Hundreds will descend on Westminster on Wednesday, to lobby MPs for a new law to end corporate harm to people and the environment.
People from across the UK will be taking part in the Good Business Matters mass lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 21 October, to push for new legislation to end corporate harm
Over 50 businesses – including Sainsbury’s, Primark and ASOS are backing the call for a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act, along with over 90 MPs and Peers, supporting new legislation to level the playing field.
Hundreds of participants are travelling to Westminster to meet with their local MP(s) and call for the change, which is backed by over 80% of the public.
Spokespeople and speakers from around the globe will be available for interview – photocall from 12.30 at Victoria Tower Gardens.
Grassroots campaign groups, national organisations and concerned members of the public will gather in Westminster on Wednesday (21 October) to urge parliamentarians to back their demand for a new law to protect people and the environment from corporate harm.
Lucy Brill, CAFOD’s Private Sector Policy Lead, is attending the lobby, and said:
“The UK urgently needs stronger laws to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses and environmental destruction linked to their global supply chains. For too long, companies have been able to turn a blind eye to the harm caused by their operations.
“Today, CAFOD is joining the Corporate Justice Coalition, Friends of the Earth and other campaign groups in Westminster to demand the government introduce a long-overdue Business, Human Rights and Environment Act, requiring companies to prevent harm and holding them to account when they fail.
“As a faith-based organisation, we stand in solidarity with communities around the world whose lives, livelihoods and environments are being damaged by reckless business practices, notably in the mining of essential critical minerals.”
Around 400 people are expected to turn out to take part in the Good Business Matters mass lobby of Parliament, where they will meet with their local MP(s) as part of a collective drive to dial up pressure for the new legislation.
Anne, a CAFOD volunteer travelling down from the Wirral in Merseyside, said:
“We have all been concerned about water pollution at home and on our beaches and further afield with deforestation overseas, where UK companies have been getting off scot-free for driving harm to people and the planet.
“When corporations pollute and trash the environment it’s not just our natural world that takes a hit – it’s the communities who live there that also pay the price.
“That’s why we’re urging Angela Eagle MP to pledge her support for a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act. This would put an end to the impunity companies have enjoyed for too long, and ensure they’re finally held to account for the damage they cause.”
Coordinated by the Corporate Justice Coalition – an alliance of 70 partner organisations including the likes of CAFOD, Friends of the Earth, ActionAid and the TUC – it’s hoped the day of action will help to build support for a long-overdue UK Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.
The event comes as two government reviews that could recommend such legislation are soon expected to be published (see notes for more detail).
Right now, too many UK businesses are failing to act responsibly when it comes to preventing harm in their global supply chains, at a cost to people and the planet. This is the case both here in the UK and overseas – whether they’re linked to activities that are polluting the environment, fuelling deforestation, subjecting workers to exploitative labour practices or driving communities from their land.
So far, more than 90 MPs and Peers have signed the Good Business Matters pledge, 50 leading businesses – including Sainsbury’s, Primark and ASOS – support new legislation to level the playing field, and over 80% of the public say they would back such a law. It’s hoped the mass lobby will galvanise support for stronger legislation and compel the government to act.
Participants in the mass lobby will also be joined by speakers from communities around the globe who have been affected by corporate harm – from those facing conflicts over land and water due to encroaching soy plantations in Brazil, to Indigenous communities defending their way of life against precious metals mining in Guatemala, amid some of the highest rates of killings of environmental defenders in the world.
The day will begin with an event at 10.30am at Westminster Central Hall where participants will hear from representatives from affected communities, followed by a photocall and rally in Westminster at Victoria Tower Gardens at 12.30pm.
The mass lobby will then begin at 1.15pm, where participants will meet with their MPs at the Houses of Parliament (via Cromwell Green Entrance).
Journalists who would like to attend any part of the day, or arrange interviews with speakers from affected communities/spokespeople from across the Corporate Justice Coalition, should contact the Friends of the Earth press office by calling 020 7566 1649 or emailing media@foe.co.uk.
Notes to editors:
The day will begin with an event at 10.30am at Westminster Central Hall where participants will hear from representatives from affected communities, followed by a photocall and rally in Westminster at Victoria Tower Gardens at 12.30pm. The mass lobby will then begin at 1.15pm, where participants will meet with their MPs at the Houses of Parliament (via Cromwell Green Entrance). Journalists who would like to attend any part of the day, or arrange interviews with speakers from affected communities/spokespeople from across the Corporate Justice Coalition, should contact the Friends of the Earth press office by calling 020 7566 1649 or emailing media@foe.co.uk.
The lobby has been organised by the Corporate Justice Coalition, Friends of the Earth, ActionAid, Amnesty International, CAFOD, Earthsight, Fairtrade Foundation, Forest Peoples Programme, Labour Behind the Label, Peace Brigades International UK, Transform Trade, TUC, UNISON and Water Witness.
Spokespeople from organisations across the Corporate Justice Coalition will be available for interview at the mass lobby, including CJC co-directors Dominique Muller and Eleanor Rosenbach, and Friends of the Earth corporate accountability campaigner Clare Oxborrow. They will also be joined by a number of speakers hailing from across the globe who can speak to the corporate harms communities in their country contexts are facing.
Two government reviews that could recommend mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation are due to be published imminently. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade’s (DBIST) review of Responsible Business Conduct, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office’s (FCDO) Baseline assessment of the UK’s implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The Corporate Justice Coalition (CJC) is the UK’s leading network on corporate accountability. Our 70+ members span civil society organisations, trade unions, and legal experts who share the same goal: building a fairer, greener world. We campaign for rights, corporate accountability, and an end to impunity by championing new legislation in the UK and legislative processes internationally.
