The European Commission will unveil on Wednesday a proposal to make large companies operating in the European Union check that their suppliers from around the world do not use slave or child labor and that they respect environmental standards, a draft of the law showed.
The proposal, called Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence, will also oblige boards of EU firms to ensure that their business model and strategy align with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as agreed under the Paris climate treaty.
EU firms will have to make sure that their suppliers are not using forced labor or child labor, and are not guilty of inadequate workplace health and safety, exploitation of workers or environmental offenses like greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, or biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.