Human rights challenges are sector-specific. Human rights challenges are rarely unique to individual companies, but are generally similar across an entire industry. Identifying the most critical human rights risks by sector ensures that each company works on the most relevant human rights issues across its core business activities. For example, manufacturing companies need to focus on ensuring labor standards are met in their global supply chains, while information and communications technology (ICT) companies need to discuss how to ensure the rights to freedom of expression and to privacy through (or despite) their core business models. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Standards are a prerequisite for measuring and reporting progress in the field of human rights. Without a clearly defined human rights standard, “measuring” and reporting human rights progress produces meaningless data. A commonly accepted standard prevents companies from choosing easy and marginal human rights topics while ignoring critical ones. It ensures comparability and enables public accountability. Defining a human rights standard and operationalizing it into measurable indicators must therefore be the first step of any serious corporate commitment to human rights. Collective efforts lead to better results. In practice, addressing human rights means establishing substantive human rights standards in a given area, supported by a common framework for implementation. Companies in the same industry are more effective when they work together. Common standards ensure a level playing field that makes things more difficult for free riders. Such collaboration also increases the influence of each individual company in the supply chain, improves accountability over implementation efforts, and allows companies to share and pool resources and experiences. This standard-setting process should be inclusive and integrate the perspectives of all relevant stakeholders to address a specific human rights challenge. Some recently developed multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) provide models we can learn from, such as the Fair Labor Association, the Global Network Initiative, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the International Code of Conduct for Security Service Providers private. Industry-specific human rights standards defined and enforced through MSIs create an enabling environment within which it becomes easy to make the business case for human rights. Industry-specific human rights standards create a level playing field for all actors in an industry and align them around long-term goals. Companies that fail to meet the standards will be subject to scrutiny from industry peers and the public. Companies that excel at implementing human rights over time are therefore able to communicate their successes and earn the trust of consumers and investors. Unlike a business case based on an individual differentiation strategy, a business case within an MSI framework is systematic because it establishes incentives for all actors to raise the bar. It also provides industry participants with greater influence to shape regulatory reform (see, for example, the Global Network Initiative's efforts on surveillance reform). Here.