Sweden recently announced that it will vote against the EU bill that will increase companies' responsibility for human rights and the environment, despite the fact that the bill has strong support from both civil society and companies. The bill has now been revised and a vote will take place on Friday.
- What Sweden does, other countries listen to, says Julia Carlzon, communicator at Oxfam, about the upcoming vote.
In an increasingly globalized world, companies play an important role in creating a fairer and more sustainable development. Of the world 100 largest economies 51 of them are companies, whose supply chains span national borders and create work opportunities for people all over the world. The EU draft law Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) is to counteract companies' negative impact on human rights and the climate.
On February 28, it emerged that Sweden will vote no to the bill, as it was first formulated. EMinister of Energy and Food Ebba Bush (KD) believed that it was because the administrative burden will be too great and costly for the companies. In a interview with Dagens Nyheter, Ebba Busch also said that with the proposal - as it stands now - small and medium-sized companies will be out-competed by larger companies. The bill is now to be revised and later this week undergo a vote.
Julia Carlzon works as a communicator at Oxfam Sweden. She is critical of the fact that Sweden has so far backed down in the negotiations regarding the law on corporate responsibility. She stresses that the bill has support from both civil society organizations and company, and over 80 percent of EU citizens want companies to have clearer requirements when it comes to human rights and the environment.
- Recently, 70 Nordic companies joined, among others Axfood, Vattenfall and Lindex, out that they want this legislation, she says.
In 2022, the EU Commission presented its first proposal for legislation regarding corporate responsibility, and since then Julia Carlzon has been involved in the process. She explains that systematic violations of human rights and environmental impact are major problems in companies' supply chains, and that EU law is needed to ensure that companies are held accountable for their actions.
- We receive daily testimonies from organizations and trade unions in different countries about wages that cannot be lived on, child labor and excessively long work shifts. You have a lack of trade union rights, are exposed to sexual harassment and forced labour, says Julia Carlzon. She continues:
- The bill requires companies to take responsibility throughout the supply chain, and may at best strengthen the possibility that companies can be sued and that those affected can receive damages.
"The bill is already watered down"
At the same time, Julia Carlzon points out that the CSDDD bill is already watered down, because with the changes, only less than one percent of all companies are covered by the bill. The entire financial sector, including banks and investment companies, is exempt.
- This allows banks to continue financing activities that violate human rights and the climate, she says.
The plan is for there to be a vote on the revised bill on Friday. What the revision entails is still not completely clear. But Sweden's actions during the process are not only a step back in the work for the global sustainability goals, but it also changes the image of Sweden as a leading country in climate and human rights, according to Julia Carlzon.
- What Sweden does, other countries listen to. And when Sweden announces that they intend to say flatly no to such a thing bill, it sends a signal to other countries that they don't need to do better either, she says and continues:
- Now I and others in Swedish civil society, the trade union movement and academia hope that Sweden will vote yes to the revised proposal. People, the environment and the climate cannot wait any longer.