Discover the forefront of sustainability initiatives and breakthroughs in our Sustainability News section. Keep up to date with the latest efforts, studies, and technologies driving sustainable development and environmental stewardship across Switzerland and the globe.
On 23 February 2022 the EU Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. The directive is instrumental in driving companies to mitigate adverse impacts on human rights, such as child labor and exploitation of workers, and environmental degradation, including pollution and biodiversity loss. The initiative underscores the pivotal role of corporations in fostering a sustainable economy and society, compelling them to scrutinize and address the negative implications of their operations, subsidiaries, and value chains.
Key benefits delineated for various stakeholders include improved protection of human rights and the environment, heightened consumer trust and transparency, and enhanced access to justice for victims. For companies, the proposal promises a harmonized legal framework across the European Union (EU), facilitating legal certainty and a level playing field, while also improving risk management and access to finance. The mentioned rules aim to benefit developing countries by bolstering human rights protections, raising sustainability awareness, and fostering sustainable investments.
The obligations set forth for companies and their directors are extensive. Companies are required to conduct due diligence to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for negative human rights and environmental impacts within their operations. Moreover, large companies must devise a plan to align their business strategies with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, consistent with the Paris Agreement. Directors are mandated to implement and oversee these due diligence processes and incorporate them into corporate strategies, taking into consideration the long-term human rights, climate change, and environmental consequences of their decisions.
The directive will apply to two main groups: Group 1 encompasses large EU limited liability companies with over 500 employees and a turnover exceeding €150 million, and Group 2 includes companies with more than 250 employees and over €40 million in turnover operating in high-impact sectors such as textiles, agriculture, and mineral extraction. The implementation will stagger, with Group 2 companies being subject to the rules two years after Group 1. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are not directly targeted by the proposed rules but will receive support to manage indirect effects.
Enforcement mechanisms include administrative supervision by designated member state authorities and a European Network of Supervisory Authorities to ensure a coordinated approach. Moreover, civil liability provisions will ensure compensation for victims arising from non-compliance with the directive’s obligations.
Danish innovator Henrik Stiesdal and British engineering maestro Andrew Garrad have revolutionized the realm of wind energy, dedicating half a century to its advancement. Their groundbreaking work has now been crowned with the esteemed Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, often hailed as the ‘Nobel Prize of engineering’.
Celebrated as the vanguards of wind power, Stiesdal and Garrad’s pioneering efforts have positioned wind energy as an indispensable player in today’s global energy landscape. A recent report highlights a milestone achievement: in 2023, Europe sourced more energy from wind than fossil fuels for the first time in history. Garrad’s sophisticated computer models have optimized turbine and farm designs, while Stiesdal’s visionary leadership established the world’s first offshore wind farm.
Lord Browne of Madingley, chair of the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering Foundation, lauded their persistent advocacy and transformative impact, acknowledging the skeptics who once doubted the potential of wind energy. Thanks to these two trailblazers, wind power has embarked on an extraordinary journey, now capturing over 18% of Europe’s electricity generation, and nearly a third in the UK.
As we look to the future, the industry is poised for further breakthroughs. Innovations in floating turbines are set to explore deeper waters, and the focus shifts from size to efficiency, aiming to make wind power an even more cost-effective solution for our planet’s energy needs.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030.
