Norway – Land

3. The Corporate responsibility to respect human rights

3.2 Responsible Business Conduct [pages 31-32]

The 13th principle clarifies what companies’ responsibility to respect human rights involves:

An enterprise may cause or contribute to adverse human rights impacts if for example …the living conditions of the local community that are directly affected by the company’s operations decline without prior explanation from or dialogue with the relevant parties, including the local authorities. Impacts on the climate and the environment resulting from the enterprise’s activities, for example through land use, exploitation of natural resources, greenhouse gas emissions or releases of hazardous substances, may also have adverse impacts on a broader range of human rights, such as minority and indigenous people’s rights or the right to life, health, food, water or adequate housing. If a company is responsible for such impacts, it is also responsible for addressing them.