Hamburg entrepreneur Michael Otto warns of the abolition of the German supply chain law.
“The principle is correct that we have the supply chain law and also need,” said Otto in an interview with the German Press Agency in Hamburg. “We have to be careful not to make a role backwards and believe that we have to move everything, delete, change.” It was correct that companies would have to worry about social and environmental standards.
The national supply chain law, which has been in force since the beginning of 2023, obliges companies of a certain size to comply with social and environmental standards in the global supply chains. In the election program, the CDU speaks to abolish it. The EU Commission wants to postpone and weaken the European supply chain law, which also exists. The first implementation periods should apply in 2028 instead of 2027.
Otto demands: Simplify reporting obligations
Otto basically considers the German supply chain law to be correct, but he expresses criticism of so -called reporting obligations. The national law and other rules at EU level oblige companies to submit reports. Otto said that reporting should be simplified. Due to the various regulations, companies would have to answer hundreds of questions, some of which were similar but are not identical, which is why one still has to deal with everyone.
Otto, 81, is one of the most famous and wealthiest entrepreneurs in Germany. For 26 years he headed the mail order company founded by his father in Hamburg and expanded it into an international group, today’s Otto Group. According to its own statements, this has been committed to social and environmental standards in the supply chain for more than two decades.