Responsible Contracting Project

What is the role of #contracts in addressing potential and actual #humanrights #impacts? How should businesses consider when they terminate #business relationships? How do you address contracting where workers are illiterate or vulnerable? What does #cs3D say about #contracts? Join us for our Ardea International first #webinar for 2025 with experts Helena Haapio Daniel Schönfelder Robert de Rooy. I am so looking forward to the different insights! You can sign up here: https://bit.ly/49k31U9 #esg #sustainability #csrd #lawyers #generalcounsel

Contracts are boring? Not always. They CAN be pretty exciting - especially when they support your mission for positive impact! At HAKRO GmbH, we've learned a lot about how a good legal basis can underpin our striving for equal production partnerships - by reviewing our purchasing contracts together with the Responsible Contracting Project. I'm looking forward to joining Chana Rosenthal, Klaus Eisenreich, and Tara Scally at the OECD - OCDE forum's virtual side session on #ResponsibleContracting in February. 💻 Feb. 13 @ 10 AM CET. 👉 More info and registration below.

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, #responsiblecontracting is more than a legal necessity; it’s a strategic advantage that promotes #ethical practices, enhances reputation, and fosters long-term success. 🔶 This free #webinar, "Responsible Contracting: How to Build Stronger, Fairer Partnerships," offers an invaluable opportunity to delve into the principles and practices that underpin responsible contracting. 🔶 This session is designed to provide actionable strategies and foster a deeper understanding of how to build equitable and sustainable partnerships.  🔶 Join me and our expert speakers Robert de Rooy Daniel Schönfelder Helena Haapio 🔶 Register here https://bit.ly/3WnrwdI Responsible Contracting Project Creative Contracts | Certified B Corp Ardea International #sustainability #esg #contracts #supplychain #riskmanagement

Planning to join the OECD - OCDE Forum on #DueDiligence in the #Garment & #Footwear Sector? Don't miss our virtual Side Session on #responsiblecontracting on Feb. 13 @ 10 AM CET. 💻 🗣️ 🗣️ Hear directly from brand representatives from the #apparel industry on how innovating contracting approaches can help you prevent and address #humanrights and #environmental impacts in the #supplychain and align with the #EU #CSDDD and other #ESG and #HREDD #regulations. You'll hear from RCP Team Members Chana Rosenthal and Klaus Eisenreich as well as Tara Scally, CSR Specialist at Zeeman textielSupers, and Anna Felicitas Ruechardt, the Head of Impact, Responsibility & Innovation at HAKRO GmbH. ✨ Register here: https://lnkd.in/e48G4xwp

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 #omnibus to reopen #CSDDD #CSRD #Taxonomy is misguided, unnecessary and sets harmful incentives Corporate Sustainability Regulation in the EU: In the last 5 years, all arguments had been exchanged several times, painful compromises had been found after endless debate, rules have been adopted. Firms started to analyze them, recruit experts, invest in governance systems and measures. Suppliers worldwide are setting themselves up to work together to improve the human rights and environmental situation. Now, several political and lobby actors call for a reopening of the debate, pushing for an omnibus to reopen everything on Corporate Sustainability, just over half a year after the passing of the #CSDDD. We believe that this is bad policy, punishing responsible companies that invest in human rights and the environment. With James Sinclair Stéphane Brabant Heidi Hautala Michaela Streibelt Eckart von Malsen Céline da Graça Pires Beata F. Théo Jaekel and over 60 other BHR experts from practice and academia from many different countries, we published an open letter at Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. In essence, we argue: 1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 Reopening the debate around these laws creates insecurity and disincentives responsible companies: The message is that when you invest early and with foresight to set yourself and your industry up for sustainable success, you will be punished, and if you just wait until the last moment and hope for a roll back, you will be rewarded. This frustrates investments made by European and their global partners and rewards laggards. 2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 While some details of sublegal standards and delegated acts #ESRS #Taxonomy might be worth aligning and streamlining more closely, reopening the #CSDDD, #CSRD, #Taxonomy is not needed for that, because amendments can be made on the sublegal level. This can and should be used to clarify how implementation of the rules can be achieved in synergetic corporate processes and without overwhelming suppliers, especially SMEs. 3. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐬 What credibility and seriousness can EU policy have, if legal acts negotiated for years are reopened few months after adopting them? How can we have effective governance if our leaders change their minds like teenagers change their crushes? Some argue that protection of human rights and the environment is unnecessary #burocracy. We believe that it is essential to have a global economy based on #respect for the basic necessities and the dignity of humans. If you want to protect the legal security for businesses to invest in human rights and environmental protection, you can find the info to sign in the attached document and in the first comment.

Curious to hear directly from companies that practice responsible contracting? Join RCP and representatives from Zeeman textielSupers and HAKRO GmbH for our virtual Side Session on contracting under the EU CSDDD as part of the 2025 OECD - OCDE Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector.  🌟 🌟 🌟 What: Due Diligence-Aligned Contracting in Practice When: Thursday, February 13 @ 4-5:30 am EST/ 10-11:30 pm CET 🗓️ Recent human rights and environmental due diligence (#HREDD) legislation, like the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (#CSDDD), requires companies to use their contracts with suppliers to prevent, address, and remedy adverse #humanrights impacts in their #supplychains. You'll hear directly from Tara Scally, CSR Specialist at Zeeman textielSupers, and Anna Felicitas Ruechardt, the Head of Impact, Responsibility & Innovation at HAKRO GmbH, on their experiences revising their companies’ contracts to incorporate responsible contracting principles. This session will:   🌟 Explain contracting requirements under the EU CSDDD 🌟 Offer recommendations for revising contracts using the Supplier Model Clauses (SMCs) to support adherence to legislative requirements. 🌟 Offer guidance on the Do’s and Don’ts of due diligence-aligned contracting, focusing on clauses specific to the #apparelsector. 🌟 Elevate first-hand experiences from Hakro and Zeeman representatives on revising their brand-supplier contracts to incorporate responsible contracting principles, touching on challenges and successes. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eXpFTmua #oecdforum #ethicalbiz #bhr #responsiblecontracting #garment #footwear #duediligence

The consultation period for the excellent European Model Clauses project will end on 15 January and its drafters have put out a last call for input on its Zero Draft for Consultation: The European Model Clauses (EMCs) for Responsible and Sustainable Supply Chains and related documents. There is a lot to chew on in this project, as well as its interlinking with the larger CSDDD project, and the issue of the cultures and construction of European regulatory approaches in a more general sense. "All of this works well, and as drafted, the EMCs are consistent with the vision of its drafters. For those who do not share that vision, individuals, enterprises, and states, there are always countermeasures--private law, legislation, and interpretive battles before courts. More generally the EMCs will face a set of challenges that any such enterprise would face irrespective of the normative choices built into the model clause language. I have organized my sense of these challenges in six points, challenges which may be inevitable and thus unavoidable: (1) complexity; (2) prolix ambiguities; (3) the Versailles effect; (4) the costs of administration; (5) the usual suspects; and (6) the power of setting the stage." * * * All of this suggests both the richness of the text, the importance of the guiding ideology, and the pathways chosen to fulfill the objectives of that ideology as expressed in the EMC project, and on a broader scale within the trajectories of CSDDD and its fundamental ordering premises. But that richness is also deeply embedded in the micro-analytics that are the subject of the consultation, and that, itself is worthy of deep consideration. The EMC project nicely aligns with the European regulatory path and its normative substructures; it is a critically important intervention in the elaboration of the administrative system that will emerge from out of the CEDDD framework (and then from there to be generalized as a template for governance within all sectors of regulation in Europe). Given its normative and methodological choices, it is a worthy project to make this effort as good as possible. Interested parties ought to take the opportunity to contribute to that effort. Others should take notice. European Model Clauses Project: Consultation Period for the Zero Draft Extended to 15 January 2025--Critical Consultation Documents and My Brief Observations https://lnkd.in/eYdZaFjj

The consultation on the European Model Clauses for supply chains is still open for a few more days (until 15 January 2025). If you have not yet given feedback on the clauses, you have a couple of days left to provide it. Your input is highly appreciated. The model clauses aim to align contractual approaches in supply chains with the UNGPs, OECD Guidelines and the CSDDD requirements in a model contract. The European Model Clauses including feedback form can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e6aUMHQ7

How to place the #CSDDD and collaborative business relations at the heart of companies? Start with contracts! 📝 The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is a groundbreaking law: It not only requires large companies to prevent, mitigate and remedy their human rights and environmental impacts but also ensures they don’t shift the burden onto suppliers. The CSDDD also enshrines into law a spirit of collaboration: Companies must adjust their business practices, including how they make contracts and must support their suppliers – smallholder farmers, factories, and other micro, small and medium enterprises – throughout the process. As the Responsible Contracting Project has pointed out, this legal obligation of collaboration starts with contracts. It is in this context that they have put together a set of European Model Contract Clauses to put due diligence and cost-sharing at the heart of business relations. 💡Why do model contract clauses matter? Model contract clauses are a vital tool in aligning business practices with the principles of fairness and sustainability. They are a step toward making responsible contracting the norm—not the exception. The Fair Trade Advocacy Office, together with the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) - Europe and Fairtrade International, have submitted feedback on the Zero Draft of the European Model Contract Clauses (EMCs). During several consultations, we have had extensive engagement with smallholder producer representatives and the legal experts behind this initiative. Read our main recommendations and takeaways ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/ea-A7hXB ‼️The Responsible Contracting Project will be welcoming feedback until January 15, 2025. Share your insights and help shape the future of responsible business practices, more information on their website: https://lnkd.in/ghV22c-8

Die Lieferkettengesetze LkSG und CSDDD erfordern eine neue Herangehensweise an die Vertragsgestaltung: weg von der klassischen Weitergabe von Risiken („risk shifting“) und hin zu einer geteilten Verantwortung für die Einhaltung von grundlegenden Menschenrechten und für mehr Nachhaltigkeit. Unternehmen können diese Chance nutzen, um die Zusammenarbeit in ihren Lieferketten und damit auch ihre Lieferketten selbst zu stärken. Andererseits besteht das Risiko, Verant­wortlichkeiten vertraglich weiterzu­reichen, ohne die tatsächliche ökologische und soziale Verantwortung von Unternehmen in der Lieferkette zu steigern. Eine vertragliche Überforderung von Geschäftspartnern, insbesondere aus dem kleineren Mittelstand, kann dazu führen, dass Vertragsklauseln blind unterschrieben werden, um den Kunden nicht zu verlieren. Ein wirksamer Schutz von grundlegenden Menschen- und Umweltrechten in der Lieferkette kann so nicht erreicht werden.  Lesen Sie unsere Analyse mit praktischen Lösungsansätzen und Hinweisen auf Hilfsmittel für eine wirkungsvolle Zusammenarbeit in der Lieferkette. Danke für die tolle Zusammenarbeit an meine Co-Autorinnen Carla Everhardt und Viktoria Werner und an den wertvollen Input von Daniel Roßbach, LL.M., Rödl & Partner Legal Advisory, Rödl & Partner Rödl & Partner Smart Audit & Advisory Hilfreiche Informationen und Musterklauseln bietet übrigens auch das Responsible Contracting Project. Lieben Dank an Daniel Schönfelder und Klaus Eisenreich für den wertvollen Austausch und Eure Präsentation im Rahmen einer Schulung vor einigen Monaten bei Rödl & Partner. #sustainability #esg # bizhumanrights #responsiblecontracting #esg #lksg #csddd https://lnkd.in/eTEvtxew