London-based assurance services provider LRQA announced that it has acquired Ergon Associates, which provides organizations with consulting services on ensuring compliance with issues surrounding labor standards, human rights and gender equality, in a move described by LRQA as enabling the delivery of “industry-leading expertise, enabling businesses to better integrate ESG factors into their decision-making processes.”

Operating for the past 18 years, Ergon Associates has registered offices in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, as well as staff in other countries. The company provides a wide range of customers – including the European Commission, the World Bank, and McDonald’s– with guidance on meeting local and international requirements on work standards and labor practices, due diligence on human rights within the supply chain, and support on issues such as interpreting labor laws, responding to human rights challenges, implementing gender plans and addressing stakeholder complaints.

According to LRQA, the acquisition comes in response to siring demand from businesses and investors with global value chains for expertise to address new regulations and stakeholder scrutiny, and the need to embed human rights due diligence into their strategies.

Erin Lyon, Managing Director for LRQA’s Advisory division, said:

“Protecting workers and human rights has never been more urgent, and the complexity of global supply chains cannot excuse inaction. LRQA is proud to continue our ambitious mergers and acquisition strategy and strengthen our existing ESG capabilities to meet demand from the market.”

LQRA said that the companies will now work together to integrate Ergon Associates into operations, ensuring a smooth transition to ultimately benefit both client bases, and internal processes.

Steve Gibbons, Director for Ergon Associates, said:

“By uniting with LRQA, we can offer even broader expertise and deeper insights to ensure that we help our clients implement commitments on human rights, labor standards and gender equality. Combined with LRQA’s global reach, we look forward to continuing our work on cutting-edge issues for all our clients.”

LRQA, formerly the business assurance and cybersecurity unit of Lloyd’s Register, was acquired by Goldman Sachs Asset Management in 2021. The company offers assurance services aimed at enabling companies to navigate and manage risk, including environmental conformity assessments.

LRQA CEO Ian Spaulding added:

“This strategic acquisition is well aligned to LRQA’s commitment to ESG standards and an important step in further strengthening our suite of capabilities in the space. We are delighted to partner with Ergon Associates and continue to build on the critical work they deliver in labor standards and human rights.”