Brussels, 6 September 2022  – No more exploitation, no more environmental destruction, no more bad business practices by European companies. These are the demands of the ‘Justice is Everybody’s Business‘ campaign, launched today by over 100 civil society and trade union organisations. We demand a strong due diligence law that effectively prevents and holds business accountable for environmental and human rights violations.

Even though countries like France and Germany are leading the way with national human rights due diligence laws, they do not sufficiently protect both people and planet from the impact of European business operations.

In February this year, the European Commission unveiled its proposal for an EU law requiring large companies to conduct checks on their investments and supply chains to identify, prevent and address human rights and environmental risks and impacts within and outside the EU. However, the proposal contains dangerous loopholes that fail to guarantee justice.

It also fails to sufficiently empower those suffering from bad business practices to get justice in courts within the EU. Instead of striking down serious legal hurdles for those trying to file lawsuits against companies, the current proposal still makes it easy for corporations to evade responsibility.

The draft law also fails to oblige companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to hold them liable for failing to do so, despite their massive impact on the climate crisis.

The campaign was kicked off today with a public action in Brussels where a tall ‘scales of justice’ showed the current imbalance between corporate profits on one side and human rights, environmental and climate justice on the other side – and that public pressure can tip the scales toward change.

Join us

Your voice is crucial in holding business accountable. Help us stand up for EU laws that protect human rights, the environment and the climate from corporate exploitation by signing up to our movement statement below.