The recent announcement by European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, of plans for EU legislation on mandatory corporate environmental and human rights due diligence is very welcome and Swedwatch looks forward to contributing to the process...

It should:

- Ensure that effective due diligence covering all material issues is undertaken by companies and does not become a box-ticking exercise;

- Cover all sectors of the economy and consider both upstream and downstream value chains;

- Ensure that due diligence is conducted with a gender sensitive perspective;

- Ensure access to remedy for rights holders affected by corporate malpractice;

- Establish consequences for companies not complying with the regulation.

- Be aligned and integrated with other regulatory initiatives, including the EU’s sustainable finance strategy, the review of the non-financial reporting directive and the 2030 Climate Target Plan.

In addition, it is crucial that the requirements set forth by the regulation should not become a mere reporting exercise but actually establish a clear legally binding obligation for companies and buyers/procurers to understand, identify, assess, address and mitigate human rights and environmental harm in their value chains...