Human Rights Statement

Our ambition is to deliver high-quality projects while maximising positive societal impacts.

A Commitment to an Ethical Work Environment

At PUR, we bring nature back to agriculture by developing projects across countries in agricultural communities. We implement activities that restore ecosystems, empower local communities, and strengthen supply chains.

In our capacity as a responsible stakeholder, we recognise our significant role in shaping societal outcomes through our nature-based initiatives, which has led to the development of this Human Rights Statement.

This Statement underpins our commitment to respect internationally recognised human rights across our activities, for the benefit of every individual affected by our operations, such as employees, farmers, local communities, partners, and clients in the countries where our projects are implemented. As such, we are committed to creating a fair, respectful, and ethical working environment for all the stakeholders in our projects.

Download PUR's Human Rights Statement

Guiding Principles

Our intent is to promote and ensure the respect of human rights in all our projects in the field. In the long run, our ambition is to deliver high-quality projects while maximising positive societal impacts.

The overarching principles which guide the way we operate at PUR are based on:

  • Commitments to internationally recognised laws and conventions, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.
  • Comprehensive internal risks assessments carried out on our projects.

In local contexts which vary greatly from one country to another, these principles guide our teams in the field and our human rights due diligence process, from identifying to preventing human rights risks. We request from our employees and partners to uphold our human rights commitments when operating with or on behalf of PUR.

We also prioritize awareness of communities who are often at greater risk due to vulnerability or marginalization—such as children, women, racialized groups, and indigenous peoples.

Focus and Salient Issues

We focus on the human rights issues that are most salient to our operations, resulting from our regular internal assessments conducted in accordance with the UNGPs, which include:

  1. Ensuring decent work and prohibiting forced labour
  2. Prohibiting child labour
  3. Protecting health and safety
  4. Promoting gender equality
  5. Consulting stakeholders, ensuring full and effective participation, and promoting the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)
  6. Recognising and respecting Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities’ land rights
  7. Enhancing livelihoods, including benefit sharing
  8. Preserving the environment.

Due Diligence and Continuous Improvement

We uphold a strong commitment to due diligence, which involves proactively identifying, evaluating and addressing both current and potential adverse human rights impacts on stakeholders across our value chain. This due diligence framework serves not only to mitigate risks, but also to pinpoint areas where we can continuously enhance support and uphold our stakeholders’ fundamental human rights—regularly reviewing our practices, policies, and procedures to identify areas for improvement.

Our due diligence tools include various methods, including human rights risks assessments, risk management procedures, and implementation of grievance mechanisms, among others. While PUR commits to addressing these issues through broad initiatives and policies, we recognise the necessity of tailored approaches, local remediation strategies, and adapted grievance mechanisms for an effective response.

Through training programs, we empower our employees with the tools and resources necessary to effectively address human rights challenges in their respective missions.

Governance and Accountability

Human rights considerations are integrated into our strategic and operational decision-making processes. The Executive Committee directly oversees the implementation and monitoring of our human rights commitments.

At PUR, respecting human rights is an ongoing journey. By fostering a strong culture of learning and development, we aim to uphold human rights across our projects, contributing positively to all the communities we engage with.

Alexandre Schouler
PUR Chief Executive Officer