Business & Human Rights Toolbox 2025 Edition
A revamped, simplified and future-proof tool supporting companies in embedding human rights in business practices.
Explore the Toolbox
This new version is an update of the original version developed in 2018 by:
With the graphic design and technical support of Sakado
In this 2025 version, the contents have been updated, the format revamped and the structure simplified in order to improve accessibility and to ensure the long-term viability of this tool, which supports Belgian and international companies in embedding human rights in their business practices. The toolbox Business & Human Rights now includes a directory on Access to justice and sound remedies - State-based mechanisms.
This has been made possible thanks to the expertise of a leading multidisciplinary team in the field:
Liliana Lizarazo Rodriguez
Boris Verbrugge
Under the coordination of:
Huib Huyse
The redesign is the result of Spontan Creative Media's expertise.
Thanks to the valuable operational and financial support of the Council of Europe
This toolbox aims to provide an accessible and user-friendly set of tools to guide businesses and their stakeholders in fulfilling their human rights responsibilities in the context of their activities.
It seeks to inform them about how they can comply with these responsibilities and, in cases of adverse human rights impacts, how the businesses involved can redress or compensate direct and indirect victims.
In some cases, the mechanisms included in this toolbox are mandatory. In most cases, these are recommended good practices to prevent business activities from producing adverse human rights impacts, or to mitigate the risk of this happening.
The main legal framework of this toolbox is composed of international and national human rights laws in force in Belgium. It has also been developed in line with:
- The United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework (The UNGP)s
- Instruments in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that incorporate human rights compliance
- Belgium's National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights
In particular, this toolbox aims to equip businesses with the necessary skills to implement the second pillar of the UNGP – the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. It also seeks to clearly set out businesses' legal duties under Belgian human rights law.
The current version of toolbox builds on the previous version but contains substantial reviews in three main areas:
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1differentiating between primary and secondary users;
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2simplification of the structure and presentation of the content; and
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3updating the different sections and tools in line with new developments, guidance and tools in the field of responsible business conduct.
A multidisciplinary team of experts reviewed the content and structure from different perspectives and needs: legal, business, policy, governance, social upgrading, etc.
Differentiating between primary and secondary users: The content was re-oriented towards primary users (companies) for better accessibility. Secondary users (policy makers, civil society organizations) are considered but not comprehensively covered. It also mentions adjusting the self-assessment tool to reflect primary user needs and challenges in Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD).
Simplification of structure and presentation: A systematic review of the website structure based on user feedback and expert advice. This involved removing duplications, reducing references and detail, simplifying content for non-legal users, and creating an overall simplified structure for faster navigation and easier content selection.
Updating the different sections and tools and broadening the presentation of due diligence mechanisms: Updating various sections of the toolbox to reflect developments in responsible business conduct since 2018, including new regulatory frameworks (national and regional) and digital supply chain tools. It also mentions expanding the section on HREDD mechanisms and tools.