CHILE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Joaquin Schafër, VGC Abogados
HRDD throughout their supply chain. In 2017, France amended its Commercial Code and now requires a devoir de vigilance (vigilance duty) for a large percentage of French companies ( Loi de Vigilance , 2017). Germany followed suit and enacted a law requiring HRDD for companies operating on its territory ( Lieferkettensorgfaltsp- flichtengesetz , 2021). Notwithstanding their dif - ferences, both laws establish penalties, through either tort law or administrative sanctions. How - ever, the big shift came in 2024, when the Euro - pean Union (EU) enacted its Directive 2024/1760 on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSD - DD). Within two years of its enactment, member states will have to transpose these rules into domestic law. Outside Europe, Australia has enacted modern slavery regulations, like HRDD, at federal and state levels. In this case, Australian companies – which are competitors with Chilean companies in markets like mining – are already familiar with these standards. Lastly, it is worth recalling Chile’s membership of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having become the first South American state to become a member of the organisation, in 2010. The OECD has enact - ed several instruments on corporate sustainabil - ity, with the main one being the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. This originated in the 1970s but has been continuously revised (eg, to conform to the UNGPs); its latest revision was in 2023, when it was renamed the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Busi - ness Conduct. Moreover, in its diagnostics, the OECD has highlighted that the greatest chal - lenges and developments have taken place in the extractive industries – eg, mining and agri - culture. To comply with OECD standards, Chile has implemented its National Contact Point
(NCP) for Responsible Business Conduct. These are spaces for dialogue to resolve differences, where the NCP seeks to contribute through dialogue between the actors and stakeholders involved. Corporate sustainability in Chilean law The issue of business and human rights has been addressed in a mixed way by the legisla - ture and public agencies in Chile. Chilean law does not have a particular regulation or law on corporate sustainability, nor does it require com - panies to implement HRDD in their operations. Instead, what can be observed are advances in specific areas in consideration of the aspects that define sustainable development. In the corporate case, General Rule No 461, enacted in 2021 by the Financial Market Com - mission, is worth noting. It sets the rules on sus - tainability standards for corporate governance in the annual report of listed companies sub - ject to its supervision. In this regard, it requires companies to report whether they adhere to the UNGPs and how they implement a human rights approach in their governance structure. In environmental matters, the 2023 enactment of Law No 21.595 on Economic Crimes is worth highlighting, in addition to the bills under discus - sion that seek to reform environmental institu- tions. This law creates a system of economic and environmental crimes, and modifies the statute of criminal liability of legal persons, with the aim of criminally prosecuting companies and those responsible. Furthermore, the Superintend - ence of the Environment (SMA) has published an annual report on human rights in 2024 and 2025, which addresses how the public agency implements Chile’s international environmental and human rights obligations in its discipline and punishment tasks.
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