Europe takes a big step towards companies having a ‘duty of care’ on human rights
Last week, just prior to taking over the European Union presidency, the new Finnish government announced plans to make it compulsory for companies to conduct human rights checks. A year ago, this would have seemed out of the ordinary. But growing recognition of the human cost of weak regulations on business, coupled with an erosion of public trust in markets, has led to momentum around initiatives to ensure companies halt abuse in their supply chains.