From 1 January 2024, it will also apply to companies with 1,000 or more employees. At first glance, this sounds like a sensible and timely social achievement.
So anyone who wants to sell orange juice in Germany must check the conditions under which the oranges are grown and harvested in Costa Rica or Israel. T-shirt suppliers must find out about the conditions under which seamstresses work in Bangladesh or Vietnam. And although the new iPhone comes from Apple, an American company, the gold used in its manufacture may come from South Africa, the cobalt from somewhere in Africa, and the assembly takes place in China.
The European Supply Chain Act is now set to go well beyond the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) The new law will now apply to companies with 250 or more employees. The EU directive requires companies to consider the entire supply chain as well as users and disposers of products, and not „only“ direct suppliers as in the German Supply Chain Act.
What exactly does this mean for companies in the EU, and especially in Germany? Is it even feasible? The FDP is now taking a confrontational stance against this proposed EU legislation and is at least ensuring a delay in the legislative process. The reasoning given is that German companies would be at a competitive disadvantage due to the new bureaucratic hurdles and could therefore potentially withdraw from markets.
Further sources:
https://www.eqs.com/de/compliance-wissen/blog/eu-lieferkettengesetz/
