Strong support for responsible business initiative
Public support for Switzerland’s so-called responsible business initiative now stands at 78%, 11 percentage points up on February 2019, according to an opinion poll.
Some 43% were “in favour” and 35% “quite in favour”, while 5% were against and 9% undecided, according to the poll by the Link institute. It was carried out from May 5-12 among 1,038 people aged 18-79.
The initiativeExternal link, which is supported by numerous organisations, aims to make companies headquartered in Switzerland respect human rights and the environment throughout the world. It calls for mandatory human rights due diligence and for companies to be held liable for damage caused by companies under their control.
The Senate and the House of Representatives have both rejected the initiative, considering it too “excessive”, but they have not yet managed to agree on a counter-proposal. The Senate is due to examine the issue again at the beginning of its next session. If parliament does come up with a counter-proposal, the initiative is likely to be withdrawn.
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