies can adopt and apply these principles accordingly, they will get direct access to reliable information from local communities on potential harms caused by their operations for appropriate redress while respecting their environmental and social commitments. Government will be equipped with data on how companies’ operations are impacting local communities and use such information to strengthen policies and due diligence processes. And most importantly, it will help local communities to have a seat at the table with companies to discuss how their lands are utilized and the opportunity to benefit not suffer from the wealth of resources on their ancestral land.”
Mina Beyan, Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev)
Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev)
"CBM is an important method for bringing the community closer to concrete solutions to problems encountered in the field, in relation tothe impact of company operations and for the company, CBM is a medium to increase the accountability of its operations in the area of the community."
—————————
"CBM adalah metode penting untuk mendekatkan masyarakat kepada penyelesaian kongkrit dari masalah yang dihadapi dilapangan, sehubungan dengan dampak operasi perusahaan dan bagi perusahaan, CBM adalah media untuk meningkatkan akuntabilitas operasinya diwilayah masyarakat tersebut."
Andiko Mancayo, AsM Law Office
AsM Law Office
“I know of no better way to help companies and communities get a shared understanding of the key human rights and environmental issues that they are facing than community monitoring. These guidelines on community monitoring provide a great starting point for any company seeking to incorporate this important tool into their human rights due diligence processes.”
Robin Barr, Global Lead Community & Indigenous Rights, Earthworm Foundation
Earthworm Foundation
“Respect of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights is one of Proforest’s key positive outcomes that we strive to achieve in our work. Moreover, community monitoring is a crucial element in ensuring broad-based local ownership of solutions, which is essential to create long-term change in production landscapes. We recognise the important role community monitoring can play in achieving this through strengthening companies’ implementation of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence at different levels in the supply chain as well as facilitating stronger community participation in landscape initiatives. We therefore welcome the development of emerging principles and good practices on the topic and support further research and piloting on how community monitoring can be implemented in practice.”
Justin Dupré-Harbord, Global Focal Point on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ rights, Proforest
Proforest
“The safeguarding of community rights is critical. Meaningful and safe rights-holder engagement is integral to human rights and environmental due diligence and community monitoring is an important way for concerns to be raised and impacts identified and addressed. We welcome additional community-led guidance in this area.”
Rachel Cowburn-Walden, Global Head of Sustainability (Human Rights) at Unilever
Unilever
“We welcome the publication of emerging principles and good practices on community monitoring by the Interlaken Group. We believe there is a strong potential for community monitoring to contribute to strengthening human rights and environmental due diligence systems. Through the implementation of our Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ land rights action plan, we will explore how to leverage these emerging best practices within our supply chains and in our landscape initiatives.”
Barbara Wettstein, Human Rights Manager of Sustainable Sourcing at Nestlé
Nestlé
Oxfam
"In these principles, knowledge and aspirations of primary stakeholders are given a key role in defining what land-based investments should or should not be. Inadequate operational management of land-based investments can negate the benefits of due diligence processes. We call on business actors to integrate these principles as powerful tool to avert this risk. These principles also shed light on the importance of considering the heterogeneity of ‘communities’, their mixed interests, needs and power positions. And they provide a much-needed framework for communities to strengthen their capacity and confidence in monitoring business operations. Over the years, community engagement has proven to be challenging. Only when local mechanisms and procedures are meaningfully integrated into corporate accountability mechanisms will community engagement lead to sustainable results for communities. Allocating adequate time and resources to forge consensus within the community, integrating voices of women, youth and men will not only guarantee better safeguards of community interests, but will also help getting out of business as usual in land-based investments."
Barbara Codispoti, Senior Land Policy Advisor at Oxfam
Earthworm Foundation
“I know of no better way to help companies and communities get a shared understanding of the key human rights and environmental issues that they are facing than community monitoring. These guidelines on community monitoring provide a great starting point for any company seeking to incorporate this important tool into their human rights due diligence processes.”
Robin Barr, Global Lead Community & Indigenous Rights, Earthworm Foundation
Nestlé
“We welcome the publication of emerging principles and good practices on community monitoring by the Interlaken Group. We believe there is a strong potential for community monitoring to contribute to strengthening human rights and environmental due diligence systems. Through the implementation of our Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ land rights action plan, we will explore how to leverage these emerging best practices within our supply chains and in our landscape initiatives.”
Barbara Wettstein, Human Rights Manager of Sustainable Sourcing at Nestlé
Proforest
“Respect of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights is one of Proforest’s key positive outcomes that we strive to achieve in our work. Moreover, community monitoring is a crucial element in ensuring broad-based local ownership of solutions, which is essential to create long-term change in production landscapes. We recognise the important role community monitoring can play in achieving this through strengthening companies’ implementation of Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence at different levels in the supply chain as well as facilitating stronger community participation in landscape initiatives. We therefore welcome the development of emerging principles and good practices on the topic and support further research and piloting on how community monitoring can be implemented in practice.”
Justin Dupré-Harbord, Global Focal Point on Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ rights, Proforest
Unilever
“The safeguarding of community rights is critical. Meaningful and safe rights-holder engagement is integral to human rights and environmental due diligence and community monitoring is an important way for concerns to be raised and impacts identified and addressed. We welcome additional community-led guidance in this area.”
Rachel Cowburn-Walden, Global Head of Sustainability (Human Rights) at Unilever
Indufor North America
"Despite many good efforts and intentions, there often remains a disconnect between companies, investors, and development finance institutions and the realities facing communities in company operations and value chains. We have seen firsthand the major opportunity for more comprehensive due diligence for investments that affect forest landscapes, going beyond operational, technical, and economic dimensions to give equal weight to environmental and social standards. These principles on community monitoring provide a much-needed foundation to transform business-as-usual approaches to due diligence, strengthening the role of communities in support of more sustainable investments, while advancing their self-determination and livelihoods."
Daphne Yin, Head of Climate and Sustainability, Indufor North America
Landesa
“Communities are in the best position to identify and monitor impacts and threats to their rights to land and resources. While that information can be useful to those conducting those activities to measure their success and learn from their mistakes, they must do so only in ways that respect the autonomy and rights of the community over that information. Landesa supports the Interlaken Group’s set of emerging principles and good practices that helps to guide companies and investors on how to engage with community monitoring efforts while respecting communities’ rights and autonomy.”
Laura Eshbach, ProgramDirector, Corporate Engagement at Landesa
Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev)
“SESDev welcomes and strongly support these principles on community monitoring because we believe that when companies can adopt and apply these principles accordingly, they will get direct access to reliable information from local communities on potential harms caused by their operations for appropriate redress while respecting their environmental and social commitments. Government will be equipped with data on how companies’ operations are impacting local communities and use such information to strengthen policies and due diligence processes. And most importantly, it will help local communities to have a seat at the table with companies to discuss how their lands are utilized and the opportunity to benefit not suffer from the wealth of resources on their ancestral land.”
Mina Beyan, Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev)
IKEA
“The principles of community monitoring provide a clear process for companies and investors to start openly engaging with stakeholders that can include Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples, and build a balanced approach to addressing environmental and human rights issues, particularly around land tenure rights along their supply chains. In these times of increased regulatory reporting requirements on human rights and environmental issues, companies and investors need to be more actively involved and accountable as to any potential or real impacts their project may have on local peoples. Community monitoring practices can be applied during project development and implementation cycles which can lead to improved project outcomes, assist in fulfilling regulatory due diligence requirements, build long term trust and relationships between stakeholders, and enable project stakeholders to address any issues and potential impacts through open dialogue.
I would like to see more companies and investors actively take up the challenge of applying the community monitoring principles and practices through active engagement with any Indigenous People, local communities, and Afro-descendant Peoples groups potentially impacted through their projects.”
Roger Steinhardt, Responsible Land-Use Leader at IKEA
AsM Law Office
"CBM is an important method for bringing the community closer to concrete solutions to problems encountered in the field, in relation tothe impact of company operations and for the company, CBM is a medium to increase the accountability of its operations in the area of the community."
—————————
"CBM adalah metode penting untuk mendekatkan masyarakat kepada penyelesaian kongkrit dari masalah yang dihadapi dilapangan, sehubungan dengan dampak operasi perusahaan dan bagi perusahaan, CBM adalah media untuk meningkatkan akuntabilitas operasinya diwilayah masyarakat tersebut."
Andiko Mancayo, AsM Law Office
