#79 Michael H. Posner: Lessons from the Most Severe Cases of Corporate Humans Rights Abuse

The history of corporate human rights abuse is as old as the history of corporations themselves, and yet our understanding of business and human rights has only evolved significantly over the last five decades. The concept of corporate accountability is now widely known, whereas only 20-30 years ago, companies often refused to accept responsibility for the inhumane conditions or practices found in factories producing their products. But how did this understanding evolve, and what progress remains to be achieved?

This week on the Frankly Speaking podcast, Richard Howitt was joined by Michael H. Posner, Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, the first ever human rights centre at a business school.

Together they discussed Michael’s latest book ‘Conscience Incorporated: Pursue Profits While Protecting Human Rights’ which weaves together his decades of legal experience working with companies from Nike, Adidas, Coke, Microsoft and many others to put the case for a genuine change in business attitude and practice on corporate human rights. You’ll also hear more about:

• How the Coca-Cola company scandal in the 1980s marked a great step in the history of corporate accountability
• Global lessons learned from the 2013 Rana Plaza tragedy 
• Michael’s work to improve the awful conditions in which Apple iPhones were being produced in Shenzhen, China in the 2010s
• Facebook’s role in spreading hate speech in Myanmar 
• Why Hong-Kong based company Esquel Group left the Fair Labor Association
• Michael’s reflections on Meta’s recent decision to end moderation altogether and how corporate human rights have been impacted by the incumbent Trump administration 

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