A/HRC/29/28 61. While hundreds of public-private partnerships already exist, as pointed out by the Institute for Human Rights and Business , “we don’t yet have solid evidence or even shared views on what good practice looks like and we are still in the early stages of developing effective tools for evaluating the impacts and results of such partnerships across the board”.53 Initiatives such as that pursued by the Institute54 to assess and report on how partnerships with the private sector could be made more accountable and consistent with the Guiding Principles and international human rights standards in the post-2015 development context should be encouraged. 62. The sustainable development goals should also be strengthened in relation to the critical role of reporting on human rights in the context of sustainability reporting. In draft target 12.6 companies, especially large and transnational companies are encouraged to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle. As set out in the Guiding Principles, accounting for how they address human rights impacts provides a key measure of transparency and accountability to individuals or groups who may be impacted and to other relevant stakeholders, including investors. Reporting on human rights impacts and measures in a meaningful way would thus be a significant contribution to enhancing sustainability reporting. Adding human rights considerations alongside the social and environmental is critical. If companies do not report on their potential or actual impacts on the rights of individuals, they could be missing critical social and environmental impacts as well. Thus, adding a reference to the Guiding Principles would contribute to aligning the goals with international standards by promoting meaningful disclosure by companies.55 63. The draft goals also address the role of public procurement, calling for public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities (target 12.7). Here too, the goals and their implementation at the national level should be in line with the Guiding Principles and include the clear expectation that States adopt practices that are not only sustainable but that explicitly integrate human rights considerations. 64. The goals are expected to be adopted in September 2015. The Working Group hopes that the Guiding Principles will be adequately reflected in the final commitments at the global and national levels. Much work remains to be done to solidify and translate the goals into action by States and businesses and to ensure that businesses will contribute to, not undermine, inclusive and sustainable development in the period beyond 2015. The Guiding 53 www.ihrb.org/commentary/post-2015-agenda-private-sector-priorities.html. 54 Ibid. 55 A government-led initiative in this area, supported by UNEP and the Global Reporting Initiative, is the Group of Friends of Paragraph 47 following acknowledgement of the importance of corporate sustainability reporting in paragraph 47 of the outcome document of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. The Guiding Principles are referenced in its frequently asked questions on corporate sustainability reporting, available from www.unep.org/resourceefficiency/Business/SustainableandResponsible Business/CorporateSustainabilityReporting/GroupofFriendsofParagraph47/FAQsonCorporateSustaina bilityReporting/tabid/106320/Default.aspx. Another initiative in this context involves the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and aims to mobilize the private sector behind the sustainable development goals. It will produce a guide for businesses for assessing impacts and aligning strategies with the goals (https://www.unglobalcompact.org/news/1361-10-07-2014). It would be critical for guidance from such initiatives to emphasize the role of human rights reporting and alignment with ongoing initiatives and tools to support implementation of the Guiding Principles. The recent “UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework” provides a useful tool. 17

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