20 years.
We’ve been hoping since day 1 of our company in 2003 that our institutions would encourage the private sector to be more ethical, transparent and respectful of the most important human, social and environmental rights.
As CAP conseil turns 20, this day has come: a package of important legislations will finally turn into hard law what CSR has developed, voluntarily and far too slowly, as soft law. International right receives its entry into European law, and new chances to become reality in these globalised markets.
Times they are changing…
With consistency and ambition, you decided that you wanted to change current practices and abuses, to force new reflexes and to know exactly if and how they were embedded across companies.
We welcome specifically 3 legal initiatives: due diligence, taxonomy and reporting.
The duty of due diligence will change procurement and business practices along most value chains, reversing the burden of proof in case of wrongdoing and giving a concrete meaning to complicity.
The taxonomy will put a stop to greenwashing and place most financial actors in front of their inconsistencies, right there at the bottomline.
The sustainability reporting and its notion of double materiality will impose a new reading of ESG matters, from both sides now, to the benefit of a wider Society.
There is hope that the economy might become less egocentric and open to its real impacts!
Thank you for increasing the scope of this legislation to cover over 10.000 companies and their business partners.
Thank you for putting extra-focus on the most impactful sectors.
Thank you for considering that the protection of human rights and climate are not negotiable any more.
Thank you for moving the ultimate responsibility up to the individuals in the boardroom and the executive committee.
Thank you for discharging the CSR departments from the burden of correcting the entire economic system by themselves.
Thank you for asking external auditors to pay attention to something else than financial accounts.
Thank you for expecting financial institutions to be more transparent about what they do with our money.
You can count on us to help our clients apply these new rules with honesty and pride. They were convinced long before the laggards who now wake up with incredulity. And they will live up to our common ambitions for a better world.
Thank you for this present.
Have wonderful Christmas time
Marie d’Huart – Partner, CAP conseil