Human rights challenges are industry-specific. Human rights challenges are rarely unique to an individual company, but are usually similar across an entire industry. Identifying the most critical human rights risks by sector ensures that each company is working on the most important human rights issues as part of its core business. For example, manufacturing companies should focus on ensuring labor standards are respected in their global supply chains, while information and communications technology (ICT) companies should discuss how whose rights to freedom of expression and privacy they guarantee through (or despite) their core business models. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayStandards are a prerequisite for measuring and reporting progress on human rights. Without a clearly defined human rights standard, “measuring” and reporting human rights progress produces meaningless data. A commonly accepted norm prevents companies from choosing easy, marginal human rights topics while ignoring critical ones. It ensures comparability and enables public accountability. Setting a human rights standard and translating that standard into measurable indicators must therefore be the first step in any serious business commitment to human rights. Collective efforts lead to better results. From a practical perspective, addressing human rights means establishing substantive human rights standards in a given industry, supported by a common implementation framework. Companies in the same industry are more effective when they work together. Common standards ensure a level playing field that makes it harder for free riders. Such collaboration also increases the influence of each company in the supply chain, improves accountability for implementation efforts, and allows companies to share and pool resources and experiences. This standard-setting process must be inclusive and incorporate the views of all relevant stakeholders to address a specific human rights challenge. Some recently developed multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) provide models from which we can learn, such as the Fair Labor Association, the Global Network Initiative, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the International Code of Conduct for private security service providers. Industry-specific human rights standards, defined and enforced through MSIs, create an enabling environment in which the business case for human rights becomes easy to make. Sector-specific human rights standards create a level playing field for all actors in a sector and align them with long-term goals. Companies that fail to meet the standards will face intense scrutiny from their industry peers and the public. Companies that excel in implementing human rights over time are then able to communicate their successes and gain the trust of consumers and investors. Unlike a business case based on a strategy of.