Making human rights due diligence a legal requirement for companies including systems to identify, assess, mitigate or manage human rights risks and impacts to improve that process over time and to disclose the risks and impacts, the steps taken and the results.
Direct Consultation with Governments
Comments from the entity submitted through official regulatory and legislative consultation processes, or via meetings and other direct engagements with policymakers. Includes evidence obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests.
Although the Company shares some concerns regarding the content of the proposal, it supports the Directive and sees it as a fundamental key to ensure sustainability at EU level.
The Company states that’ Allianz highly appreciates the European Commission’s proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDDD) with its aim to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and to anchor human rights and environmental considerations in companies’ operations and corporate governance. Indeed, we deem the CSDDD as a key cornerstone of the overall EU sustainability policy framework that should be subject to an ambitious timeline, also due to the interlinkage with the CSRD. However, some ambiguities and inconsistencies need to be solved and addressed to foster a successful implementation of the envisaged rules and to ensure the achievement of the objectives’. It then discloses its concers and suggesetions in alignement with reporting duties contained in CSRD, scope, value chain scope, and legal liability requirements.
Requiring Human rights due diligence of all companies, regardless of sector and size, while still reflecting their individual circumstances.
Direct Consultation with Governments
Comments from the entity submitted through official regulatory and legislative consultation processes, or via meetings and other direct engagements with policymakers. Includes evidence obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests.
The Company seems to support the exclusion of SMEs
Although the entity does not directly indicate that it supports this exclusion, it states the following: 'While we generally understand the arguments broughtforward by the EU COM for excluding SMEs from the personal scope of the CSDDD, this raises concerns for CSRD companies. In case this difference in scope is maintained, it is imperative that the implications thereof are taken due account of and are adequately reflected in the CSRD resp. CSDDD, as relevant. E.g., the CSRD requirements must be designed in a way that any disclosure requirements on the undertaken and mandated due diligence process as per the CSDDD cannot cover partners that do not have respective duties'.
Require companies to exert leverage on and/or provide support to their counterparties in the remediation of human rights impacts that are linked to company activities through their business relationships (e.g their value chains).
Direct Consultation with Governments
Comments from the entity submitted through official regulatory and legislative consultation processes, or via meetings and other direct engagements with policymakers. Includes evidence obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests.
The Company considers that provide supports for SMEs, which are excluded, can cause liability risks
The Company states that 'The mere obligation of addressed companies to provide “proportionate” support for SMEs, not within the scope of the Directive, causes huge liability risks as this obligation cannot be defined, specified and limited sufficiently. It has to be made clear that a CSDD liability may only arise in case of infringements caused by the company itself'.
Enabling judicial enforcement with liability and compensation in case of harm caused by not fulfilling the due diligence obligations.
Direct Consultation with Governments
Comments from the entity submitted through official regulatory and legislative consultation processes, or via meetings and other direct engagements with policymakers. Includes evidence obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests.
The Company supports liability only regarding infringements directly caused by the Company itself.
The Company states that 'The introduction of a vague liability fosters legal uncertainty. It exposes companies concerned and their liability insurers to incalculable risks by encouraging claimants, to file civil actions against the companies. … It has to be made clear that a CSDD liability may only arise in case of infringements caused by the company itself. Clarification is needed,that the attribution of liability follows the principles of causation and attaches to the company only if the infringement was the ultimate cause and has a certain materiality'.
Require companies to implement a due diligence process covering their value chain to identify, prevent, mitigate and remediate human rights impacts and improve that practice over time.
Direct Consultation with Governments
Comments from the entity submitted through official regulatory and legislative consultation processes, or via meetings and other direct engagements with policymakers. Includes evidence obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests.
The Company is in favour of limiting value chain to direct clients.
The Company states that 'We understand and support that Art. 3 (g), when defining the value chain for financial institutions, focuses on the client of a (re)insurance company, i.e. the policyholder or reinsured, resp. the corporate investor in case of an asset manager - the word “direct” needs to be inserted before the word ‘client’. We would advise a risk-focused view on sustainable and responsible behaviour, whereby size and nature of the policyholder/ investor is considered. Since insurance contracts for large corporate clients usually generically cover all of the policyholder’s subsidiaries in and outside the EU whose activities are therefore ‘linked to the contract in question’ - even if the relative size of their risk is only small - the respective reference in Art. 3(g) should be deleted'.
| Legislation | Phase of Active Company Engagement | Position |
|---|
| Industry Association | Performance band |
|---|---|
| Associazione Nazionale fra le Imprese Assicuratrici (ANIA) | E- |
| Assogestioni | E- |
| France Assureurs (Fédération Française de l'Assurance) | D+ |
| France Invest | E- |
| French Asset Management Association | D |
| Fédération Bancaire Française | F |