The Importance of Corporate ‘Supply Chain Responsibility’ for Human Rights and the Environment
Conference at the University of Graz brings together representatives from academia and civil society as well as practitioners on the topic of corporate responsibility in value and supply chains.
The one-day conference on the topic “Supply Chain Responsibility: Human Rights without Borders?”, organised by the Institute for European Tort Law (ESR ETL), the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Graz, the European Centre of Tort and Insurance Law, together with the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights (LBI-GMR) and the University of Vienna, took place on October 18, 2024, at the University of Graz.
Based on the provisions of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) (“EU Supply Chain Act”), which came into force at the end of July 2024, 16 international experts discussed civil and public law as well as practical problems of corporate due diligence with regard to the protection of human rights, the environment and the climate.
Our scientific director Michael Lysander Fremuth introduced the topic of the event together with Barbara C. Steininger from the University of Graz, reported on the development process of the CSDDD as well as various legal problems and special features of the new EU legal act and moderated a discussion panel on civil and public international law issues as well as corporate perspectives on the due diligence obligations of companies. Our colleagues Camilla Haake and Stephen Rabenlehner presented their current research project on audits and certifications in the context of human rights and environmental due diligence obligations of corporations under the main topic ‘Strategies for the practical implementation of due diligence obligations’ as part of their presentation ‘Independent third-party verification in the activity chain: opportunities and risks’. They reported on the possibilities of supporting companies affected by the directive in complying with their human rights and environmental due diligence obligations by utilising so-called ‘independent third-party verification’, i.e. by using audit and certification systems, for example. In the subsequent panel discussion, also moderated by Michael Lysander Fremuth, further questions from the interested audience were addressed.
The results of the current research project of Camilla Haake and Stephen Rabenlehner are expected to be presented to the public in early 2025. Further information can be found on this website in due course.
