GTE and renowned business and human rights experts Shift first collaborated in 2019 to identify and work to address human rights issues related to GTE’s business operations and value chain. Shift is the leading centre of expertise on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The nonprofit organization is chaired by John Ruggie who authored the Guiding Principles during his mandate as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on business & human rights.
Shift introduced GTE staff to a methodology for effectively assessing human rights risks. Shift also facilitated discussions with GTE’s management, corporate responsibility personnel and other field staff at the Company’s operations sites in Colombia and Ecuador, in order to build additional capacity within the company for managing human rights issues.
The partnership between Shift and GTE continues today. Gran Tierra is one of 19 companies that participate in Shift’s Business Learning program, which was designed to support companies that are committed to working to fulfill their responsibility to respect Human Rights. In order to qualify for the program, participants must meet the following criteria:
- Evidence of high-level commitment to business and Human Rights
- Demonstrated organizational capacity to drive the implementation process
- Support for the broader, mission-driven learning approach
- Coherence with Human Rights principles