Environmental Due Diligence: Protection of the extraterritorial environment by regulation of European businesses

The dissertation project examines whether and how an obligatory environmental due diligence system could be created for German/European companies, obliging them to check compliance with environmental standards along their supply chain.
I carry out an inventory of extraterritorially acting environmental duties of care. Examples of relevant standards are the European Timber Trade Regulation (EUTR), the Conflict Minerals Regulation and the CSR Directive. French law provides an interesting innovation: the Loi de Vigilance, adopted in 2017, stipulates that large French companies have a duty of vigilance for their economic relations abroad, which includes not only the observance of human rights but also the prevention of environmental damage.
Finally, the paper deals with current drafts and proposals for environmental due diligence obligations in Germany, both from the government side and the Initiative Lieferkettengesetz.

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