Sarah Chaplin and Sophie Fryer: Human rights and environmental supply chain risks for M&A investors

'An increasingly regulated area'

The importance of assessing supply chain risk is informed by a myriad of evolving and overlapping factors.

These include recent legislative developments, case law, developing societal expectations, stakeholder demands and a move away from ‘soft' law or ‘voluntary' ESG standards to hard law. Globally, it is an increasingly regulated area and, across jurisdictions, it is important to consider which frameworks apply, are on the horizon or are changing. Any specific M&A-driven due diligence across these areas should be risk-based, taking into consideration potential adverse impacts associated with the relevant company's sector, geography and activities, and should be focused on red flags and o...