Climate action and human rights are too often treated as parallel workstreams– separate teams, separate budgets, and separate KPIs. But the reality on the ground tells a different story. Climate-related disruptions are hitting the most vulnerable workers in global supply chains hardest, while environmental interventions can inadvertently concentrate risk in already precarious communities.
But there’s proof that protecting workers and protecting supply chains from climate risk are the same agenda. Research from the Ethical Trading Initiative found that union members spent 51% less time at unsafe core body temperatures, and workers in unions that negotiate with employers on heat mitigation actions experienced 74% fewer minutes at unsafe temperatures than those that didn’t (ETI, 2024). The takeaway isn’t just about unions – it’s that climate adaptation requires worker voice, direct engagement, and systemic investment in labour protections. Companies treating climate and human rights as separate tracks are missing both the risk and the solution.
This session brings together climate, sourcing, and human rights leaders to explore:
- Worker voice as climate resilience: how engaging workers and their representatives in climate adaptation delivers measurable protection and operational continuity
- Due diligence frameworks that work for both: mapping where CSDDD, CSRD, and climate commitments overlap – and where current approaches create blind spots
- Supplier engagement strategies that address climate vulnerability and labour rights simultaneously, building long-term resilience at both levels
- What it takes operationally: governance, cross-functional buy-in, and investment models that make integration actually work
