Mandatory Reporting
What is mandatory reporting?
Human rights reporting used to be voluntary and selective. Today, more and more governments are requiring companies to publish clear information about how they identify and address human rights risks in their operations and supply chains. These mandatory reporting laws turn private commitments into public information that workers, communities, investors and regulators can actually use.
For NomoGaia, reporting is not just about glossy sustainability stories. It is about evidence: where risks are, what actions companies take, and whether those actions make a difference for people on the ground. Strong reporting rules help close the gap between promises and practice, and create a record that can support better policy, better enforcement and, ultimately, better outcomes for rightsholders.
Why mandatory reporting matters
Mandatory reporting laws are one of the main tools governments have under Pillar One to bring corporate conduct into the open. When companies must explain their human rights risks and how they respond, it becomes harder to hide serious abuses in operations and supply chains, and easier for affected people and their allies to demand change. Good reporting also gives regulators, investors and business partners a shared, comparable picture of performance. Done well, it pushes companies to track not only their policies and processes but also real-world outcomes for rightsholders – where NomoGaia’s work on risk, impact and remedy helps fill critical evidence gaps.
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Experience with early transparency laws shows that weak obligations tend to produce vague, boilerplate disclosures that do little to change behaviour. Stronger laws go further: they ask companies to explain how they carry out human rights due diligence, where their most severe risks lie, and what concrete steps they are taking to address them. Effective reporting frameworks also expect companies to show progress over time, including what has worked, what has not, and what gaps remain. NomoGaia’s assessments, case studies and datasets can support regulators designing or revising such laws, and companies that want to move beyond minimum compliance to meaningful, rights-respecting disclosure.
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