In these unsettling times, double down on explaining why your work matters

By Jesse Nishinaga

As an advisor at Article One, I have the privilege to work with—in my humble opinion—some of the best people in the world of business. From what I have observed over the past 20 years, corporate human rights professionals have proven their worth to companies in many industries. They are hard-working, resilient, and often tasked to work on complex challenges with limited resources. They are seen as internal change agents and work strategically to advance rights-respecting policies and strategies that help reduce risk and create value for the companies they proudly serve.  

Yet, in the midst of all that is happening in 2025, some practitioners in our field are expressing concerns about how they are going to get through the next few years. Some are wondering: Will my work continue to be recognized? Will I continue to have buy-in from leadership? Can I ask for more resources at a time when internal support for this work may not be super clear? 

Fortunately, we are seeing positive signs that many companies are staying the course. This is good news, but this could also be a good moment in time to double down on explaining why this work matters.  

YOU SHOULDN’T NEED A BUSINESS CASE, BUT IT CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE 

When I first started in this field, a mentor of mine pointed out that respecting human rights shouldn’t need a business case—not only is it the right thing to do, international human rights standards and many national and regional laws recognize that it is a business’ obligation to respect human rights. While I believe this was right then and still right today, making the business case for human rights, admittedly, can make a big difference. 

Making the business case for respecting human rights does not have to be a complicated and drawn-out process—nor should it entail coming up with all the answers or having it entirely proven from the outset.  

One simple exercise that you and your team could complete in a few hours involves four simple steps: 

• Step 1. Jot down on a big sheet of paper or whiteboard all the different ways in which human rights may come into play for your business and across your value chain.
• Step 2. On that same sheet of paper or whiteboard, jot down all the different ways in which your company measures success. The Annual Report, 10-K, and investor presentations are great documents to look at to review your company’s key business drivers. External reports, too, can be helpful to draw ideas and inspiration from, and there are many good reports out there. This 2019 report produced by BHR, Frank Bold, and ICAR is still one of my favorites.
• Step 3. Next, discuss as a team how each human rights issue or risk could impact your company’s key business drivers. Where the relationship is clear or possible, draw a dotted line between the issue and key business driver or drivers. It could look something like this:

• Step 4. Every 6 to 12 months, track how these issues and drivers are trending. Are they improving or worsening? Are they about the same? Over time, you will be able to analyze the correlation between these issues and business drivers and further strengthen or refine your business case.

By going through this simple exercise, you and your team can develop clarity and consensus around the most important business factors driving your human rights work. Being able to articulate them can make a big difference when it comes time to ask for more resources from your leadership team.  

IF THERE IS EVER A TIME TO TALK MORE PLAINLY, THIS COULD BE IT  

To a general audience, many of the words and acronyms we use in our field can be abstract, amorphous, and, frankly, impossible to understand. Even worse, we are now seeing some of these words and acronyms being manipulated into things they are not, often to create controversy and advance a political agenda. 

Human rights shouldn’t be controversial. They belong to every human being and are inherent to us all. At the same time, human rights can be hard to understand. Human rights are complex and require deep analysis and nuanced interpretation. They can also be challenging to explain.  

If there is ever a time to talk more plainly about our work, this could be the moment.  

What would this mean in practice? Here are some suggestions: 

• Avoid acronyms altogether. If you have to use one, spell it out and explain what it means to your company.
• Use less jargon. If you can’t avoid it (because there are so many!), explain what it means to your company and do so as plainly as possible. For example, don’t just say: “We are committed to a ‘just transition.’” Follow this up by saying: “To us, a just transition is making sure our employees continue to have decent jobs as we increase our investment in low-carbon production technologies.”
• Explain the core of your work. We understand that certain words today are being politicized, corrupted, and even erased—literally! But as leadership expert Deanna Singh has encouraged us all to think, we should be “more tied to what those words mean than the words themselves.” By explaining what is at the core of your work, you can remind people that your work is fundamentally about protecting the most vulnerable among us—it’s about leaving no one behind. This should resonate with most people.
• Use different words. Using alternative words may be the final tactic you take to explain why your work matters. Words that should resonate with most people, such as “fair,” “fairness,” “respect,” “decent,” “decency,” “transparency,” “accountability,” “objectivity,” and “responsibility,” may be good substitutes.

Some of our clients have already begun tweaking how they will communicate their work in this area. In these unsettling times, I understand why. I commend them for continuing to make important investments in this area, even if it means finding different ways to communicate their work.

If you would like to learn more about Article One’s work on business and human rights, please get in touch with us at hello@articleoneadvisors.com.