Ethical Labour Practices and Human Rights Webinar

The project Team marked International Human Rights Day by hosting a live webinar with guest speaker Annabel Short, Senior Advisor of the Built Environment for the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB). The webinar was open to all staff as well as clients, consultants and supply chain partners.

The discussion covered what human rights mean in practice in the context of the built environment; decision-making throughout the built environment has direct implications for people’s ability to live lives with dignity – from workers on construction sites and through supply chains, to the people who live and work in and around the buildings we build. As economies seek to rebuild from the coronavirus pandemic and strengthen resilience to climate change, many are doing so with a renewed emphasis on the human dimensions of the built environment focusing on workers rights, diversity and inclusion, mental health and wellbeing and job creation.

Modern slavery is a major problem around the world and it is directly influencing the UK construction Industry. This contractors Ethical Labour Management System is part of their work towards a ‘Responsible Supply Chain free from Modern Slavery’, one of the five pillars of their Net Positive strategy. It formalises a number of improvements they are making to their working practices to combat labour exploitation and increase worker welfare.