![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/661fcba58239ab26c7f9227b/666b698da4d80551076b7d6c_Anti-terrorist_operation_in_eastern_Ukraine_(War_Ukraine)_(27843153986).jpg)
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.
From September 9 Justice and Environment is meeting in Opatija (Croatia) for a 5-day AGM during which a legal seminar and a strategy meeting also takes place.
For the first time in the Czech Republic, a group of NGOs have banded together to support nine important anti-corruption measures.
A proposal released today by the European Commission to require large European companies to report on environmental and social issues will not guarantee ethical corporate behaviour according to the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ). [1]