No images? Click here
November update
Welcome to the Thomson Reuters Foundation's monthly newsletter!
From Geneva: Insights from this week’s UN Forum on Business and Human Rights
Hi there,
I'm Katie Fowler, Director of Responsible Business at the Foundation.
This week, I've been in Geneva attending the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, one of the world's largest annual gatherings on this topic.
Director of Responsible Business Katie Fowler, pictured second-to-left
With attendees from business, civil society, investor and community groups, it's been inspiring to be among so many diverse perspectives expressing a commitment to more responsible practices.
On Tuesday, I moderated a session focused on the just transition - which explored how businesses and governments can uphold human rights commitments while navigating the urgent shift to a sustainable economy. We heard from experts and advocates about the need to integrate human rights into environmental, social, and governance considerations (ESG).
We currently face the interlinked challenges of geopolitical instability, rapid technological change, political backlash and the undermining of the rule of law. Yet hearing panellists emphasise the importance of local movements and narratives in the transition to a greener economy, the key takeaway for me was that companies have the opportunities and the tools to lead.
With millions of workers in their operations and supply chains, companies have influence at a local, national and international level. They can harness this to shape practices that safeguard people and planet – and new evidence points towards these types of businesses being more profitable too.
These conversations and collaborations are what drives our work here at the Foundation. Through our research, events, insights and initiatives, we equip private sector professionals with the knowledge and tools to make responsible business decisions that put people first. Our latest report explores how businesses can put people at the heart of the shift to net zero, which you can find out more about below. And you can read outstanding coverage of grassroots-driven climate action and the Just Transition over at our newsroom, Context.
If you're also working toward fairer, more responsible economies, please get in touch.
Highlights from across the Foundation
Below you'll find our featured resource from this month, along with some standout pieces you may have missed from earlier this year.
Promoting Responsible Business
The transition to a low-carbon economy is creating profound challenges for workers in South Asia's critical industries.
Bangladesh's move towards automation in textiles means that nearly a million garment jobs now hang in the balance.
Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, India, almost half of coal workers believe they lack the skills to transition to other sectors.
Our new report - Navigating the Just Transition: Context, conflicts, & company practice - aims to bridge the gap between climate ambition and human impact, offering a road map for businesses to embed Just Transition principles into their operations and supply chains.
Enabling Access to the Law
Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation suits (SLAPPs) are a growing threat to freedom of speech, and are often deliberately brought to silence or intimidate journalists. The fear of retaliation or costly lawsuits may discourage publication or cause a journalist to remove a story.
Available in both English and Spanish, our journalist's guide to safer reporting aims to assist journalists to minimise their legal liability by providing a checklist of factors to consider before publishing a story.
Strengthening Independent Media
As AI tools increasingly influence how stories are created and distributed, newsrooms must now integrate these new technologies responsibly, or risk damaging the core journalistic values of accuracy, transparency, and accountability.
Our practical guide, 'Three steps to an AI-ready newsroom', offers a simple process to help newsrooms move from understanding current AI usage to implementing responsible practices.
This month we recommend
📝Complete our survey:
Are you a journalist, editor, or press freedom advocate in Kenya? We need your voice. By sparing a few minutes to share your experiences, you can help protect yourself and future generations of journalists from malicious legal threats.
Your responses will shape a report that aims to inform civil society organisations fighting for press freedom and give policymakers the evidence they need to protect journalists and strengthen the profession.
Take 2 minutes now to contribute your experience.
📖 Read:
- Britain's foreign aid: Where does the money go? | Context
- Q&A: Woke wars and cancel culture - a sitdown with A.C. Grayling | Context
- The ethics of AI | PA Future
- The BBC is under scrutiny. Here’s what research tells about its role in the UK | Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
- Court watch: The latest on the USAID docket | Devex
- AI technologies: Where do we draw the line? | ARTICLE 19
📽️ Watch:
Highlights from Trust Conference 2025 | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe: Six years as an Iran hostage | Thomson Reuters Foundation
🎧 Listen:
A Time of Monsters | Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures
📆 Attend:
Supply Chain Investigations | The Centre for Investigative Journalism | 15 January 2026, 2-4pm (GMT) |Online
Guardian newsroom: Year one of Trumpism: Is Britain emulating the US? | The Guardian | Wednesday 21 January 2026, 7.30pm-9pm (GMT) | London
We are the corporate foundation of Thomson Reuters, the global content and technology company. We leverage our media, legal and data-driven expertise to strengthen independent journalism, enable access to the law and promote responsible business.
Thanks for reading!
Don't regularly receive updates from us? Sign up to our newsletter.
Enjoyed this update? Forward it to a friend or colleague.
