Publications

Since January 2023, the rules of the Supply Chain Act in Germany have applied to all companies above a certain size. This also includes financial institutions. However, the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), which is responsible for enforcing the law, argued in its guidance published in August 2023 that the law's due diligence obligations are not binding for financial institutions with regard to their core business. Contrary to the guidance, our legal opinion concludes that a correct interpretation of the LkSG clearly shows that financial institutions have a supplier relationship within the meaning of the LkSG with their customers for a number of financial products.

The creation of value through trade and processing of critical raw materials is a crucial step towards sustainable economic development in African countries. Our factsheet provides an overview of some of the relevant initiatives in recent years. We highlight obstacles to the Africa Mining Vision and point to solutions through regional co-operation. In addition, the Lobito Corridor serves as case study to assess co-operation of African countries on building supply chains.

Just Transition is the buzzword of the hour. This policy brief outlines opportunities for international co-operation with India to facilitate a Just Energy Transition – the sustainable and equitable shift to low-carbon energy systems. Appropriate support can bolster India’s potential to become a leader in green and inclusive development models of the future.

The EU has recently adopted a number of regulations to facilitate the extended use of products as well as product repairs and reuse. However, these regulations fail to address a key obstacle to repairs: The costs. This is why we are calling for subsidised consumer repairs. To achieve this, the Extended Producer Responsibility must be fundamentally reformed.

On 25 July 2024, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) entered into force. The member states will now need to transpose the directive into national law. Germany already has sustainability due diligence legislation, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG). This raises the question as to how the CSDDD influences the scope of application of the LkSG.

The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) play a substantial role in the global transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies and societies. This paper examines how the MDBs aim to put Paris alignment into practice. The analysis highlights both shortcomings and best practice in the joint MDB methodological principles, and the specific Paris-alignment methodologies of the World Bank, EBRD, IDB, and AIIB. It does this with a particular view to providing constructive input for upcoming reviews and revisions of those methodologies.

From 30 December 2024, the European Union Deforestation-free Products Regulation (EUDR) must be applied. Smallholders are also indirectly affected by the EUDR if they do not want to lose access to the EU market. In this policy paper, we first provide a brief overview of the challenges faced by smallholders regarding the higher requirements and also evaluate a series of targeted interviews with representatives of various industries and organisations that have already gained experience with the introduction of higher sustainability standards for smallholders and the traceability of supply chains.

China's recent international commitments and domestic approaches to mitigating the environmental and social threats associated with global deforestation are plentiful but not sufficient, especially when compared to its peer and competitor, the EU. Our innovative flashcards provide key recommendations on how to strengthen the systematic approach to curate further dialogue and co-operation with stakeholders, especially by highlighting the key ministries' roles in greening the global supply chain. Ultimately, we encourage China to advance its commitment and policy to reduce global deforestation resulting from soft commodity supply chains.

The EU’s strategic raw materials diplomacy and partnerships are on the rise, not just since the EU has adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act to secure the supply for its renewable energy, digitalisation, defence, and space industries. Kazakhstan and the EU have initiated a Critical Raw Materials partnership in 2022. The two Kazakhstani transparency experts Mariya Lobacheva and Tatyana Sedova trace how the partneship was set up without properly informing and consulting with the public.

Multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) in Germany aim to strengthen corporate due diligence. Their dialogue formats primarily bring together governmental, economic, and civil society actors based in Germany. They therefore tend to exclude, or only selectively involve, stakeholder groups (rights holders) who are (or may be) adversely affected by corporate activities. This paper illustrates the different dimensions of meaningful rights holder engagement in MSIs and highlights best practices developed by different German MSIs, thus showcasing how MSIs can contribute to due diligence implementation, at least in theory.