Almost three-quarters of adults in 10 EU countries believe that large companies with more than 250 employees should be held responsible for human rights and environmental damage in their supply chains. please vote is shown.
Respondents in Sweden and Spain seem to hold this view particularly strongly.
The research, commissioned by Global Witness and Amnesty International and carried out by Ipsos, interviewed 10,861 people in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and Sweden.
This follows negotiations to review the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a landmark EU bill that holds companies accountable for human rights abuses and environmental damage in their supply chains.
On October 13, European Parliament members passed amendments to the CSDDD that would apply to companies with 1,000 employees and an annual turnover of 450 million euros, and to companies with 5,000 or more employees and a turnover of 1.5 billion euros.
After Monday’s vote in parliament, lawmakers will likely need to approve the decision at a plenary session in Strasbourg, scheduled for October 20. Once the full House has voted, negotiations between Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission will begin.
How should the EU enforce environmental laws?
Three in four people say it is important for the EU to comply with environmental laws within its member states, with respondents in Italy (85%), Lithuania (82%) and Denmark (80%) agreeing most.
More than 60% of people in the region say large companies should have a legal obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This position was strongly supported in Italy (69%), France (68%) and Sweden (67%).
Defendants believe that prosecuting large corporations in court and seeking damages for loss and suffering is the most appropriate way to hold them accountable for human rights violations.
Meanwhile, 45% of those surveyed said publicizing examples of environmental damage is the best way to hold large companies accountable.
However, only 23% of respondents said they had heard or read discussions about changes to European Union environmental and climate law in the past 12 months.
US influence on the EU
More than half also said it was now more important for the EU to comply with its own environmental laws because the US government had rolled back its own environmental protections.
US President Donald Trump has vowed to expand US fossil fuel production and criticized green energy efforts.
Since returning to the White House, he has dismantled many of former President Joe Biden’s green energy and climate change policies.
