Increase your leverage

door Gerhard Schuil

At SOMO Services we can help you to increase your leverage with the private sector. By sharing examples of our most recent work, we hope to show you how we can help with your future campaigns, advocacy, dialogue or cooperation with the corporate sector.

When I look at our work, it really strikes me how due diligence is at the very core of what we do – following the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

As we all know, with adoption in 2011 of this new normative framework companies are expected to identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. This has profoundly changed the discourse and interaction between the private sector and civil society worldwide.

Due diligence

Due diligence is central to our research too. In our research into gold(opens in new window) and mica(opens in new window) , for example, we mapped the supply chains from mine to consumer – helping civil society hold companies to account for their role and responsibility all the way along the supply chain. I am really proud that our research has formed the basis of so many much needed and hard-hitting public campaigns.

Unraveling the concept of due diligence is also central to many of our trainings worldwide(opens in new window) – ranging from human rights groups to multi-stakeholder initiatives in the textile and garment industry.

Uncovering the details

But there is more. The philosophy behind due diligence also has a profound influence on civil society organizations and their approach towards partnerships and collaborations with the private sector. SOMO Services receives an increasing number of requests from a wide range of organisations – from development groups to musea to public broadcasters – for research into potential corporate partners(opens in new window)  or for advice in developing an in-house policy for screening potential private sector partners(opens in new window) . Our researchers really follow the money, uncovering the details of who owns what and who makes business decisions, which is invaluable information when it comes to identifying the risks of collaborating with corporate partners.

Knowing the risks and careful fact based decision-making is crucial for any organisation, public and private.
I hope this overview of our recent work provides you with an idea of what SOMO Services could do for you and your organisation. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me: G.schuil@somo.nl or call +31 (0)20 639 12 91 / +31 (0)6 466 120 10.

Gerhard Schuil

On behalf of the SOMO Services team(opens in new window)