New research shows that four in five adults in the UK support new laws requiring companies to prevent serious environmental harm and human rights abuses in their operations or supply chains.

The survey of 2,124 UK adults by the polling company YouGov, released today (17 April) by the Corporate Justice Coalition and Friends of the Earth, comes as politicians prepare to debate a proposal for the UK’s first environmental and human rights due diligence law, and as more than 150 investors and businesses back a statement calling for such a law.

Environmental harm and human rights abuses are rife in many UK company activities and supply chains in the UK and overseas, including sewage and farm animal waste polluting our rivers, deforestation linked to palm oil used in food and detergents, and modern slavery in the fast fashion industry.

The survey, on behalf of the Corporate Justice Coalition (CJC), a coalition of civil society organisations and trade unions, and environmental justice organisation Friends of the Earth, found:

• More than 80 per cent of UK adults want new UK laws requiring British companies to prevent human rights abuses (81%) and serious environmental damage (83%) in their operations and supply chains.
• 73 per cent think UK companies should be doing more to reduce their contribution to global warming.
• More than 60 per cent believe that people living overseas who are harmed by human rights abuses (65%) or environmental damage (62%) through UK business supply chains should be able to seek justice in UK courts, an option not currently available for most corporate crime victims.

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