Listen to Sandra Cossart, Executive Director of Sherpa and Strategic Litigation expert.
The Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment database now records more than 2000 cases of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, a tripling of the number since just 2019. Recent high profile cases have seen Shell ordered to cut its emissions in the Dutch courts. Volkswagen car owners winning compensation over false environmental claims about their vehicles. And the Bank of New York Mellon Fund fined 1.5 million USD about a failure of checks on ESG investment funds.
Some of Sherpa’s cases include current action seeking to get TotalEnergies to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement, a case seeking judicial investigation against fashion companies for alleged concealment of human trafficking and crimes against humanity in their supply chains and the prosecution of construction company Lafarge for crimes against humanity in Syria.
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“We've been pushing for the CSDDD for years. The fact that there is a directive is a very positive sign because ten years ago we would not have bet on that. It also unleashed corporate lobbies that have undermined the text of the commission which was already not very ambitious. To be really efficient and to prevent environmental and human rights harm, changing the civil liability regime and reversing the burden of proof for victims is a prerequisite.”
Can human rights due diligence improve corporate financial performance? Listen to Dr Siniša Milatović, Programme Manager at UNDP and Olena Uvarova, UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist as well as Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University in Ukraine
What are the major roadblocks in heavy industry’s pathway to decarbonisation? Listen to Jiří Mravec, Head of Innovation and Transformation at Třinecké železárny & Antonín Šámal, Research Fellow at the thinktank Association for International Affairs
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What are the reasons behind Thailand’s moves to introduce mandatory supply chain due diligence legislation? Listen to Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom, Director of the International Human Rights Division at Thailand’s Ministry of Justice.
