Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtgesetz - Definitions

A human rights risk within the meaning of the LkSG is a condition in which, based on actual circumstances, there is a sufficient probability that one of the following prohibitions will be violated:

1. the prohibition of employing a child under the age at which compulsory education ends according to the law of the place of employment, whereby the employment age may not be less than 15 years; this does not apply if the law of the place of employment is in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 4 and Articles 4 to 8 of Convention No. 138 of the International Labor Organization of June 26, 1973 on the minimum age for admission to employment (BGBl. 1976 II p . 201, 202) differs;

2. banning the worst forms of child labor for children under 18; This includes in accordance with Article 3 of Convention No. 182 of the International Labor Organization of June 17, 1999 on the prohibition and immediate measures to eliminate the worst forms of child labor (BGBl. 2001 II p. 1290, 1291

   1. all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and servitude, and forced or compulsory labor, including the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflicts,
   2. recruiting, procuring or offering a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances,
   3. the recruitment, mediation or offering of a child to illicit activities, in particular for the extraction and trafficking of drugs,
   4. work which, by its nature or by reason of the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to be harmful to the health, safety or morals of children;
3. the prohibition of employing people in forced labor; This includes any work or service that is required of a person under threat of punishment and for which the person has not volunteered, for example as a result of debt bondage or human trafficking; Excluded from forced labor are work or services that are in accordance with Article 2 paragraph 2 of Convention No. 29 of the International Labor Organization of June 28, 1930 on forced or compulsory labor (BGBl. 1956 II p. 640, 641) or with Article 8 letter b and c of the International Pact of December 19, 1966 on civil and political rights (BGBl. 1973 II p. 1533, 1534) are compatible;
4. the prohibition of all forms of slavery, slave-like practices, serfdom or other forms of domination or oppression in the workplace environment, for example through extreme economic or sexual exploitation and humiliation;

5. the prohibition of disregarding the occupational health and safety obligations applicable under the law of the place of employment if this creates a risk of accidents at work or work-related health risks, in particular due to:

   1. obviously inadequate safety standards in the provision and maintenance of the workplace, workplace and work equipment,
   2. the lack of suitable protective measures to avoid exposure to chemical, physical or biological substances,
   3. the lack of measures to prevent excessive physical and mental fatigue, in particular due to inappropriate work organization in terms of working hours and rest breaks or
   4. the inadequate training and instruction of employees;

6. the ban on disregarding the freedom of association, according to which

   1. Employees can freely organize or join trade unions,
   2. the formation, joining and membership of a trade union may not be used as a reason for unjustified discrimination or retaliation,
   3. trade unions may operate freely and in accordance with the law of the place of employment; this includes the right to strike and the right to collective bargaining;
7. the prohibition of unequal treatment in employment, for example on the basis of national and ethnic origin, social origin, health status, disability, sexual orientation, age, gender, political opinion, religion or belief, unless this is justified by the requirements of the employment; Unequal treatment includes, in particular, the payment of unequal pay for work of equal value;
8. the prohibition of withholding a fair wage; the appropriate wage is at least the minimum wage established by applicable law and is otherwise determined by the law of the place of employment;

9. the prohibition of causing harmful soil changes, water pollution, air pollution, harmful noise emissions or excessive water consumption, which

   1. the natural basis for the preservation and production of food is significantly impaired,
   2. denies a person access to safe drinking water,
   3. a person's access to sanitary facilities is made difficult or destroyed or
   4. harms a person's health;
10. the prohibition of unlawful forced eviction and the prohibition of unlawful deprivation of land, forests and waters in the acquisition, development or other use of land, forests and waters, the use of which secures a person's livelihood;

11. the prohibition on the commissioning or use of private or public security guards to protect the corporate project if due to a lack of training or control on the part of the company when using the security guards

    1. the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is ignored,
    2. life or limb are injured or
    3. freedom of association and freedom of association are impaired;
12. the prohibition of any act or omission that goes beyond numbers 1 to 11 and which is directly likely to have a particularly serious impact on a protected legal position and whose illegality is obvious when all the circumstances in question are intelligently assessed.

A environmental risk within the meaning of the LkSG is a condition in which, based on actual circumstances, there is a sufficient probability that one of the following prohibitions will be violated:

1. the ban on the production of products containing mercury in accordance with Article 4 Paragraph 1 and Annex A Part I of the Minamata Convention of October 10, 2013 on Mercury (BGBl. 2017 II p. 610, 611) (Minamata Convention);
2. the prohibition of the use of mercury and mercury compounds in manufacturing processes within the meaning of Article 5(2) and Annex B, Part I of the Minamata Convention from the phase-out date specified for the relevant products and processes in the Convention;
3. the prohibition of the treatment of mercury waste contrary to the provisions of Article 11(3) of the Minamata Convention;
4. the ban on the production and use of chemicals in accordance with Article 3 paragraph 1 letter a and Annex A of the Stockholm Convention of May 23, 2001 on persistent organic pollutants (BGBl. 2002 II p. 803, 804) (POPs Convention), last amended by the resolution of May 6, 2005 (BGBl. 2009 II p. 1060, 1061), in the version of Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 20, 2019 on persistent organic pollutants (OJ L 169 of May 26, 2019, p. 45), which was last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/277 of December 16, 2020 (OJ L 62, February 23, 2021, p. 1);
5. the prohibition of non-environmentally sound handling, collection, storage and disposal of waste in accordance with the rules applicable in the applicable legal system in accordance with Article 6(1)(d)(i) and (ii) of the POPs Agreement;

6. the ban on the export of hazardous waste within the meaning of Article 1 paragraph 1 and other waste within the meaning of Article 1 paragraph 2 of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary shipments of hazardous waste and their disposal of March 22, 1989 (BGBl. 1994 II p. 2703 , 2704) (Basel Convention), last amended by the third regulation amending appendices to the Basel Convention of March 22, 1989 of May 6, 2014 (BGBl. II p. 306, 307), and in the sense of the regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste (OJ L 190, 12.7.2006, p. 1) (Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006), last passed by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2174 of October 19, 2020 (OJ L 433 of December 22, 2020, p. 11) has been amended

   1. to a Party that has prohibited the importation of such hazardous and other wastes (Article 4(1)(b) of the Basel Convention),
   2. to an importing State within the meaning of Article 2(11) of the Basel Convention which has not given its written consent to the specific importation, if this importing State has not prohibited the importation of these hazardous wastes (Article 4(1)(c) of the Basel Convention),
   3. to a non-party to the Basel Convention (Article 4(5) of the Basel Convention),
   4. to an importing state if such hazardous waste or other waste is not treated in an environmentally sound manner in that state or elsewhere (Article 4 paragraph 8 sentence 1 of the Basel Convention);
7. the ban on the export of hazardous waste from states listed in Annex VII of the Basel Convention to states not listed in Annex VII (Article 4A of the Basel Convention, Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006) and
8. the prohibition of imports of hazardous waste and other waste from a non-contracting party to the Basel Convention (Article 4(5) of the Basel Convention).

The Supply chain within the meaning of the LkSG refers to all products and services of a company. It includes all steps at home and abroad that are necessary to manufacture the products and provide the services, from the extraction of raw materials to delivery to the end customer

1. the actions of a company in its own business area,
2. the actions of a direct supplier and
3. the actions of an indirect supplier.