Human rights due diligence (HRDD) refers to the process of a business assessing its actual and potential human rights impacts, integrating, and acting on those findings, tracking responses, and communicating how those impacts have been addressed.

As potential human rights impacts may not immediately be obvious, it is important for businesses to meaningfully engage with affected rightsholders and their credible representatives in order to accurately make this assessment. Globally, jurisdictions are increasingly translating HRDD requirements into hard law, meaning that it is a prescient time for companies to consider how to engage with HRDD.

The purpose of this briefing is to provide an overview of the extent to which companies in Asia, focusing on the palm oil and seafood sectors, have incorporated HRDD into their operations. It outlines the drivers for HRDD adoption by companies in Asia, the opportunities and risks, the business case for incorporating HRDD, and sets out how companies can engage with affected stakeholders and their credible representatives to conduct meaningful HRDD, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).