Centering Communities in Business & Human Rights

Version 2.0 – May 2024

The Fourth Pillar Initiative aims to center communities in the field of business and human rights (BHR). Despite the growth in the BHR field in recent years, communities are still too often missing from key conversations and decisions. Communities should be able to claim their place at the table, as they have first-hand understanding of what threatens their rights and have much to contribute to frameworks, processes, and practices that would better protect them. The Fourth Pillar Principles include the need to elevate community agency and tackle power imbalances that undermine communities’ rights. The Fourth Pillar Initiative seeks to have the Principles spur further action and innovation in the BHR field, and share good practice and tools for businesses, states, civil society, and communities.

The first iteration of the Fourth Pillar emerged in 2021 after years of conducting small workshops with hundreds of community allies. The Fourth Pillar Initiative then engaged with several hundred people to socialize the first iteration, which has led to the current Fourth Pillar 2.0. The Fourth Pillar Initiative has been a collaboration of numerous volunteers and organizations, including the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR), MSI Integrity, the Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL), and Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Entrepreneurs Clinic.

For inquiries related to the Fourth Pillar Initiative, please email info@fourthpillarinitiative.org — thank you!