Webinar: EU Draft Law — Directive "On Corporate due diligence in the field of sustainable development"

On March 29, the Kazakhstan office of the Economic Research Institute JSC National Contact Point took part in a webinar for delegates of the Working Party on Responsible Business and National Contact Points.

The meeting was chaired by the Chair of the Working Party Christine Kaufmann and Allan Jorgensen, Head of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business.

The first part of the meeting was devoted to the draft law of the European Commission on corporate due diligence in the field of sustainable development.

On February 23, 2022, the European Commission published the draft Directive "On Corporate Due Diligence in the field of sustainable Development". The draft law is currently under consideration in the European Parliament and the European Council.

During the session, the European Commission presented and explained the key elements of its draft law. Thus, the draft law is aimed at promoting sustainable and responsible corporate behavior in all global chains. According to the  document provisions , companies will have to identify and, if necessary, stop or mitigate the adverse effects of their activities on human rights, such as child labor and exploitation of workers, as well as on the environment, such as pollution and loss of biodiversity.

During the webinar, delegates and representatives of National Contact Points had the opportunity to comment and discuss the draft law. Thus, delegates and interested parties noted the importance of maintaining the principles of sustainable development, and also stressed that this draft law is of great importance for business and the planet as a whole.

The European Commission has proposed that member states provide information and support to companies subject to the Directive to help them meet their obligations. In addition, it is proposed that member states appoint a supervisory authority to ensure the effective application of the Directive and adapt their civil liability rules for cases where damage arises as a result of a company's failure to comply with due diligence obligations.

At the European level, the Commission has proposed the creation of a European Supervisory Authorities Network that will bring together representatives of
national authorities to ensure a coordinated approach.

In the second part of the meeting, together with the National Contact Points, their role in the implementation of the directive was discussed. Thus, their role will extend from support in the preparation of the text to the enforcement of this directive. For non-EU member states, it is proposed to explain to local multinational enterprises about the upcoming EU due diligence legal expectations,
promote due diligence principles in the private sector, potentially included in the global value chains of multinational enterprises targeted by the directive, as well as cooperate with the EU supervisory authority in case of control.

At the end of the session, delegates were given the opportunity to present and explain their contribution to the draft law at the moment, as well as their plans for the coming months.

Detailed information about the National Contact Point of Kazakhstan can be found at the the following link

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The NCP is a collegial advisory body that makes decisions on complaints under consideration about violations of the provisions of the Guidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development for Multinational Enterprises, including on information disclosure, human rights, labor and industrial relations, combating bribery, bribery and extortion, environmental protection, consumer interests, science and technology, competition and taxation. 

The functions of the NCP Secretariat in the Republic of Kazakhstan are performed by Economic Research Institute JSC.