Human Rights Update: EU Commissions Directive – New Compliance Requirements

The long-awaited European Commission Draft Directive on Human Rights Due Diligence has arrived and represents the next step toward human rights becoming a business imperative. The Draft Directive on Corporate Due Diligence and Corporate Accountability (“Draft Directive”) comes almost one year after the European Parliament adopted a broad Legal Affairs Committee report that would obligate companies operating in the EU to conduct due diligence along their value chains. The Draft Directive takes a narrower approach and will be the subject of debate throughout the year. Nonetheless, if adopted, it would still compel many multinational companies, both based in the EU and doing business there, to adopt new systems, processes, governance and public reporting, and further propel human rights diligence to become engrained in core business activities.

Please join us on March 11, 2022 for an off-the-record, candid roundtable discussion, of what this means for your business and how you should prepare, led by our ESG and Human Rights Practice Leads: Nicola Bonucci, Former Director for Legal Affairs for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Partner in our Investigations, and White Collar Practice; Tara Giunta, Co-Lead, ESG, Human Rights Practice and Vice-Chair, Investigations and Compliance; Jonathan Drimmer, Co-Lead, ESG, Human Rights Practice and partner in our Investigations and White Collar Defense practice; and Renata Parras, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Counsel.