Supply Chain Compli­ance

We will analyse whether your company is required to comply with due diligence obligations. Using the relevant threshold values, we will determine whether your company falls within the scope of the law. In groups of companies, we will determine which companies are subject to such obligations and which do not fall within the scope of the law.

We will support your company in setting up, adapting or updating a risk management system related to the Supply Chain Act. If your company already has a compliance or risk management system in place, we will support you to adapt such system to the Supply Chain Act’s due diligence requirements. We will also advise you on how bespoke measures can be used to anchor the risk management procedures in your company’s most important divisions through tailored measures and assist you with regard to organisational and reporting issues, including internal responsibility for monitoring risk management (for example a human rights officer). If needed, we will determine whether the measures taken are effective

A risk assessment is the core element of the due diligence obligations under the Supply Chain Act. We will support your company in implementing a risk assessment in compliance with the law. We use a risk-based pragmatic approach tailored to the guidance issued by the German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (Bundesamt für Wirtschaft und Ausfuhrkontrolle – the “Federal Office”). In particular, we assess which products and services your company and any relevant subsidiaries and second-tier subsidiaries procure, produce or offer for sale and the extent to which they could involve human rights or environmental risks.

We will draw up a mission statement for you that describes your human rights strategy for the public and the market. We will also advise you on setting expectations for your employees and suppliers. Or we can review your existing mission statement to ascertain whether it fulfils the requirements of the Supply Chain Act.

We will support you in implementing appropriate and effective preventive measures for your company. For example, we can draft or adapt suppliers’ codes of conduct, work instructions and/or policies. We can provide your employees and/or suppliers with training sessions tailored to your individual needs as regards format and content (for example presentation or workshop, in person or online, in the necessary language(s)).

If you discover risks or violations related to your supply chain in your business activities or at your suppliers, we will support you in taking appropriate and effective remedial measures. These include, for example, investigating the circumstances of the matter and advising you on strategic next steps.

We will advise your company on setting up a complaints procedure and a complaints management system. If your company already has a complaints procedure, we will analyse the extent to which it will have to be adapted to the requirements of the Supply Chain Act. For example, we will advise you on the required reporting channels and/or languages for complaints, on how to ensure confidentiality and the protection of whistle-blowers and how the reporting and processing within your company should be organised.

We will advise your company on how to comply with documentation and archiving obligations. In particular, we will support you in organising a suitable documentation process, including throughout a group of companies.

We will help your company present the annual supply chain report to the Federal Office and the public in a timely manner and in the proper form. This also includes the question as to how the reporting lines in your company should be organised so that you can access the necessary information and data as efficiently as possible and analyse them for the report.

We will support you with a forensic investigation of any reported suspicious activities and/or violations of due diligence obligations. In particular, we will analyse and evaluate the relevant information, documents and data. Depending on the circumstances of a specific case, we can use artificial intelligence for an efficient analysis and conduct conversations with the parties involved.

We will assist your company in its dealings with authorities, especially those with the Federal Office or Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), defend you against penalties imposed by authorities such as fines or asset forfeiture and represent you in court if necessary.

We will defend you both in and out of court against claims for compensation for damage, especially by suppliers, unions and NGOs, in connection with supply chain due diligence requirements.

We will advise your company’s governing bodies comprehensively on liability issues that arise in connection with the statutory due diligence obligations while not losing sight of their insurance-related implications. If there is D&O insurance, we will support you, for example, in informing the insurer correctly and completely.

We will help you identify and implement any necessary crisis management measures. In the event of measures ordered by an authority, we will protect your (procedural) rights and enforce them. If your company is listed on a stock exchange, we will keep an eye on the applicable publication obligations and assess the extent to which the capital market is to be informed. We will also support you in creating a communications and PR strategy.