Skip to main content

      Business and human rights services

      Addressing human rights is a growing responsibility for business. Regulators are ramping up their efforts to develop new laws to fight against anti-human rights practices such as human trafficking and child labor. In March 2021, for example, Germany took a step towards implementing a new supply chain law which will oblige companies to take responsibility against any labor or environmental abuses. This law will allow for considerable fines of up to two percent of the company’s annual turnover (if that exceeds Euro 400 million). The UK’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015 is another early example of such legislative enforcements. Proposals for similar legislation are being considered at an EU level and within its Member States.

      Failing to take the right action at the right time can lead to legal action, investor divestment, negative publicity and financial and reputational damage. For example, in early 2021, the US Customs and Border Protection took action against a European supplier on allegations of forced labor in its supply chain.

      Taking decisive and successful action on human rights requires deep specialist knowledge and experience which is not always available within corporations. That's why KPMG has developed a worldwide network of professionals with human rights experience to provide clients with expert advice on these complex challenges.

      How we can help

      KPMG professionals can support you at all stages of your business and human rights journey by helping to:

      1. Design policy: KPMG specialists can help you design the best human rights policy for your organization and its stakeholders;
      2. Build capacity: KPMG can help build internal commitment and capacity to take action on human rights;
      3. Identify risk: KPMG professionals can identify and assess human rights risks across your corporation’s value chain;
      4. Develop strategy: KPMG specialists can develop and help you implement effective strategies to address human rights risks;
      5. Engage stakeholders and provide a remediation framework: KPMG can design and deliver effective stakeholder engagement programs on human rights issues, and help you implement remediation and grievance mechanisms;
      6. Support reporting and communications: KPMG professionals can review or assure your human rights reporting, and help you meet regulatory requirements to publicly report. KPMG specialists can also provide support on your business’s communication activities;
      7. Set targets: KPMG can help you set appropriate human rights performance targets and develop systems to monitor your corporation’s performance.

      Sustainability assurance and readiness assessment

      Sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly important for today's society and for company’s stakeholders. Organizations are expected to disclose a comprehensive set of sustainability information and metrics that measure their sustainability performance towards targets. In addition, they must be transparent when communicating this to the key stakeholders of the company. This requires the disclosure of reliable information on how sustainability targets were or were not achieved, in accordance with international guidelines and standards (GRI, IIRC, CDP, etc.). Stakeholders, including investors, are increasingly requesting robust and qualitative sustainability data and information to base their economic decisions on.

      For a lot of companies, reporting on their sustainability performance is a challenge. As the information is disclosed publicly, in many cases embedded in the annual report, organizations must ensure that their corporate reporting is complete, accurate and relevant. Additionally, the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will require companies in scope of the Directive to obtain mandatory assurance over their sustainability reporting as of financial year 2024 for PIE’s currently subject to the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) or as of financial year 2025 for large undertakings.

      KPMG provides independent assurance on sustainability metrics and compliance with reporting frameworks of organizations. The assured subject matter may relate to historical information, management systems or behavior and is usually reported in a CR, Sustainability, Environmental Social and Corporate Governance (ESG), Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Social or Health and Safety Environment Report or may appear in an organization’s (financial) annual report. Assurance on this kind of information is performed using an internationally recognized assurance standard: the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000, Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information.

      Our sustainability assurance professionals can ensure the completeness and accuracy of environmental, social and governance information and indicators disclosed in the organizations' corporate reports. Prior to moving into an assurance process, it is recommended to perform a readiness assessment and analyze which areas are ready or not yet ready for reporting and/or assurance and need further improvement.

      Once the selected subjects and indicators are ready for assurance, we use the following approach:

      1. Obtain an impression of sustainability management
      2. Assess the robustness of the sustainability data management systems, including internal control mechanisms for selected parameters
      3. Verify the completeness, accuracy, and comparability of the data reported for selected parameters and information
      4. Support management with recommendations for improvement of sustainability management and reporting

       

      This method of planning and performing allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate assurance evidence for our conclusion. KPMG issues an independent assurance report on the relevant sustainability subjects and related key performance indicators. In addition to issuing an assurance statement, we make recommendations for future improvements – based on our own findings and the developments that we see in the market – because it is ultimately about improving performance, and not just about reporting.

      How we can help

      Experienced and skilled KPMG assurance professionals can provide the following services to ensure the quality and robustness of your data and information to be reported:

      • Assurance of key performance indicators, sustainability information and compliance with reporting frameworks
      • Readiness assessment of key performance indicators and sustainability reporting

      Get in touch

      We'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with one of our professionals, specialist groups or KPMG offices.

      Contact us
      Carreers