On 09 December, the German Employment and Social Affairs Employment Minister, Hubertus Heil (SPD), announced during an interview that he, along with his Economic Cooperation and Development colleague, Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) were formulating draft legislation on supply chains (Lieferkettengesetz) that would require German businesses operating internationally to guarantee that their supply chain partners complied with environmental and social standards. If the legislation is adopted then it will mark a turning point in German government policy, which hitherto had primarily focused on the voluntary nature of businesses commitments to environmental and social responsibilities (ESR). However the government is also looking to a Europe-wide solution and intends to prioritize European regulation over supply chains during its six-month EU Council Presidency period that will commence on 01 July 2020.
Rules over responsibility. A longtime committed actor in favor of multinational corporations’ duty of care, Germany’s Development Minister, Gerd Müller (CSU) can now count on a heavyweight ally in the name of his colleague Hubertus Heil (SPD), the Employment and Social Affairs Employment Minister, who with the Development Minister has just returned from a joint visit to a textile manufacturing company in Ethiopia and who upon his return stated, “This trip has heightened my understanding.
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