This article analyses the Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy of the International Labour Organization. It argues that given the current lack of a legally binding international document on human rights obligations of corporations, the focus...

This chapter will provide an introduction to the notions of Sustainable Development and ‘best available techniques’ (BATs), which appear ever so often in treaties and other international legal documents. The aim is to demonstrate the rising importance and usefulness of such notions,...

The state of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the European Union (EU) in the context of the EU framework governing business and human rights (B&HR) is worthy of consideration. This chapter follows the top-down approach: it explores the relevant EU legal and policy...

At first sight the potential discrepancy between competitive behavior of market participants, trade rules and the basic notion of sustainable development may seem to be of a negligible importance. However, during the interactions of market processes with sustainability goals through various...

Drawing on an expert seminar, a public consultation and more than 40 written submissions, the report describes possible methods of implementing human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a healthy environment. The proposals are addressed to: (a) the Human Rights Council, the United...

On the basis of the European Commission’s 2015 Action Plan “on Building a Capital Markets Union” (CMU), as further specified in the 2017 “Mid-Term Review of the [CMU] Action Plan”, the European Parliament and the Council adopted on 27 November 2019 Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 “on...

The global value of public procurement spending is enormous. Each year, approximately 19% of the EU GDP is spent by over 250,000 public authorities purchasing services, works and supplies. The sheer scale of public procurement spending and supplier selection decisions can literally create and...

Drastic reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are needed in order to mitigate the effects of climate change. The European Union (EU), a leader in climate change mitigation, has adopted an ambitious strategy to achieve its mitigation goal. A piece of this strategy is the Renewable Energy...