home
news

From rushed reactions to proper preparedness: Corporate due diligence in times of armed conflict

share this article

The Russian war in Ukraine has, in addition to the COVID-19 global pandemic, once again highlighted the need for corporate human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) regulation, such as the proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

After the start of the Russian invasion, many European companies struggled with the challenges of conducting business in the region responsibly. Issues arose in relation to the provision of essential services to affected people; engagment with employees on safety, protective measures, salaries and relocations; alongside highly-publicised questions over whether, when and how to responsibly exit the Russian and Belarussian markets. (As of early June 2022, almost 1000 companies have announced their withdrawal from Russia).

The type of business relationships European companies maintained in Russia prior to the war (the provision of technology services to the Russian military, for example); how companies reacted immediately after the invasion; and how they continue to react is significant and, in many cases, has been costly to affected persons as well as companies themselves.

The scale and divergent nature of these reactions show the urgent need for crosssectoral HREDD obligations in order to ensure common standards of responsible business conduct and private sector preparedness in the face of future crises.

This briefing:

  • addresses the urgent need for HREDD statutory obligations to foster preventive action and decision-making in order to ensure that companies do not contribute to armed conflict, whilst empowering them to respond better to future situations of crisis;
  • proposes recommendations for the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in this regard.
Read the full briefing
    (
5,61 MB
)

You may also like these news

Mining in Turów: Seven demands for an agreement with Poland to protect the Czech communities

The Frank Bold Society and the Neighbourhood Association Uhelná called on the Czech government today to be more consistent in its negotiations with Poland over mining at the Turów brown coal mine. According to both organisations, the government did not have enough information or time to prepare an agreement that would truly protect Czech interests. Moreover, the government has acted in a non-transparent manner by failing to inform the public in advance of the terms of the agreement being prepared, which should lead to the withdrawal of the action against Poland at the EU Court of Justice. The organisations have therefore drawn up a document with seven basic demands on which the Czech side should insist.

Frank Bold points out non-transparent handling of ETS revenues and potential violation of EU law

The European Commission recently introduced a draft of the revised EU ETS Directive which, among other things, proposes that 100 % of ETS revenues should be used for environmental measures. We welcome this idea but we’re also sceptical about how the ETS revenues are used in the Czech Republic. Therefore, we have prepared an analysis mapping the use of ETS revenues in Czech Republic and sent it to the European Commission as an input for the recent public consultation. The main conclusions are presented below.

What data shall companies and investors report on sustainability? Guideline for upcoming EU legislations requirements

We have analysed hundreds of pages of technical documents and prepared a comprehensive overview of the sustainability reporting requirements under the forthcoming EU legislation. We summarise what ESG data will be critical for companies, banks, and investors in sustainability strategy and management and in the areas of climate change, environment, sustainable activities, employees and supply chains, due diligence, and anti-corruption measures.