English Version

The globalisation has increased trade and wealth in recent years. However, the complexity of global supply and value chains has also led to demands to better assess whether these complex systems respect human rights, as well as social and environmental standards.   

The globalisation has increased trade and wealth in recent years. However, the complexity of global supply and value chains has also led to demands to better assess whether these complex systems respect human rights, as well as social and environmental standards.    

In compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, States have enacted laws to implement the “protect, respect and remedy” policy framework on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.   

D-EQ is engaging in a multi-stakeholder dialogue on the newly enacted laws and the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, which in essence means to act with due diligence. The objective of this dialogue is to achieve the “operationalising” of the framework to render it effective.  In doing so, D-EQ  - relying on the expertise of IT researchers at the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and renowned academics - proposes a practical way forward that relies on:

•  Digital trust solutions 
• Low-cost, transparency and self-policing strategies 
• The partnership of business players and civil society actors, as well as the collaboration between the various actors in the global North and the global South  

The concept of SC Global Monitor allows the respective State authorities to monitor, inform, and advise all those involved in international trade. Furthermore, it provides the evidence to sanction those who disregard their obligation for due diligence with respect to human rights, social and environmental standards.    

For interest and questions, please contact karl.steinacker@d-eq.org

Further resources: 

• The German Supply Chain Law of 2021  https://www.bmz.de/en/development-policy/supply-chains/background-supply-chains
• The draft EU European Commission proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains (23 February 2022), Press release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_1145, Proposal for the Directive:  https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/proposal-directive-corporate-sustainable-due-diligence-and-annex_en
• The CSR Risk Check was developed by MVO Nederland (https://www.mvonederland.nl/en/homepage/) and is their property. The tool is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-foreign-affairs) and technical assistance is provided by Shopworks (https://www.shopworks.nl/).  
• The Lightweight Infrastructure for Global Heterogeneous Trust management in support of an open Ecosystem of Stakeholders and Trust schemes (LIGHTest) was developed by a European consortium with EU funding (Horizon 2020). Details at the Website (https://www.lightest.eu//) and in the «LIGHTest Cookbook» (https://www.lightest.eu/static/lightest_cookbook/LIGHTest_Cookbook_v1.0.pdf). The Digital Identity team (https://www.iao.fraunhofer.de/en/about-us/fraunhofer-iao/research-units/human-technology-interaction/heiko-rossnagel.html) of Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IAO is showcasing the LIGHTest approach: https://www.hci.iao.fraunhofer.de/de/identity-management/identity-und-accessmanagement/lightestfinal.html