Human Rights
Overview
As a People First organization, we recognize the potential of S&P Global’s business to impact the human rights of people by our activities across the value chain. We are committed to responsible and transparent operations that demonstrate respect and support for all human rights, in accordance with international standards and applicable law.
This material topic includes how we respect and advance human rights in our operations and value chain. This includes assessing, preventing, managing and mitigating human rights risks that may occur as a result of the company’s role as an employer, procurer, and data and services provider. Reflecting the interconnectedness of human rights and other key topics, related information is also provided in other sections of this report, including Responsible Sourcing and Supply Chain Management, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Employee Health, Safety and Wellbeing, and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity.
Focus Areas
Expanding identification and prioritization of actual and potential human rights impacts across the organization’s full value chain.
Enhancing our enterprise-wide approach to human rights due diligence
2023 Highlights
Completed a saliency assessment and gained internal consensus on a prioritized list of human rights risks.
Created a dedicated role to manage human rights due diligence across the enterprise.
“Respect for human rights is at the core of our commitment as a People First organization. We are taking a proactive approach to assessing and mitigating human rights risks, based on internationally recognized principles and standards.”
Angela Seaton
Head of Enterprise Risk Management
Our Approach
S&P Global supports fundamental human rights in accordance with internationally recognized principles and standards, including the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). We also comply with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements related to human rights, including those specified by the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and others. We seek to uphold international principles and standards for human rights in all countries where we operate, even where local laws or practices may not align.
Our commitment to human rights is codified by our Global Human Rights Policy, which addresses specific human rights issues including:
- Human trafficking
- Forced and compulsory labor
- Child labor
- Health and occupational safety
- Equality and nondiscrimination
- Privacy protection
- Freedom of association
- Fair and equal remuneration
Respect for human rights is also embedded in key policies and standards deployed throughout the company, including:
- Code of Business Ethics (COBE)
- Vendor Code of Conduct (VCOC)
- Health, Safety and Environment Policy
- Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement
- Division-specific ethics policies
- Employee Privacy Policy
Our Chief Purpose Officer and Chief Financial Officer are responsible for human rights issues connected to our business and operations, with oversight from the Executive Committee. In addition, in 2023, the company assigned a Senior Director, Social Sustainability, with responsibility to improve the management of human rights risk identification and due diligence across the enterprise.
S&P Global engages, consults and collaborates with external experts, nongovernmental organizations and others to determine appropriate ways to improve how the company manages human rights risks in our roles as a procurer, employer and data services provider. We are also contributing to work in support of the advancement of human rights globally. For example, our Chief Executive Officer currently serves as a member of the board of UNGC, and key company leaders are participants in the UNGC Business & Human Rights Accelerator program.
Human Rights Risk Assessment
S&P Global is working to identify, assess and mitigate potential and actual human rights impacts resulting from our business activities, both in our own operations and the relationships connected to those activities.
In 2022, we identified salient human rights risks in our supply chain (for more information, see our 2022 Impact Report). In 2023, we built on this work by undertaking a comprehensive exercise to identify focused areas of human rights risks that can be connected to our own operations, supply chain, and products and services. Through desk research, country- and issue-specific risk mapping, and internal and external stakeholder consultation, we examined potential and actual human rights risks and how they could manifest for the company and/or impact rightsholders. We then reviewed and assessed the potential severity and likelihood of each risk, in order to determine a final list of salient topics that we are committed to.
Salient Human Rights Risks
| Risk | Description | |
|---|---|---|
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Data Privacy | Protection of personal data against abuse and cyber-attacks. Rights of individuals to be protected from arbitrary, unreasonable or unlawful interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence, and from attacks on their reputation. |
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Discrimination, Harassment and Minority Rights | Freedom from unequal treatment, directly or indirectly, on various grounds, including race, ethnicity, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, and birth or other status (such as sexual orientation or health status). Protection from harassment and abuse, including but not limited to violence; corporal punishment; harsh or degrading treatment; sexual or physical harassment; and mental, physical, verbal or sexual abuse. |
|
Security of the Person | The right not to be deprived of life arbitrarily or unlawfully, including unlawful detention. Right to have one's life protected, for example, from physical attacks or health and safety risks. |
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Health and Safety | Protection of workers from exposure to short- and long-term risks at work and to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses. |
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Forced Labor | The right not to be coerced to work using violence or intimidation, or by more subtle means such as accumulated debt, retention of identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities. |
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Fair and Equal Remuneration | The right to receive just and favorable compensation for work without discrimination. Includes the principle of receiving equal pay for work of equal value. |
Human Rights and Our Operations
As a large company with a global workforce, we have a responsibility to safeguard the human rights of our more than 40,000 global employees, as well as contractors, interns and other temporary workers involved in our operations. Considering the nature of our business and role as an employer, potential risks to workers may pertain to data privacy; discrimination and harassment; health, safety and security; and fair and equal remuneration. Our operations may also be connected to potential adverse impacts on our customers and partners or people in the communities where we operate.
Our COBE underscores our core values and guides everything we do by informing our decisions, driving actions and determining how we conduct business. This includes respecting human rights and treating our people and members of the communities where we do business with dignity and respect. In addition, our Global Human Rights Policy; Employee Privacy Policy; and Health, Safety and Environment Policy each outline important details of our commitment to preventing discrimination and harassment, providing fair and equal remuneration, protecting privacy and maintaining workplace safety. Following the saliency assessment, our Corporate Responsibility team has started to deepen engagement and education efforts around respect for global human rights with key corporate functions including People, Enterprise Risk Management, Global Security and other business units.
Human Rights and Our Supply Chain
S&P Global’s supply chain involves numerous suppliers and thousands of individuals working in geographies around the world. This means that we may be connected to human rights impacts affecting supply chain workers and/or people in the communities where our suppliers operate. Depending on the circumstances, potential risks to people may pertain to data privacy, forced labor; discrimination and harassment; health and safety; security of the person; and fair and equal remuneration.
To help mitigate these risks, our VCOC, together with our COBE, sets out the standards and practices we expect suppliers to uphold, including respecting internationally recognized human rights and labor standards. In particular, the VCOC explicitly prohibits forced or child labor, employment-based discrimination, and harassment and abuse, including for augmented or temporary staff. It also requires suppliers to provide employees with a safe and healthy working environment and to maintain adequate plans for emergency preparedness and response.
For more details on our supply chain sustainability program, including how we are engaging with suppliers on human rights issues, see Responsible Procurement and Supply Chain Management.
Human Rights and Our Products and Services
S&P Global’s products and services are vast, working with thousands of organizations across dozens of industries and types. It is possible that we may be connected to human rights impacts affecting clients’ workers and/or people in the communities impacted by our clients’ operations. Depending on the circumstances, potential risks to people may pertain to data privacy, forced labor, discrimination, harassment and minority rights, health and safety, security of the person, and fair and equal remuneration.
Since 2016, the Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) includes a section on human rights due diligence and helps to drive improvement and transparency in this area. We are also continuing to look at how our products and services incorporate human rights risks and impact.
S&P Global recognizes the responsibility to uphold human rights within the design, delivery and use of our commercial products and services. With this in mind, we maintain policies and procedures to identify and mitigate product-, data- and technology-related risks. For more information on these efforts, see Responsible Products and Marketing and Data Privacy and Cybersecurity.
Grievance Mechanisms
S&P Global acknowledges the responsibility to provide for or cooperate to remedy any adverse human rights impacts we have caused or contributed to – as defined by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
We encourage our people, suppliers and subcontractors to proactively report ethical and legal concerns, including potential human rights violations. Our EthicsPoint Helpline is made available to employees and third-party stakeholders to raise concerns, and all reports are promptly and thoroughly investigated. Complaints raised to the helpline are reviewed and monitored for trends. For more information, please refer to page 7 of our COBE.
The COBE also includes provisions to ensure that anyone making a good-faith report of a potential or actual misdeed is protected from retaliation, including being terminated, demoted, threatened, discriminated against or harassed in any way.
Looking Ahead
Following completion of our saliency assessment, we are shaping an updated global human rights workplan to address prioritized risks. Our planned next steps include:
- Reviewing and enhancing internal policies and procedures in alignment with the UNGPs.
- Expanding internal education and engagement on business and human rights.
- Enhancing tools for ongoing identification and assessment of human rights risks.
- Conducting further analysis to consider the potential impact of our products and services on various stakeholders.
- Preparing to meet new and emerging regulatory expectations, such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).