Ce blog est destiné à stimuler l'intérêt du lecteur pour des questions de société auxquelles tout citoyen doit être en mesure d'apporter des réponses, individuelles ou collectives, en conscience et en responsabilité !
5 Septembre 2022
With the European Commission’s proposal on corporate sustainability due diligence, the EU has entered new territory: regulating business internal practices to minimize environmental risks while financial risks until now have been the predominant reason for setting rules on corporate governance. Full transparency of business practices can be one of the European Union’s (EU) key levers to make its economic and trade relations with the rest of the world greener by putting in place more sustainable value chains. But will the proposed directive deliver on two fundamental principles ? Prevent first, and redress firmly if necessary ?
This paper focuses on the issue of environmental due diligence, which until now has received less public attention than other issues. A close examination of the proposal shows that it is unlikely to deliver on its stated aims. First, it takes a narrow and conservative approach to the negative environmental impacts to be prevented and outlines too general reporting requirements. Second, the provisions on contractual responsibility and civil liability newly imposed on companies may not be effective. Finally, the proposal does not sufficiently harmonize EU rules.
As the way forward, we propose that:
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