The Erasmus Research Platform on Sustainable Business & Human Rights is a group of researchers at the Erasmus School of Law and the Rotterdam School of Management aiming to conduct and facilitate cutting-edge and multidisciplinary research on sustainable business and corporate respect for human rights.
Over the past decades, international business has been a force for positive change in societies around the world through innovation, access to products and services, and the creation of jobs. However, they have also increasingly been associated with human rights abuses in their global value chains. This mixed picture has prompted increased attention to the way in which internationally operating business enterprises may contribute to a more just and sustainable world. A new social contract for international business is emerging, which includes the responsibility to both minimise negative societal impact and create positive societal impact in sustainable ways. The Erasmus Research Platform on Sustainable Business & Human Rights seeks to identify strategies – including both business and regulatory strategies – that effectively contribute to sustainable development and corporate respect for human rights.
