14 Amendments of Stefan BERGER related to 2022/0051(COD)
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 32
Recital 32
(32) Where the company cannot prevent, mitigate, bring to an end or minimise all the identified actual and potential adverse impacts at the same time to the full extent, it should be allowed to prioritise them based on the severity and likelihood of the adverse impact. In line with the relevant international framework, the severity of an adverse impact should be assessed based on its gravity (scale of the adverse impact), the number of persons or the extent of the environment affected (scope of the adverse impact), its irreversibility, and difficulty to restore the situation prevailing prior to the impact (irremediable character of the adverse impact). In line with international standards, prevention and mitigation as well as bringing to an end and minimisation of adverse impacts should take into account the interests of those adversely impacted. In order to enable continuous engagement with the value chain business partner instead of termination of business relations (disengagement) and possibly exacerbating adverse impacts, this Directive should ensure that disengagement is a last-resort action, used only in cases of severe or repeated infringements of obligations under this Directive, after repeated attempts at measures of risk mitigation have failed and only if it is in the best interest of those impacted (responsible disengagement), also in line with the Union`s policy of zero-tolerance on child labour. Terminating a business relationship in which child labour was found could expose the child to even more severe adverse human rights impacts. This should therefore be taken into account when deciding on the appropriate action to take. Moreover, responsible disengagement should also take into account possible impacts for those depending on the product or affected by disruptions of supply chains.
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 42
Recital 42
(42) Companies should provide the possibility for persons and organisations to submit complaintsinformation directly to them in case of legitimate concerns regarding actual or potential human rights and environmental adverse impacts. Organisations who could submit such complaintsinformation should include trade unions and other workers’ representatives representing individuals working in the value chain concerned and civil society organisations active in the areas related to the value chain concerned where they have substantiated and documented knowledge about a potential or actual adverse impact. Companies should establish a procedure for dealing with those complaints and inform workers, trade unions and other workers’ representatives, where relevant, about such processes. Recourse to the complaints and remediation mechanism should not prevent the complaininformant from having recourse to judicial remedies. In accordance with international standards, complaiinformants should be entitled to request from the company appropriate follow-up on the complaint andnotification. This can include to meet with the company’s representatives at an appropriate level to discuss potential or actual severe adverse impacts that are the subject matter of the complaintnotification. This access should not lead to unreasonable solicitations of companies nor to sanctions. Companies may deal with notifications as a group, for example within a sectoral initiative, an industry programme or multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Amendment 124 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) the company had more than 53000 employees on average and had a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 15900 million in the last financial year for which annual financial statements have been prepared;
Amendment 129 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c
(c) (c)‘adverse human rights impact’ means an adverse impact on protected persons that may impair the full enjoyment of human rights resulting from the violation of one of the prights or prohibitions listed in the Annex, Part I Section 1, as enshrinnciples set out in the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct and Guidance for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. (ca)‘adverse impact’ means adverse environmental impact and adverse human rights impact; (cb)‘to cause an adverse impact’ means a company’s own actions or omissions that directly led into the international conventions listed in the Annex, Part I Section 2; adverse impact. (cc)‘to contribute to an adverse impact’ means a company’s own actions in combination with the activities of other entities cause an adverse impact, or if the activities of a company cause, facilitate or incentivise another entity to cause an adverse impact. (cd) being ‘linked to an adverse impact’ means a company’s direct or indirect business relationship caused the adverse impact.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point n
(n) ‘stakeholders’ means the company’s employees, the employees of its subsidiaries, employees within its value chain and other individuals, groups, communities or entities whose rights or interests are or could be directly affected by the potential and actual adverse environmental and human rights impacts connected to the products, services and operations of that company, its subsidiaries and its business relationships;
Amendment 224 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 4
Article 6 – paragraph 4
4. Member States shall ensure that, for the purposes of identifying and prioritising the adverse impacts referred to in paragraph 1 based on, where appropriate, quantitative and qualitative information, companies are entitled to make use of appropriate resources, including independent reports and information gathered through the complaintsnotification procedure provided for in Article 9. Companies shall, where relevant, also carry out consultations engage with potentially affected groups including workers and other relevant stakeholders to gather information on actual or potential adverse impacts.
Amendment 229 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
Article 7 – paragraph 2 – point a
(a) where necessary due to the nature or complexity of the measures required for prevention, develop and implement a prevention action plan, with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuonitoring improvement. The prevention action plan shall be developed in consultationmeaningful engagement with affected stakeholders where relevant; companies are encouraged to develop their action plans in cooperation with industry initiatives;
Amendment 255 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) neutralise the adverse impact or minimise its extent, including, where reasonable and applicable, by the payment of damages to the affected persons and of financial compensation to the affected communities. The action shall be proportionate and commensurate to the significance and scale of the adverse impact and to the contribution of the company’s conduct to the adverse impact, as well as to its resources and leverage;
Amendment 262 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b
(b) where necessary due to the fact that the adverse impact cannot be immediately brought to an end, develop and implement a corrective action plan with reasonable and clearly defined timelines for action and qualitative and quantitative indicators for measuonitoring improvement. Where relevant, tThe corrective action plan shall be developed in consultationthrough meaningful engagement with stakeholders;
Amendment 265 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
Article 8 – paragraph 3 – point b a (new)
Amendment 290 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 9 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Member States shall ensure that the complaintsnotification may be submitted by:
Amendment 330 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 13 – paragraph 1
Article 13 – paragraph 1
In order to provide support to companies or to Member State authorities on how companies should fulfil their due diligence obligations, the Commission, in consultation with Member States and relevant stakeholders, including from third countries, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the European Environment Agency, the European Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises and where appropriate with international bodies having expertise in due diligence, may issue guidelines, including for specific sectors or specific adverse impashall issue clear and easily understandable guidelines in the form of targeted guidance where applicable to facilitate compliance; a) in digital, free of charge and easily accessible format; b) including for specific sectors or specific adverse impacts; c) including lists of risk areas whether sectoral or geographic; d) including an overview on applicable industry initiatives; e) including practical guidance on how proportionality and prioritisation, in terms of impacts, sectors and geographical areas, may be applied to due diligence obligations depending on the size and sector of the company; f) including taking into account SMEs needs 2. The guidelines shall be made available no later than ... [18 months after the date of entry into force of this Directive]. The Commission shall periodically review the relevance of its guidelines and adapt them to new best practices. 3. Country fact-sheets shall be updated regularly by the Commission and made publicly available in order to provide up-to-date information on the international Conventions and Treaties ratified by each of the Union’s trading partners. The Commission shall collect and publish trade and customs data on origins of raw materials, and intermediate and finished products, and publish information on human rights, environmental and governance potential or actual adverse impacts risks associated with certain countries or regions, sectors and sub-sectors, and products.
Amendment 360 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I
Annex I