The Law on ESG in Value Chains: A Practical Guide to Social, Climate and Governance Risks

The Law on ESG in Value Chains: A Practical Guide to Social, Climate and Governance Risks is a comprehensive guide for UK and multi-national companies navigating the intricate world of social risk issues, focusing on the interaction between social and environment/climate and governance.

This new book analyses the operating environment for businesses, emphasising labour and human rights issues, and explores the implications of these social aspects on corporate operations and supply chains. It provides a thorough examination of key international covenants, regulations and enforcement actions across a variety of jurisdictions, the critical intersection between human rights, climate change and ethical governance, and the role of the law in this field.

Key topics include:

• Legal and policy frameworks: insight into the role of law, regulations, standards, enforcement and voluntary guidelines such as the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines.
• Disclosure regimes and company governance: an in-depth look at ESG considerations arising in the context of company governance, including directors’ duties and disclosure regimes such as sustainable taxonomies and modern slavery reporting.
• Human rights due diligence: international standards for human rights due diligence, how these standards are viewed and used by courts and governments, and their incorporation into domestic regulations.
• How human rights due diligence changes throughout the lifecycle of a project or investment.
• Consumer protection: analysis of consumer protection laws and trends in greenwashing and bluewashing claims.
• Judicial and non-judicial dispute risks: key supply chain litigation proceedings including the development of duty of care case law in England and elsewhere, and the evolving use of non-judicial mechanisms such as the OECD National Contact Points.
• The impact of overseas regulation on the operations of UK companies: including human rights considerations during international investments, and developments in regulations and disputes with extraterritorial reach.

The Law on ESG in Value Chains is an indispensable guide for corporate leaders, legal professionals and policymakers committed to fostering ethical and sustainable business practices.