Activities of Richard HOWITT related to 2015/2038(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility (A8-0217/2016 - Eleonora Forenza)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the implementation of the 2010 recommendations of Parliament on social and environmental standards, human rights and corporate responsibility
Amendments (30)
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recalls that the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy, the ILO Decent Work Agenda and the labour elements of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprise, are core texts in relation to corporate social responsibility, and underlines that DG Employment of the European Commission must continue to play a leading role in jointly coordinating the EU’s corporate social responsibility policy, as in the past;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the European Union has played a leading role in negotiating and implementing a number of global initiatives for global responsibility, in particular the UN's Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council, the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the draft French law on 'due diligence' advancing the UN Guiding Principles, the statement of President Juncker at the 2015 G7 Summit in favour of "urgent action" to improve responsibility in global supply chains and the commitment of the current Dutch EU Presidency to seek Council Conclusions on global supply chains, all demonstrate the global responsibility for European business to promote and respect international standards;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas the "Realising Long-term Value for Companies and Investors project" being undertaken by the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and the UN Global Compact demonstrate that economic recovery in Europe and the world is compatible with and mutually reinforcing to principles of social justice, environmental sustainability and respect for human rights;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recommends, therefore, that the EU’s trade strategy be a tool for the promotion of European values and interests in third countries; welcomes, therefore, the enhancement of trade agreements and trade preference programmes as levers to promote human rights; welcomes the reference to corporate social responsibility now included in all the EU's trade and other bilateral agreements, but calls for a follow-up mechanism to also be included, to seek to operationalise this commitment;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the EU has played a leading role in negotiating and implementing a number of global initiatives for global responsibility, in particular the UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council, the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, and the ISO 26000 guidance Standard on Social Responsibility;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Reiterates its support for the systematic introduction of human rights clauses in all international agreements between the EU and third countries; and for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international corporate responsibility standards to be consistently raised by EU representatives in Human Rights Dialogues with third countries;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D b (new)
Recital D b (new)
Db. whereas the draft French law on ‘due diligence’ advancing the UN Guiding Principles, the statement of President Juncker at the 2015 G7 Summit in favour of ‘urgent action’ to improve responsibility in global supply chains and the commitment of the current Dutch EU Presidency to seek Council Conclusions on global supply chains, all demonstrate the global responsibility for European business to promote and respect international standards;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D c (new)
Recital D c (new)
Dc. whereas the ‘Realising Long-term Value for Companies and Investors project’ being undertaken by the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and the UN Global Compact demonstrate that economic recovery in Europe and the world is compatible with and mutually reinforcing to principles of social justice, environmental sustainability and respect for human rights;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to support the implementation of the UN’s Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights and the UN Global Compact, the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council, the UN Global Compact and the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility, and at the same time to encourage, assist and monitor how all trading partners to comply with these international principles;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Stresses that the European ‘Trade for All’ strategy commits the European Union to ‘reinforcing corporate social responsibility initiatives’ and underlining that this must mean new action at the EU level including the agreement of a new EU CSR Action Plan up to 2020 and a mechanism in all new trade agreements not simply referencing corporate social responsibility, business and human rights but introducing a follow-up and implementation mechanism in each case;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the study on dealing with gross corporate violations of human rights through judicial remedy which was conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and reiterates its call on the European Union and its Member States to engage constructively in the UN Working Group for a treaty process on business human rights;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Stresses that the European's "Trade for All" strategy commits the European Union to "reinforcing corporate social responsibility initiatives" and underlines that this must mean new action at the EU level including the agreement of a new EU CSR Action Plan up to 2020;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Strongly welcomes the inclusion of human rights reporting by large business in the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive; calls on the EU Member States to transpose the Directive swiftly and effectively; draws attention to the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the objective of 'integrated reporting', and calls on all EU listed companies and their stakeholders to comply with the spirit of the Directive;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Recalls that the European Social Dialogue provides an integral opportunity for the social partners to address corporate social responsibility issues, and encourages the negotiation of new Framework Agreements in particular sectors to advance CSR aims;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Reiterates its call on the Commission, in particular its DG Trade, to move from a 'passive' to an 'active' approach to the OECD Guidelines, inter alia by applying to adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, which includes the OECD Guidelines, ensuring the promotion of, and continuous support for, the OECD Guidelines by the EU's Delegations in third countries, funding capacity-building initiatives in conjunction with businesses, trade unions and civil society in third countries in relation to the implementation of the Guidelines, ensuring that the Guidelines are specifically cited in all new agreements between the EU and third countries, including all trade and investment treaties; and to provide civil society groups with concrete support for raising 'specific instances' of alleged breaches, in cooperation with Member States;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 e (new)
Paragraph 7 e (new)
7e. Invites the European Commission to apply the emerging results of the "Realising Long-term Value for Companies and Investors project" being undertaken by the UN Principles of Responsible Investment and the UN Global Compact, to its own European Fund for Strategic Investments, to its dialogue with investors and to support the concept of a "Sustainable Capital Markets Union".
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes the Commission’s efforts to support the implementation of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the revised OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the ILO tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy, the framework of the International Integrated Reporting Council, the UN Global Compact and the ISO 26000 Guidance Standard on Social Responsibility and, at the same time to encourage, assist and monitor how all trading partners comply with these international principles;
Amendment 77 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Welcomes the study on dealing with gross corporate violations of human rights through judicial remedy which was conducted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and reiterates its call on the EU and its Member States to engage constructively in the UN Working Group for a treaty process on business and human rights;
Amendment 77 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Welcomes the role of DG Employment and the European Commission in convening the High Level Group in Corporate Social Responsibility amongst EU Member States and calls for increased dialogue and cooperation between EU institutions and Member States to promote the European Union’s corporate social responsibility strategy;
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Strongly welcomes the labour elements in the social impact reporting by big business incorporated in the EU Non- Financial Reporting Directive; Calls on the EU Member States to transpose the Directive swiftly and effectively; Calls on all EU listed companies and their stakeholders to comply with the spirit of the Directive, in order to pursue a more socially just and sustainable economy;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the reference to corporate social responsibility now included in all the EU’s trade and other bilateral agreements, but calls for a follow-up mechanism to also be included, to seek to operationalise this commitment; welcomes the Commission and Council’s efforts to insert legally binding HR clauses into all the free trade agreements (FTAs) in accordance with the common approach; regrets that HR clauses are not included in treaties such as those with Korea and Canada (CETA) or in the TTIP and Vietnam negotiations; and calls for implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international corporate responsibility standards to be consistently raised by EU representatives in Human Rights Dialogues with third countries;
Amendment 84 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Notes the increasing attention to promoting good employment practices through global supply chains following the Rana Plaza factory collapse, the introduction of the draft French law on ‘due diligence’ and the statement of President Juncker at the G7 Summit in favour of ‘urgent action’ to improve responsibility in global supply chains;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7d. Recalls that there is a continuing failure for the European Union to address the justice gap in relation to the provisions of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on ‘access to remedy’ in extreme cases where there is a mass loss of life by workers such as the Bhopal tragedy; Calls for provisions to be brought forward to enable jurisdiction by European Courts in such cases where there is insufficient remedy available in the third countries concerned;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Stresses that the European Union’s ‘Trade for All’ strategy commits the European Union to ‘reinforcing corporate social responsibility initiatives’ and underlines that this must mean new action at the EU level including the agreement of a new EU CSR Action Plan up to 2020;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recalls that there is a continuing failure for the EU to address the justice gap in relation to the provisions of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights on ‘access to remedy’ in extreme cases where there is a mass loss of life by workers such as the Bhopal tragedy; calls for provisions to be brought forward to enable jurisdiction by European Courts in such cases where there is insufficient remedy available in third countries concerned;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Reiterates its call on the Commission, in particular its DG Trade, to move from a ‘passive’ to an ‘active’ approach to the OECD Guidelines, inter alia by applying to adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, which includes the OECD Guidelines, ensuring the promotion of, and continuous support for, the OECD Guidelines by the EU’s Delegations in third countries, funding capacity-building initiatives in conjunction with businesses, trade unions and civil society in third countries in relation to the implementation of the Guidelines, ensuring that the Guidelines are specifically cited in all new agreements between the EU and third countries, including all trade and investment treaties; and to provide civil society groups with concrete support for raising ‘specific instances’ of alleged breaches, in cooperation with Member States;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Recalls that the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy, the ILO Decent Work Agenda and the labour elements of the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, are core texts in relation to corporate social responsibility, and underlines that DG Trade of the European Commission must engage with the EU’s corporate social responsibility policy;
Amendment 159 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Invites the European Commission to apply the emerging results of the ‘Realising Long-term Value for Companies and Investors project’ being undertaken by the UN ¨Principles of Responsible Investment and the UN Global Compact, to its own European Fund for Strategic Investments, to its dialogue with investors when negotiating trade agreements and to support the concept of a ‘Sustainable Capital Markets Union’ through supporting sustainable trade;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Strongly welcomes the inclusion of human rights reporting by large business in the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive; calls on the EU Member States to transpose the Directive swiftly and effectively; draws attention to the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework, the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and the objective of ‘integrated reporting’, and calls on all EU listed companies and their stakeholders to comply with the spirit of the Directive within EU and when trading outside of the EU;