According to the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, companies of a certain size must fulfill obligations related to the review and compliance with human rights and environmental protection standards along the entire supply chain. The intention is to improve transparency along the supply chain and strengthen human rights and environmental protection while taking into account corporate interests.
For all companies registered in Germany with a workforce greater than 3,000, the legislation enters into force on 1 January 2023. For companies with a workforce between 1,000 and 3,000, the law will apply as of 1 January 2024.
SAMSON AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT started implementing the legal requirements imposed by the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains in good time so that all legal obligations arising from the law will be complied with as of 1 January 2023.
Human rights
Under the German Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains, certain prohibitions apply relating to human rights:
- Child labor, forced labor, slavery
- Disregard for occupational health and safety
- Disregard for freedom of association
- Discrimination
- Withholding of adequate wages
- Unlawful eviction, unlawful taking of land, forests and waters
- hiring or use of private or public security forces if human rights are violated
- Any other act or omission in breach of a protected legal position
Environmental protection
In addition to human rights, the law also stipulates due diligence obligations related to environmental protection. Environment-related prohibitions include:
- Causing any harmful soil change, water pollution, air pollution, harmful noise emission or excessive water consumption
- Manufacture, use and treatment of mercury (see Minamata Convention on Mercury)
- Production and use of persistent organic pollutants (POPs; see Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants)
- Handling, collection, storage and disposal of waste in a manner that is not environmentally sound (see Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants)
- Exports and imports of hazardous waste (see Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal)
SAMSON is also responsible
If, despite all the reasonable efforts we are making, you suspect that human rights and environmental protection violations occur in our supply chain, send us an anonymous incident report through our incident reporting platform or by e-mail.