The Mission

Founded in 2022, the Responsible Contracting Project (RCP) is a non-profit initiative housed within Rutgers Law School. 

 

RCP’s mission is to drive better outcomes for people and the planet through better, more Responsible Contracts. We develop practical contractual tools that promote shared responsibility for human rights and the environment in global supply chains.

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Our interdisciplinary team of experts works hand in hand with various stakeholders—businesses, industry associations, public and private standard setters, investors, and civil society organizations—to socialize the three core principles of Responsible Contracting and our Toolkit  (“the RCP Toolkit”).

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RCP’s open-source Toolkit advances a major shift in contract design to align more closely with the principles of human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) enshrined in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.

 

With human rights and environmental practices coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the E.U. and the U.S., new tools are needed to effectively prevent and address adverse human rights impacts in global supply chains. The Responsible Contracting approach, which promotes shared responsibility principles, focuses on improving the role of contracts in this process.