Due Diligence: The shape of things to come

The Paris Court of Appeal recently ruled in favour of NGOs, allowing their claims against TotalEnergies and EDF to proceed. This move reflects a growing trend of corporate social responsibility obligations

The big picture: The ruling highlights the legal duty of care placed on multinationals to disclose risks. It reflects a growing trend of corporate social responsibility obligations. NGOs can now hold big corporations accountable for their environmental and human risks.

What's next: Expect an increase in similar cases as European laws on corporate social responsibility gain traction in the future. Multinationals might face multiple legal battles as NGOs leverage due diligence laws to pursue their agendas.

The bottom line: Where national legislators write laws that overreach and are unworkable, then the law of unintended consequences will kick in.