Dear Ambassadors to the EU,
Dear Prime Minister De Croo,
On behalf of industriAll Europe - the European trade union federation representing 7 million workers in mining, energy and manufacturing sectors from 39 countries – we are writing to urge you to vote in favour of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive at the very next Council vote.
IndustriAll Europe has long been advocating for a paradigm shift in the way multinational companies are governed: moving away from short-term and purely financial perspectives serving shareholders on the backs of people and the planet, to adopt sustainable strategic management driven by social dialogue and benefiting all in the long term. Decades of soft law regulation through codes of conduct, charters, or “comply or explain” mechanisms have failed to anchor socially responsible management in companies’ DNA.
IndustriAll Europe is thus convinced of the urgent need for mandatory Responsible Business Conduct, recalling that such an approach relies on three intertwined pillars : Transparency, Democracy, Accountability. Multinational companies should not be ‘black boxes’. They must instead identify, prevent, mitigate and cease any actual or potential adverse impact on people and the planet that they or their supply chains’ operations might cause, and account for how these impacts are addressed.
A positive vote of the Council for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will represent a major step in putting people and planet before the profits and making all businesses accountable. The time when companies could make profit out of the exploitation of the environment and on the back of their own and/or their suppliers’ workers’ fundamental rights around the world must end. By advocating for responsible business practices, Member States will send a strong signal to millions of workers and citizens whose vote in four months will determine the future of Europe.
Judith Kirton Darling Isabelle Barthès
General Secretary Deputy General Secretary