Africa’s business and human rights debate is moving deeper into the environmental, social and governance agenda as governments, companies, civil society organizations and affected communities meet in Dakar this week to examine how responsible business conduct can be translated into stronger environmental protection, human rights safeguards and access to remedy. The fifth African Business and Human Rights Forum, running from September 29 to October 1, is focused on realising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment through responsible business conduct, bringing corporate accountability and human-rights due diligence closer to the centre of Africa’s sustainability and investment debate.
The three-day forum brings together public institutions, businesses, civil society, national human rights institutions and communities to discuss how companies manage their environmental and human-rights impacts. According to the forum organisers, the discussions will focus on integrated human-rights and environmental due diligence, access to safe water and sanitation, land rights, just transition and climate justice, as well as mechanisms through which affected communities can seek remedy.
The agenda reflects a shift in the way ESG risks are being considered across African economies. Rather than treating environmental and social issues primarily as matters of corporate disclosure, the forum is examining how they influence business conduct, investment decisions, infrastructure development and relationships between companies and communities. This is particularly relevant in sectors such as mining, energy, agriculture, construction and manufacturing, where projects can generate employment and investment while also creating significant environmental and social risks if safeguards are weak.
One of the central discussions at the forum concerns human rights and environmental due diligence. Sessions are examining emerging approaches to binding due-diligence requirements in Africa, including how companies identify, prevent, mitigate and address adverse impacts associated with their operations and supply chains. The forum’s agenda also includes discussions on the role of business in integrating human-rights and environmental due diligence into corporate decision-making.
For African businesses, the issue has implications beyond compliance. Companies operating across increasingly interconnected global supply chains face growing expectations from investors, customers, lenders and regulators to demonstrate how environmental and social risks are managed. The ability to identify risks in supply chains, document mitigation measures and provide credible grievance mechanisms can increasingly affect access to international markets and finance.
The forum also places particular attention on Africa’s extractive industries. A dedicated session in Dakar is examining human rights due diligence and effective remedy in Senegal’s extractive sector, while other sessions address environmental accountability, toxic exposure and the impacts of industrial and agrifood supply chains. The agenda also includes discussions on transition minerals and the human and environmental consequences associated with their extraction.
This matters as demand for minerals linked to the energy transition increases. African countries hold significant deposits of minerals used in batteries, renewable energy technologies and other industrial applications, creating opportunities for export earnings, investment and industrial development. But the economic value of those resources depends partly on whether countries can develop supply chains that meet environmental, labour, and community expectations while retaining more value locally.
The forum’s focus on water and land rights is similarly significant. Water availability, land access and environmental quality are not separate from economic development in Africa. They affect agricultural production, urban infrastructure, industrial operations and the livelihoods of communities living around major projects. Where disputes over land or environmental impacts remain unresolved, projects can face delays, additional costs and reputational or legal risks.
The connection between environmental rights and infrastructure is particularly relevant as African countries accelerate investment in energy, transport, housing and digital infrastructure. The forum’s programme includes a session on responsible business conduct by companies involved in construction for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, as well as a discussion on data centres, community rights and environmental accountability.
The latter issue reflects a new dimension of Africa’s digital transition. Data centres and other digital infrastructure require electricity, water, land and supporting networks. As investment in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure expands on the continent, environmental and community considerations are becoming part of the broader question of how digital infrastructure should be planned and financed.
The forum is also examining the implications of the green transition itself. Sessions cover just transition frameworks, climate justice, labour mobility and the environmental and human-rights consequences of transition-mineral mining. These discussions highlight a practical tension for African economies: the transition to lower carbon energy systems require substantial investment, but the infrastructure and resource extraction required to support that transition can create new social and environmental pressures.
For governments, this places greater importance on the quality of regulatory institutions and enforcement. Stronger environmental and human rights standards require functioning oversight agencies, reliable data, transparent permitting systems and accessible mechanisms for resolving disputes. Without these systems, ESG requirements can remain largely procedural rather than influencing the underlying quality of investment and development decisions.
The forum is also taking place against a changing regulatory environment. According to the United Nations Global Compact’s Africa Regional Hub, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Liberia and Ghana have adopted National Action Plans on business and human rights. The forum is intended to support a more coherent regional approach to implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights while allowing governments and businesses to exchange experience on emerging regulatory practices.
For financial institutions, the implications extend into risk assessment. Environmental damage, labour disputes, community conflicts and weak governance can affect project timelines, operating costs, asset values and repayment capacity. Incorporating these risks into investment and lending decisions therefore increasingly connects ESG with conventional financial risk management rather than treating sustainability as a separate reporting function.
The forum’s emphasis on access to remedy is another important part of that equation. Effective grievance mechanisms can provide companies and communities with structured channels for addressing disputes before they develop into prolonged conflicts. The agenda includes dedicated sessions on rights-holder-centred grievance mechanisms and access to remedy, alongside discussions on corporate accountability and environmental crimes.
The economic stakes are considerable. The United Nations Global Compact’s Africa Regional Hub cites an estimated annual loss of about $195 billion associated with environmental degradation, illicit financial flows and unsustainable resource use. While these pressures cannot be attributed solely to corporate activity, the figure illustrates the wider economic cost of weak environmental governance and resource management.
For Africa, the significance of the Dakar forum therefore extends beyond the business and human rights community. The continent needs investment to expand electricity access, transport networks, manufacturing capacity, digital infrastructure and mineral processing, but the durability of that investment will also depend on how effectively environmental and social risks are managed. Stronger due diligence can form part of the institutional infrastructure required to make that investment more predictable for companies, governments, financiers and communities.
The emerging challenge is to ensure that responsible business conduct becomes embedded in the systems through which African economies allocate capital and approve projects. That means moving from broad ESG commitments towards measurable due diligence, credible environmental safeguards, transparent supply chains and accessible remedies. The discussions in Dakar place these issues within a wider development question: how Africa can attract and retain investment while ensuring that the environmental and social costs of economic transformation are identified and managed as part of the development process itself.
