Guest blog: ‘Not Just Due Diligence’: Solidaridad Accelerates Debate on Need for Sustainability Regulations
Guest blog by Solidaridad : Solidaridad is an international network organization with partners all over the world. There is one agenda and one strategy: together we learn and progress, together we achieve results and together we decide on future steps. After decades of relying on voluntary sustainability initiatives, supply chains are still troubled by deforestation, unsustainable practices, and poor livelihoods for farmers and workers. Solidaridad now says it is time to get serious about mandatory rules. A new paper published by Solidaridad aims to fuel the debate on introducing regulation at EU level that would require intergovernmental partnerships, measures to support farmers in the Global South, and mandatory due diligence from businesses. These would not replace voluntary initiatives, but would instead complement them with a compulsory approach. Head of Policy Influencing at Solidaridad Europe, Boukje Theeuwes, says: “We must move beyond the voluntary approach and look ...