Nestlé human rights training goes public

Photo courtesy of https://makechocolatefair.org.

With an increasing focus on the humanity of companies’ supply chains, Australian businesses are looking to how they respond to new modern slavery legislation in Australia and NSW.
Nestlé has announced that human rights training developed for its staff is now available publicly. The move aims to help businesses looking to understand the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and help them to move towards understanding how they apply in their own businesses.
Nestlé head of corporate and external relations Margaret Stuart said others were free to use or adapt the training as they see fit.
“We hope it inspires and helps others, particularly smaller companies that might be struggling to figure out what human rights means for them, and how they might respond to the new modern slavery legislation,” Ms Stuart said.
The training draws on work Nestlé has carried out in this area with its long-term partner the Danish Institute for Human Rights, and on the knowledge Nestle has acquired in the process.
“When the UNGP came out in 2011, Nestlé, like many other companies, had to understand what this meant for our own business, and had to set up due diligence programs to translate the UNGP into simple, tangible action,” Ms Stuart said.
“In sharing this training, we hope to help Australian companies looking to respond to the new legislative requirements – but more than that, we also recognise that many Australian companies are involved in our own value chain, as direct or indirect suppliers, or as customers. What strengthens one, strengthens us all.”
In many instances, Nestlé has made details of its human rights due diligence and action plans public to help others facing similar challenges.
“We have a long way to go, as does the entire private sector, but we hope this training makes a contribution both in our own business, and more widely.”
The company said more than 100,000 Nestlé employees across 72 countries have already been trained in human rights since 2011, and all employees will complete the training by 2020.
The training module is now available here.