At this year’s Labour Party Conference, the Corporate Justice Coalition (CJC), in partnership with the Fabian Society, the Fairtrade Foundation, ActionAid and Friends of the Earth, hosted a packed-out event that made the case for bold new legislation to protect people and the planet from corporate harms.
The event brought together international producers, parliamentarians and civil society experts who each contributed a unique perspective to a unified message: the UK must adopt a Business Human Rights and Environment Act: a mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (mHREDD) law that introduces a duty for corporations to prevent harm in their global operations and supply chains.
Planet Profit and People panel event. Labour Party Conference 2025. Fabian Society.
It’s time to fill the gaps in UK legislation
As chair of the event, CJC Director, Dominique Muller, opened the discussion by highlighting the legislative vacuum in the UK: while companies have grown increasingly global and complex in their operations, UK law has failed to keep pace.
As Dominique explained, a Business Human Rights and Environment Act would fill this legislative gap and right now the government has a real opportunity to act with both the Department for Business and Trade and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development office undertaking reviews that examine the UK’s approach to responsible business conduct and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The need for just business partnerships
Nancy Githaiga, a Fairtrade tea farmer from Kenya, then brought the human impact of weak legislation into sharp focus.
Climate change, she explained, is no longer a future threat, it’s already devastating lives. Nancy described how her and fellow farmers were experiencing hailstorms that used to be unheard of in Kenya. This has meant losing months of tea production. And while the cost of production has increased 200% in the last 20 years, income has stayed the same. This leaves smallholder tea farmers earning about £500 a year, just 10% of what’s needed to live with dignity.
Nancy called on UK lawmakers to act by introducing legislation to strengthen sustainability efforts and address irresponsible corporate purchasing practices that are exacerbating inequality in supply chains.
Marie Rumsby, Director of Advocacy at the Fairtrade Foundation, echoed this, explaining how business relationships are so often skewed in favour of powerful brands. Marie described how mHREDD would shift this dynamic and that it’s not just needed, it’s popular. Learn more about the “Brew it Fair” campaign here.
An opportunity for Labour to Lead
Martin Rhodes MP, Chair of the Fairtrade All-Party Parliamentary Group and signatory of the Good Business Matters Pledge also joined the panel and said this moment presents a chance for the Labour Party to set the agenda on global justice.
Martin explained how Labour needs to build on existing work that has aimed to raise employment standards here in the UK by ensuring that we don’t “offshore bad employment practices”. He argued that Labour has a duty to ensure the rights being championed at home are upheld globally.
Martin also made it clear that this is not only morally the right thing to do. It’s the right thing for protecting UK supply chains and it’s the right thing for UK businesses. You can read Martin’s article on Labour List here.
Intersecting challenges demand systemic solutions
Next, Asad Rehman, CEO of Friends of the Earth, reminded attendees that corporate harm is not an isolated issue, it is systemic. Worker’s rights abuses and environmental devastation are interconnected and are affecting people and our environment here in the UK and all around the world.
Asad’s key message was crystal clear: “corporate accountability is not a burden but the foundation for building a just future. We need an economy where no one is disposable and a business model grounded in sustainability and dignity.”
ActionAid’s Co-CEO Hannah Bond added that the impacts of corporate harm are deeply gendered.
Hannah described how women are disproportionately affected by land loss, water pollution, and unpaid care work. Additionally, she explained, when women speak out, they face greater barriers to justice and higher risks of violence. That’s why UK corporate accountability laws must be developed with meaningful stakeholder engagement and must centre gender justice – an issue we explore further in this briefing.
Lord Falconer, Labour Party Conference 2025. Fabian Society.
An Effective Legal Roadmap Already Exists
Finally, Lord Falconer, former Lord Chancellor, closed the event with a compelling articulation of how a Business Human Rights and Environment Act can really work to drive change.
Lord Falconer explained that the UK Bribery Act already provides an effective model whereby companies must show they’ve taken adequate steps to prevent harm and that our courts are already well equipped to ensure justice reaches affected communities. This provides the Government with a tried and tested legal framework that must now be applied to the protection of human rights and the prevention of environmental harms.
Crucially, Lord Falconer also dismissed claims that new laws would burden businesses making it clear that “the best of British Business are already calling for it”. He explained that this proposal would provide legal certainty to businesses and investors and level the playing field, supporting UK businesses that are trying to do the right thing. Learn more about support for new laws from businesses and investors here.
The Time to Act is Now
With rallying interventions from the panel and from the audience itself, the message from the room was unequivocal: the UK is at a turning point. The government must adopt new legislation that holds companies to account for harms in their operations and their global supply chains and right now, there is an opportunity to do just that.
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