A committee presented a new draft initiative for responsible multinationals on Tuesday in Bern. He hopes to collect the 100,000 signatures needed in one month.
In November 2020, the popular initiative “For responsible multinationals” was narrowly rejected. It was accepted by 50.7% of voters, but refused by the majority of cantons. A counter-proposal came into force in 2022. It requires multinationals to present a sustainability report in addition to the traditional annual report.
This counter-project, “introduced to a large extent at the request of multinational lobby associations” has “remained without effect” denounces the initiative committee.
The committee, made up of representatives “from a broad political spectrum”, the economy and civil society, points to numerous violations of human rights and environmental standards committed by multinationals based in Switzerland.
“This behavior is damaging the reputation of our economy and must stop,” says National Councilor Stefan Müller Altermatt (Center/SO)
The European context has changed
During the campaign for the 2020 vote, opponents of the initiative, including the then Minister of Justice Karin Keller-Sutter, asserted that Switzerland should not go it alone, but act in a coordinated manner with Europe.
Since then, several European countries, such as Germany and Norway, have legislated on the liability of multinationals. The European Union adopted a due diligence directive in the spring. However, the discussion is not moving forward in Switzerland, regrets the initiative committee.
Europe has legislated and we also have to assume this responsibility
For the former president of the Swiss Liberal Party Claude Ruey, member of the initiative committee, it is necessary to relaunch a similar initiative today, Switzerland being in a “totally different” situation. “Europe has decided, through a directive, to put into force corporate responsibility […] And therefore, we must, as Swiss, have the same rules so that there is fair competition between different companies,” he said on Tuesday in 12:30.
A restrictive framework
The new initiative provides binding rules to oblige Swiss multinationals to respect human rights and environmental standards in their business activities and to reduce their climate-damaging emissions.
These obligations are inspired by international standards and rules adopted by the European Union. They apply to multinationals from 1000 employees and 450 million francs in turnover.
The initiative provides that people affected by human rights violations must be able to seek compensation from a Swiss court. In addition, random checks must be able to be carried out to ensure compliance with obligations.
The committee indicates that it has made some concessions to opponents of the first initiative of 2020. Civil liability will not apply to suppliers, contrary to the European directive. Furthermore, the majority of SMEs are not affected by the initiative.
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