On 17 September 2024, the webinar ‘LkSG and Green Button - How can the Green Button be put to use for the law?’ took place, organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Green Button Secretariat.  

Over 80 participants attended the online event to find out about the synergies between the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and the Green Button. The speakers at the webinar were Lucia de Carlo, Head of Division at the BMZ, Christine Moser-Priewich, Head of the Green Button Secretariat, and Florian Woitek-Kießling, Head of Division at the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA). They shed light on the question of what added value the Green Button offers for the implementation of the LkSG and where there are overlaps and discrepancies between the legal requirements and those of the Green Button.

The LkSG has been in force in Germany since January 2023. It obliges companies above a certain size to take responsibility for their supply chains - a practice that Green Button companies have been implementing voluntarily since 2019. To help companies fulfil the legal requirements, the Green Button Secretariat has compiled a comparison of the requirements of the LkSG with those of the Green Button. The complete comparison of the requirements can be found here. 

 The results of the comparison are encouraging: Green Button-licensed companies are already well prepared for the LkSG and in some cases even better positioned than the legislator currently expects. These companies are in a particularly good position with regard to the declaration of principles and prevention measures for direct suppliers.

The participants were able to familiarise themselves with the results of the comparison and the lessons learnt by BAFA to date in implementing the law and ask their questions. The video recording of the webinar is available on YouTube.

We would like to thank all participants for their great interest and numerous questions!