Launched in 2015 and hotly debated ever since, the Responsible Business initiative that targets all Swiss-based companies and multinationals operating both nationally and abroad, in the areas of human rights and the environment, will finally be put to a popular vote on 29 November. The text being submitted calls for a paragraph to be added to the Swiss Constitution that would intend for a vote to be held on an application law implementing multinational corporations’ duty of due diligence and legal responsibility. The recent publication of two opinion polls showing a strong majority in favour of the vote has rekindled the debate on the concrete implications of such an amendment.
Responsible Business initiative enters the final furlong. On 21 April 2015, the broad Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice, made up of NGOs, Protestant and Catholic churches, and left and center parties launched the Responsible Business initiative to make the economy more respectful of human rights and the environment in Switzerland and abroad (c.f. article No.9620). The initiative also seeks an avenue whereby companies that do not assume their responsibilities can be challenged in the Swiss courts.
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