"Europe: trend towards increased corporate responsibility", 28 Apr 2015

Several European countries are considering reforms to company law, against a backdrop of calls for increased corporate responsibility...France is considering changes to its civil code that would require companies to integrate the effects of their business activities on the economy, society and the environment into internal decision-making and strategy...Leading company law professors have proposed a similar amendment to Norwegian company law...Approximately 6,000 large European companies will be required as of 2017 to report on non-financial matters relating to the environment, social and employee issues, respect for human rights, anti-corruption, bribery, and board diversity.Movement is happening at the Member State level as well...Only two weeks earlier, Swiss parliament initially accepted a motion for an analogous proposal for mandatory human rights due diligence.