ENNHRI has made a submission to the European Commission on the EU’s Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), which lays down the rules on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large companies. Based on the expertise of ENNHRI’s members, this submission focuses on the human rights aspects of the Directive.

Among others, ENNHRI recommends that the revision of the NFRD:

• Is in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and is coherent with any prospective regulation mandating human rights due diligence
• Clarifies the obligations of reporting entities, eliminating the current distinction between ‘social and employee matters’ and ‘human rights’
• Requires corporate non-financial reports to be prepared and presented in a standardised manner, utilise a common standard(s), digitised in a machine-readable format and deposited in an official repository established and overseen by the EU
• Establishes concrete measures, including guidance, training, and tools, to support key stakeholders, including businesses, investors and civil society actors, in implementing the revised NFRD.

This submission is part of a number of actions initiated by European NHRIs connected to the activities of European companies, ranging from investigations of abuses in specific sectors and analyses of legal and policy frameworks, to the development of guidance and tools for businesses, governments, public buyers and rights-holders.

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» Learn more about European NHRIs’ work on business and human rights