CORPORATE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND DUE DILIGENCE DUTIES

HUMAN RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, AND CORPORATE COMPLIANCE

Abstract

Corporate socio-environmental responsibility has assumed a central role in contemporary business law as the intensification of global value chains generates significant impacts on human rights and the environment. This article analyzes the legal and institutional obligation of private companies to adopt structured socio-environmental due diligence practices, understood as an integral element of corporate governance with a social dimension rather than an isolated voluntary initiative. The study adopts a qualitative juridical-analytical approach based on the systematization and comparative analysis of European and Brazilian regulatory instruments, as well as specialized academic literature, with the aim of identifying recurring analytical categories and patterns of accountability. The theoretical framework articulates elements such as human rights and the protection of the social and environmental function of the company, examining the transition from voluntary models to regulatory regimes that impose more robust duties of prevention and remediation of adverse impacts. The findings reveal an ongoing process of juridification of corporate socio-environmental responsibility characterized by the expansion of duties throughout value chains, the growing centrality of transparency and sustainability oversight, and the progressive integration between environmental due diligence and human rights due diligence. At the same time, relevant limitations to the effectiveness of these regimes are identified, associated with regulatory fragmentation, reliance on internal risk assessments, and regulatory asymmetries among legal systems. In the Brazilian context, the study indicates the existence of a robust environmental legal framework that remains insufficiently articulated with an integrated regime of human rights due diligence, leading to the conclusion that the effectiveness of corporate socio-environmental accountability depends on a coherent articulation between corporate governance and control mechanisms capable of translating normative expectations into concrete business practices.