Green Human Resource Management

Opportunities and challenges for our clients

Although the transformation processes in the area of environmental social governance (ESG) and sustainable corporate management pose enormous challenges for companies and the German economy, they also offer an – often still underestimated – opportunity to position themselves early on with an ESG strategy and set themselves apart from the competitors in order to survive on the market and in the "war for talent" in the future.

As one of the central pillars, the "S" in ESG, i.e. the social sustainability strand, is shaped in particular by labour law and human resource management (HRM). The topics of sustainability in HRM (so-called "Green" HRM) and responsible corporate governance will therefore have a decisive influence on the working lives of C-level managers and HR staff in the future. Not only because the importance of sustainability has been raised to a new legal level with enactment of the Supply Chain Sustainability Act (“Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichengesetz” – "LkSG" or "Supply Chain Act"), but also because the sustainability of the employer is becoming an increasingly important factor for more and more employees.

In addition to sustainable remuneration models and flexible work location models (mobile working and workation) as well as working hours, the aspects relevant to Green HRM under employment law include, in particular, the implementation of an open and sustainable communication and corporate culture, health and safety in the workplace, environmentally friendly employee mobility and employee retention through training and qualification programmes.

Our legal services at a glance

Rödl & Partner advises companies from a wide range of industries on Green HRM issues in the areas of labour, social and tax law, whereby labour law is a decisive factor for implementation within the context of ESG compliance.

We support our clients from sounding out the status quo of ESG criteria and examining the existing legal framework, to developing an adaptable Green HRM concept with the insights gained, to implementing the ESG compliance concept through codes of conduct, guidelines, collective agreements, works agreements and/or employment contracts. The reason for this is that various complex legal aspects must be taken into account both in the run-up to and during the implementation of the respective measures.

Our legal service portfolio in detail

Review of the status quo and the existing and applicable legal ESG framework
Development and review of sustainable working conditions, e.g. working time, health protection and/or remuneration models along with alternative working models and forms as well as measures to attract and retain employees
Examination of the remuneration structure of the members of the management board to determine whether these fulfil the requirements of the Act Implementing the Second Shareholder Rights Directive (German: Gesetz zur Umsetzung der zweiten Aktionärsrichtlinie (ARUG II)), which has a focus on the sustainable and long-term development of the company
Advice in regard to the Supply Chain Act, in particular with regard to the declaration of principles on the human rights strategy to be submitted in accordance with sec. 6 para. 2 LkSG and its implementation
Advice and support in the development of a Green HR concept and the necessary change process towards sustainable HR management
Preparing the involvement of employee representatives and supporting negotiations with work councils and trade unions, as well as enforcing rights in court or in conciliation bodies
Extrajudicial and judicial representation in the event of allegations of discrimination of any kind and unequal pay
Drafting codes of conduct, guidelines, collective agreements, work agreements and/or employment contracts for the purpose of implementing a Green HR concept and/or ESG compliance system.