GvW advises Welthungerhilfe on German Supply Chain Act

GvW Graf von Westphalen was instructed by Welthungerhilfe, a German private aid organisation committed to fighting hunger in the world, to examine the implications of the organisation’s Food Security Standard (FSS) in the light of the German Supply Chain Act [Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – LkSG]. As part of this assignment, our lawyers not only provided an extensive legal opinion but also held two webinars on the topic.

FSS certification is a tool for businesses, sustainability standards and consumers to check whether the human right to food has been complied with at the first stage of the supply chain, thus making an important contribution to ensuring people in food-insecure countries have enough to eat.

Following entry into force of the LkSG, the question arises as to whether and to what extent the FSS provides a reliable measure of compliance with the human rights and environmental obligations under the new Act. Dr Lothar Harings and Max Jürgens (both of Hamburg) analysed this question in their legal opinion and formulated recommendations for improvements of the “FSS-Toolbox”. They concluded that FSS certification provides a high degree of certainty that a certified company complies with all legal positions protected by the LkSG. Especially thanks to the comprehensive audit procedure it includes, FSS certification qualifies as a preventive measure pursuant to the new Act. The “FSS-Toolbox” feature allows companies to fulfil further due diligence obligations under the LkSG.

The FSS project is operated by Welthungerhilfe in partnership with Meo Carbon Solutions with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Exert Agency for Renewable Resources [Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. – FNR]. GvW was retained for this project following a tender invitation by Welthungerhilfe. For some time, large corporations, medium-sized companies and the public sector have trusted the expertise of the team around Dr Lothar Harings in relation to due diligence obligations under the LkSG. In addition to its legal tech tool “ESG-Check”, which allows businesses to run a free initial check of their supply chain risks, the firm also assisted, for example, its client osapiens in relation to its development of the “Supplier OS” software for holistic supply chain management.

While the German Supply Chain Act came into force on 1 January 2023, the EU Supply Chain Directive has not yet been passed. To ensure better protection of human and children’s rights, the proposal of the European Commission goes beyond the provisions of German law. The Directive is expected to be passed in 2024.