Individual on behalf of LICZNIK social movement vs. Valeo Autosystemy

Date filed

9 February 2020

Keywords

Countries of harm

Poland

Current status

No resolution

Sector

Manufacturing

NCP

NCP Poland

Allegations

On 9 February 2020, an individual representing the LICZNIK social movement established by the residents of Skawina, Poland filed a specific instance to the Polish NCP.

The complainants allege that Polish enterprise Valeo Autosystemy Sp. z o.o, a global supplier involved in car manufacturing, had not observed General Policies, Human Rights, and Environment Chapters of the OECD Guidelines. Specifically, the complainants allege that the company’s operations have caused adverse environmental impacts in Skawina through odor nuisance, excessive noise, and air pollution. The members of the LICZNIK movement had met several times with local representatives and councillors of the Municipal and Communal Office in Skawina, reporting odor nuisances that could still be felt and presenting proposals for solving the problem.

Valeo Autosystemy is part of the Valeo Group, headquartered in France. The French NCP agreed to support the Poland NCP in the complaint.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

On 30 September 2020, the Polish NCP accepted the case for further consideration. On 18 January 2021, the NCP published its initial assessment and offered its good offices to the parties, which were accepted by both parties.

On 24 January 2024, the NCP published its final statement. Several meetings took place between 2021 and 2023, including six meetings involving both parties and separate meetings between the NCP and each individual party. It was agreed during the first meeting that the issue of noise nuisance was no longer an issue in the complaint, but the issues of odour nuisance and air pollution remained. As part of its good offices, the NCP developed a proposal for an agreement between the parties. The complainant also proposed a partial agreement addressing only one aspect of their expectations, namely how the company would communicate with local community representatives and other stakeholders, which was subsequently abandoned. Ultimately, the parties failed to reach an agreement.

The NCP made several recommendations to the company, including to implement appropriate due diligence procedures in relation to environmental issues and respect for human rights, to conduct detailed risk assessments, and to systematically provide up-to-date information to representatives of local communities on the potential environmental, health, and safety impacts of the company’s activities.

The Polish NCP will follow-up on its recommendations in January 2025.