It is impossible to ignore the fact that the ESG trend can significantly affect the sphere of human rights in the energy sector. The rationale behind this statement is that the letter S stands for a social component, meaning that this issue can affect the people in the industry. Sufficient scientific evidence can demonstrate that the businesses representing the energy sector draw adequate attention to ensuring that their operations and supply chain management practices respect human rights.
To begin with, one should explain that the energy sector is a part of a bigger business world, which denotes that there exist universal rules that govern the processes. In particular, this statement refers to international laws that prevent specific illegal activities and that are obligatory to follow by all businesses. According to Fiaschi et al. (2020, p. 295), international legislation bans “arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, slavery, child labor, and forced labor.” This finding allows for concluding that the energy sector is forced to eliminate and combat all these issues. That is why the area under analysis does not violate the law and does not cooperate with suppliers that are accused of utilizing unlawful practices.
In addition to that, the energy sector takes a few specific actions to promote human rights through its operations. On the one hand, it is believed that the ESG practice contributes to the fact that the area promoted workplace and board diversity (Xie, 2020, p. 8). This information denotes that employees do not face discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, and other peculiarities. On the other hand, de Silva Lokuwaduge and de Silva (2020, p. 45) clarify that the energy sector has a small number of grievances about human rights violations or discrimination cases. This finding allows for concluding that the industry is not subject to human rights problems.
In conclusion, scientific evidence has demonstrated that the energy sector is aligned with the ESG trend regarding human rights. Firstly, representatives of this area are obliged to follow international standards that advocate for respecting and protecting individuals at work. Secondly, the energy sector takes some efforts to provide diversity and minimize discrimination at the workplace. Thus, one can state that ESG practices result in protected human rights in the selected area.
Reference List
De Silva Lokuwaduge, C. S. and de Silva, K. (2020) ‘Emerging corporate disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks: an Australian Study’, Australasian Accounting, Business, and Finance Journal, 14(2), pp. 35-50.
Fiaschi, D. et al. (2020) ‘How bad is your company? Measuring corporate wrongdoing beyond the magic of ESG metrics’, Business Horizons, 63(3), pp. 287-299.
Xie, C. L. (2020) ‘Institutional investors, shareholder activism, and ESG in the energy sector’, Wharton Research Scholars, pp. 1-26.