Land grabbing, low wages and the contamination of drinking water – EDEKA reacted inadequately to an earlier complaint that raised serious allegations of human rights violations and environmental pollution in its palm oil supply chain. For this reason, members of affected indigenous communities from Guatemala, with the support of foodwatch and ECCHR, filed a complaint under the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) with the Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA). The BAFA is to determine whether EDEKA has failed to meet its due diligence obligations, in particular by not engaging in meaningful consultation with those affected, and by not putting in place remedial measures to address the human rights violations that have occurred.
Consultation- and due diligence obligations disregarded
EDEKA has been informed of the allegations against its suspected Guatemalan supplier NaturAceites since 2019. Nevertheless, the corporation neither responded adequately when the LkSG came into force, nor to the complaint submitted in January 2024 through the company's internal complaints mechanism. The LkSG obliges EDEKA to discuss allegations with the affected communities. “EDEKA has not fulfilled its duty to consult,” says Don Pedro Cuc Pan, a member of the Chapin Abajo community. “At no point did the company seek dialogue with us, despite our repeated offers to engage in conversation.” In particular, EDEKA refused to engage in discussions requested by ECCHR on behalf of those affected. “The supply chain law requires EDEKA to meaningfully engage with those who might be negatively affected by the activities in its supply chain,” says Theresa Mockel, Legal Advisor at ECCHR. “By refusing to speak to those affected, EDEKA exhibits a failure to respect one of its core human rights due diligence obligations.”
Sustainability labels cannot replace due diligence obligations
Instead of meaningfully engaging with affected persons and communities to provide remedy and take effective measures to prevent further human rights violations and environmental pollution, EDEKA continues to rely on the inadequate Roundtable Seal for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). After the RSPO suspended the certification of NaturAceites in two out of five cases last year due to the allegations, the certificates have now been completely revoked. This affects the oil mills that are supplied by the plantations, where most of the violations affecting the complainants occur. However, the human rights violations and environmental pollution continue. “Sustainability labels do not relieve companies of their human rights due diligence obligations – especially when, as in the case of the RSPO, there are repeated reports of serious human rights violations and environmental damage by certified producers. This shows once again that promises of sustainability are often unreliable,” says Rauna Bindewald from foodwatch.
Find out more about the case here and about the German Supply Chain Act here.
