More than 100 companies and investors are calling for an effective EU supply chain law. Various companies such as Ikea, Danone, Epson and Hapag-Lloyd as well as numerous outdoor companies such as Vaude, Schöffel, Jack Wolfskin and Deuter have published a statement with demands on this.
At the beginning of the statement, the companies express great concern that the publication of a proposal for a corresponding law by the EU Commission has been significantly delayed (see below), and they call on the EU Commission to finally meet its responsibility.
A total of 5 demands are mentioned that the EU Commission should take into account, which include: The legislation must apply to all companies so that the same competitive conditions are created for all companies (and not, as in Germany, for companies from 3000 (from 2023 ) or 1000 (from 2024) employees). The due diligence obligations should apply to the entire value chain (and not only to the first supplier, as is the case in German law). And the law should contain a liability rule that allows victims to obtain compensation (which is also not provided for in German law).
The EU Commission has now announced that it will publish its draft on February 23, 2022. We will report here as soon as the draft is available.
See: Making EU legislation on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence effective