Špela Berlec is a Consultant at Banarra with a background in human rights and corporate social responsibility. Prior to joining Banarra, Špela held an internship position at Xstrata Coal where she prepared a case study for the joint publication of the United Nations Global Compact and Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights: Embedding Human Rights into Business Practice. The case study, Xstrata Coal in South Africa: Corporate Social Involvement in tackling HIV/AIDS and empowering Historically Disadvantaged South Africans, involved stakeholder engagement in South Africa to better understand how a mining company can integrate the UN Global Compact’s human rights principles into its business strategy.

Špela was selected for an internship programme at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where she has worked on with wide range of issues including human rights, climate change, globalisation and sustainable development. She was responsible for research and report writing, along with statistical data analysis of the UN General Debate and the Millennium Development Goals Summit. At the International Center for Promotion of Enterprises, a UN-sponsored Intergovernmental organisation, she focused on international cooperation in sustainable development and coordinating an International MBA programme on climate change management.