A/HRC/41/49 C. Corporate respect for human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals 57. A key objective of the Forum is to contribute to a better understanding of the connections between sustainable development and business and human rights (A/HRC/38/49, para. 75). Forum participants consistently reiterated the message that embedding respect for human rights in their own operations and throughout value chains was the most important contribution that most businesses could make towards socially sustainable globalization and sustainable development with no one left behind. At the same time, many also noted that although many companies had made public commitments to the Goals, concrete actions and integration of human rights due diligence were less systematic. 58. Despite increasing company reporting on the Goals, as well as gap analyses and target-setting, there is significant progress to be made. Many participants expressed concern about the risk that companies may be using the Goals as a marketing tool. The assessment was that currently, only a few companies are actively integrating the commitment to respect human rights and human rights due diligence as part of their strategy on the Sustainable Development Goals. 59. In a panel dedicated to the topic “Reinforcing the importance of human rights due diligence for realizing the Sustainable Development Goals”, a business representative reminded participants that it was important to continue to underline the fact that no company could have a strategy for the Goals that did not have corporate respect for human rights at its heart. 60. In order to help clarify the connection between contributing to the achievement of the Goals and human rights due diligence, it was pointed out that some organizations were developing case studies that showed what the connection could imply in practical terms. It was noted that lack of guidance could no longer be an excuse for companies. A recent publication by Shift and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development that presented several examples of how business was contributing to the Goals by putting people first was highlighted. The representative of the Danish Institute for Human Rights presented a new database containing examples of how due diligence by companies could contribute to the achievement of specific goals and targets. 61. The High Commissioner for Human Rights underlined the importance of the topic in the plenary of day two, stressing that nowhere was the issue of policy coherence on human rights more critical than when it came to achieving sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Goals. Meaningful human rights due diligence should be seen as one of the most fundamental ways companies could contribute to the global agenda. D. Role of the investment community in driving more and better human rights due diligence 62. As highlighted by the Working Group in its report to the General Assembly, “Investors can play a significant role in driving wider uptake of human rights due diligence approaches by setting expectations and interacting with the boards and senior executives of the enterprises they invest in” (A/73/163, para. 85) and “good practices are emerging, spurred by benchmarking initiatives [and] investor pressure …” (ibid., para. 46). These observations provided a starting point for Forum sessions in which participants addressed the role of the investment community as a driver of change. Participants noted that there was growing evidence that respecting and addressing human rights issues – at all management levels and across the value chain – improved risk assessment and long-term sustainability. A key element for investors to exercise leverage is the availability of information on corporate performance, an issue that was highlighted during a session of the Forum, at which findings from the second edition of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, assessing 101 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on a set of human rights indicators, were cited. 63. Among key points emerging from discussions on the role of the investment community were the following: 14