About RCP

RCP’s mission is to drive better outcomes for people and the planet through better, more Responsible Contracts. Responsible Contracts commit both parties—buyers and suppliers—to each do their part to uphold human rights and environmental standards and work together to address problems that arise.

A non-profit initiative, RCP was co-founded by Sarah Dadush and Olivia Windham Stewart and officially launched in 2022. It grew out of a working group of the American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section, the Working Group to Draft Model Contract Clauses to Protect Human Rights in Supply Chains, led by two Senior Advisors, Sue Maslow and David Snyder, and Dadush.

At first, RCP's main purpose was to promote uptake of the ABA Working Group’s Model Contract Clauses (MCCs) 2.0, published in 2021. As interest in contracts as tools for positive social change deepened, that purpose broadened to include the development of new tools and socializing a new approach to supply chain contracting rooted in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, and the principle of shared responsibility, in line with our Core Principles.

Core Principles

Uptake

FAQ

Our Workstreams

RCP aims to transform the role of contracts in managing human rights and environmental (HRE) risks through four main types of engagement:

1. Governmental organizations: including lawmakers, regulators, and enforcement agencies

2. Companies: individual and groups of companies, as well as consultancies

3. Private standard-setters: including certification schemes, industry and membership associations, and benchmarking organizations

4. Investors: including mainstream, faith-based, and impact investors.

Our Services

The RCP Toolkit

RCP offers multiple open-source tools for due diligence-aligned contracting, including model contract clauses, codes of conduct, implementation guidance, and policy briefs. The tools can be selected, edited, and adapted as users see fit. Access the Toolkit here.

Informational Seminars

During our high-level, informational sessions, which are offered virtually or in-person, RCP Team members explain why contracts matter for human rights and environmental (HRE) risk management, how companies usually get contracts wrong, and how responsible contracting can help achieve better HRE outcomes and legal compliance. These webinars are typically provided at no cost and last about one hour. They serve as an initial step in establishing new partnerships and collaborations.

Deep Dive Workshops and Trainings

During its deep-dive workshops and trainings, the RCP Team will go over the why and what of responsible contracting in closer detail, discuss specific model contract clauses from the RCP Toolkit, and lead group exercises where participants (e.g., companies, consultancies, law firms, civil society groups, investors) work with the clauses, using different scenarios.

RCP may charge a fee for these workshops or trainings, which can take place in person, hybrid, or virtually.

Gap Analyses

RCP conducts various types of gap analyses to assess due diligence alignment. The analysis can focus on the gaps between a company’s (or group of companies’) supply contracts and one or more of the following:

The company’s own code of conduct
HREDD laws, e.g., the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive
Model clauses from the RCP Toolkit

We can also provide a gap analysis between the company’s code of conduct and the HREDD laws, or RCP's own Buyer Code of Conduct.

The gap analyses are designed to help organizations better integrate due diligence into their operations, contracts, and codes of conduct. They are typically provided on a fee basis over the course of a couple of months.