Legal & Regulatory News

Government of the Netherlands highlights its commitment to European legislation for international corporate social responsibility

On 5 November 2021, the Government of the Netherlands released a non-paper describing its commitment to European legislation for international corporate social responsibility. The document, 'Mandatory due diligence: Building blocks for effective and ambitious European due diligence legislation' emphasises the support from the Netherlands for EU due diligence legislation aimed at safeguarding human rights and the environment.

The non-paper sets out the views of the Government of the Netherlands on the proposed due diligence legislation, including its suggestion that the EU Action Plan should focus on shaping global supply chains sustainably, promoting human rights, social and environmental due diligence standards and transparency, while taking experiences and lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic into account. The non-paper also includes a suggestion that the European Commission could foster sectoral schemes at an EU level to complement the proposed due diligence legislation in catalysing a race to the top amongst businesses throughout the EU.

Click here to access the non-paper.