“Classic Own Goal”: Karin Keller-Sutter Against Corporate Responsibility Initiative

Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter explains the Federal Council’s position on the corporate responsibility initiative.

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(wap / sat) Become the Corporate Responsibility Initiative (Kovi) at
Assuming November 29, Swiss companies would no longer have equally long stakes in international competition. With this argument, Karin Keller-Sutter opened the Federal Council’s campaign against the Kovi. The federal counselor has stressed that everyone agreed on the issue: “We all want respect for people and the environment.” But the initiative is not the appropriate medium.

For the Federal Council, the stumbling block is corporate responsibility, which stipulates that Swiss companies must also be held responsible for the conduct of their subsidiaries or their dependent suppliers. This regulation would be unique in the world, Keller-Sutter said. Swiss entrepreneurs would thus be subject to stricter rules than foreign competition, the initiative is a classic own goal and threatens prosperity and employment in Switzerland.

Counterproductive effect on people and the environment

It was not clear whether the corporate responsibility initiative would do anything to improve the environment and people in developing countries, Keller-Sutter said. In practical implementation, it could backfire. Swiss companies that made a valuable contribution with their investments and jobs in developing countries could retire. “One might wonder who will jump into the gap then,” Keller-Sutter said. After all, Swiss companies in particular have a reputation for acting responsibly.

However, the initiative could also have a counterproductive effect on the diplomatic floor, which is important for Switzerland. Because it puts Swiss law above the law of other countries. Foreign affiliates would have to be held responsible for acts that are prohibited in Switzerland but legal in their country. This is a violation of the sovereignty of other countries. Furthermore, it is practically impossible to implement: “According to Swiss law, the regional court of Emmental-Oberaargau would have to judge whether a cocoa supplier in Côte d’Ivoire has violated human rights,” Keller-Sutter said.

With a counterproposal against a broad alliance

To create more transparency and still make Swiss companies more accountable when it comes to activities abroad, the Federal Council now supports Parliament’s indirect counterproposal that was decided in the summer after years of back and forth. This wants to introduce new due diligence and reporting requirements, but gives up controversial corporate responsibility. However, the counterproposal only takes effect if the popular initiative is rejected.

Voting on the corporate responsibility initiative will take place on November 29. The initiative aims to hold companies accountable for the behavior of their subsidiaries and suppliers abroad. This is if they commit violations of human rights or environmental standards. The Kovi is fought in particular by the bourgeois parties FDP, CVP and SVP and by the economic umbrella organization Economiesuisse. These are behind the counterproposal of the Federal Parliament. The Federal Council also rejects the initiative and, after a hairpin, supports the Parliament’s counterproposal.

The EPP, Greens, BDP and SP, as well as numerous churches and development organizations, recommend a yes to the federal popular initiative “For Responsible Business: Protecting People and the Environment”, as Kovi is officially called. The exponents of all the bourgeois parties also supported the popular initiative. A committee of business personalities has also been promoting it for years. Behind the initiative is a non-partisan committee chaired by former FDP States Councilor Dick Marty and law professor Monika Roth.