May/June 2017

On Ethics
Coalition Begins Groundwork for ‘Building Responsibly’

Top engineering and construction firms have formed a coalition to improve worker safety and productivity standards on their projects and throughout their
supply chains.

The coalition, Building Responsibly, was founded in March by Amec Foster Wheeler, Bechtel, CH2M, Fluor, Multiplex, and Vinci. The group’s aim is to help construction and engineering firms better address international human rights issues, promote a healthier environment for workers, and further improve project delivery and quality for customers.

The global nonprofit organization Building for Social Responsibility will facilitate the initiative with support from the foundation Humanity United.

According to a 2016 BSR working paper, the coalition grew out of a series of roundtable discussions about workers’ rights. The participants included engineering and construction companies, international civil society organizations, and high-level government officials.

Faced with growing scrutiny from clients, public institutions, and the media, engineering and construction companies are responding to the expectations of better recruiting practices. Migrant construction workers, particularly in the Gulf States, experience poor working and living conditions, long working hours, delays in payment of wages, and debt created by the high fees charged to workers to facilitate job placement and migration, the report says.

While companies may want to improve worker protections, they face a host of challenges. Among the obstacles noted in the working paper: complex contractual arrangements, the Gulf States’ restrictive legal environment, the scale of abuse, lack of direct oversight of working conditions, difficulty in significantly changing business practices, and lack of experience collaborating with competitors.

The Building Responsibly coalition, however, plans to facilitate that collaboration. “Working with industry is one of the best opportunities we have to progress worker welfare, especially as supply chains and subcontractor relationships are vast, complex, and interconnected,” says Tam Nguyen, Bechtel’s global head of sustainability. “Through greater collaboration, member companies can better achieve our common goal of safety, productivity, and responsible engagement with our workers and suppliers.”