European-wide duty of care plan

The Duty of Care Act for parent companies and contractors became applicable on 21 February 2017. It aims to place respect for human rights back at the heart of the corporate agenda, with implications for the supplier supply chain.
It applies to French companies employing at least 5,000 employees in France and to companies employing more than 10,000 employees in mainland France whose head office is elsewhere in the world. In February 2022, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. As such, European authorities wish to ensure that companies' activities comply with the human rights and environmental protection standards defined by the International Labour Organization and the SDGs. The rules of this directive will apply to the "chain of activity" of companies, which includes a company's own activities, as well as the activities of upstream and downstream business partners.