A/HRC/35/32 Guiding Principles may lead to increased revenue for business. 42 Similarly, in a report on the value of sustainability and human rights reporting, the Global Reporting Initiative identified, inter alia, the importance of improving management systems and the opportunity to identify an enterprise’s strengths and weaknesses, in addition to attracting, motivating and retaining good quality employees. 43 It also identified external factors, including the enhancement of reputation, attracting funding and achieving competitive advantage and leadership.44 However, the idea of the “business case” cannot stand alone. First, there may be situations where abusing human rights could have short-term economic gains, which should of course not serve to justify such abuse. Second, enhancing business performance is not necessarily a main motivator for small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in responsible behaviour. However, evidence from the traditional corporate social responsibility field suggests that the extent of engagement in efforts to respect human rights will be influenced by commercial factors, with advantages and disadvantages analysed in the same way as any other commercial decision.45 B. Small and medium-sized enterprises in supply chains 31. Small and medium-sized enterprises play an integral role in global supply chains and in the economic development of virtually all countries. Economic policies and strategies often focus on these enterprises rather than transnational corporations because of their importance for employment generation. In a 2013 report, the Fung Global Institute, Nanyang Technological University and World Trade Organization noted how, both in developing and high-income countries, these enterprises were important actors in global supply chains and how their integration into global value chains had been pursued as an important strategy of economic development. 46 32. Transnational and multinational enterprises also have a part to play in their interaction with small and medium-sized enterprises in global supply chains and implementation of the Guiding Principles. Many large business enterprises, for example, have a supplier code of conduct 47 that must be followed by all small and medium-sized enterprises with which they conduct business. 33. Small and medium-sized enterprises do not operate in a vacuum, and many of them will maintain relationships with larger businesses that may be in a position to assist smaller business enterprises with their business and human rights responsibilities. Indeed, larger business enterprises are expected to help their smaller suppliers to respect human rights as an integral part of their own human rights due diligence in order to prevent adverse human rights impacts directly linked to their business operations through their supply chains or business relationships. 34. Small and medium-sized enterprises are in some cases offered training on human rights and legal compliance through capacity-building programmes, including initiatives that aim to provide a working grievance system, use technology to detect and eliminate 42 43 44 45 46 47 10 European Commission, “My Business and Human Rights: A Guide to Human Rights for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” (2012). Available to download from http://ec.europa.eu/DocsRoom/documents/10375/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/native. See Global Reporting Initiative, “Ready to Report?: Introducing sustainability reporting for SMEs” (2014), p. 6. Available from www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/Ready-to-Report-SMEbooklet-online.pdf. Ibid., p. 7. See P. Castka et al, “How Can SMEs effectively implement the CSR agenda? A UK case study perspective”, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, Vol. 11, Iss. 3 (2004), pp. 140-141. See Fung Global Institute, Nanyang Technological University and World Trade Organization, Global value chains in a changing world (Geneva, 2013). Available from www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/aid4tradeglobalvalue13_e.pdf. See, for example, “Samsung Electronics Supplier Code of Conduct”, available from www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/for_partners/downloads/samsung-supplier-code-of-conductguide-ver-2-1.pdf.