News

In a world increasingly focused on sustainability, consumers and businesses alike are seeking reliable information about the environmental impact of products and services. To address concerns related to "greenwashing" and misleading environmental claims, the European Commission has put forth a proposal for a Directive on Green Claims. Is your company ready for the new rules? In this article we answer a number of frequently asked questions.

The negotiations between business, trade unions and NGOs on a new sectoral agreement for responsible supply chains in the garments and textile sector have closed because the parties could not agree on the scope of the possible agreement.

Solar and wind energy companies, industry associations, the Dutch government, knowledge institutions, NGOs and trade unions will jointly commit themselves to making international value chains more sustainable. The parties have made agreements in the field of international responsible business (international RBC) in the new International RBC Agreement for the Renewable Energy Sector, which was signed today. The aim of the agreement is to jointly tackle and prevent risks in the field of human rights violations and environmental damage through cooperation.

The SER has released a draft Concept for meaningful stakeholder dialogue. This working document offers companies concrete insights for conducting a meaningful dialogue with their stakeholders, as required by the OECD guidelines, among others. Conducting a meaningful dialogue is a major challenge for many companies. The Concept is based on extensive literature and case study research and includes input from experts from industry and other organisations. Companies are invited to experiment with the Concept and share their experiences and feedback.

In September 2022, the European Commission has proposed a draft regulation to prohibit products made with forced labour in the EU market. Are you wondering what this guideline entails? And what it could mean for your company? In this article we will answers some frequently asked questions.

The Open Supply Hub is an free, accessible, collaborative, supply chain mapping platform, used and populated by stakeholders across multiple sectors and supply chains. Their goal: opening up supply chain data for the benefit of all. Fleur Meerman, Senior Policy Officer IRBC at the SER, has joined the board of the platform.

The Committee for Consumer Affairs (CCA) of the SER is of the opinion that measures promoting product repairs, for example, by making available repair-related information (such as technical information for the benefit of repairers and/or repair instructions for consumers) as well as spare parts, can serve the sustainability ambitions of the European Commission and the Netherlands.

Companies which conduct business responsibly take into account the interests and well-being of all stakeholders. The SER project 'meaningful dialogue', made possible in part by the Goldschmeding Foundation, helps companies to engage in dialogue with stakeholders.

The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) has advised the Dutch government on how to shape EU legislation on international Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). A European approach should focus on improving the conditions for people and the environment across supply chains. To have maximum impact on international supply chains outside the EU, the legislation should incentivise European cooperation at sector level.

Reshoring – the practice of returning a business activity to the country in which it was originally located – is a strategic consideration that is largely up to companies themselves. When faced with shortages in an emergency, however, government can promote reshoring to help ensure the supply of critical goods (such as face masks). In such cases, it makes sense to cooperate as closely as possible within the European Union. These are the conclusions of the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) in its advisory letter on reshoring.