Change the culture

 

https://mobile.twitter.com/DGlaucomflecken/status/1452065273901584384

https://mobile.twitter.com/DGlaucomflecken/status/1452065273901584384

msdogfood@hotmail.com.

Change the culture pic.twitter.com/Mg3xJwwDKL

— Dr. Glaucomflecken (@DGlaucomflecken) October 24, 2021

Updated version of Rice University’s DIY ventilation unit gets FDA emergency use authorization

Updated version of Rice University’s DIY ventilation unit gets FDA emergency use authorization




A refined version of the do-it-yourself ventilation unit originally designed by undergraduate engineering students at Rice University and further developed by the Houston manufacturer Stewart & Stevenson Healthcare Technologies has won emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The Apollo ABVM, an automated bag valve mask device, has been approved as an emergency resuscitator for COVID-19 patients in need of a ventilator. Intended as a bridge device for patients who cannot access a traditional ventilator, the programmable Apollo ABVM supplies air into the lungs in a continuous manner until a traditional ventilator is available.

The device, originally created at Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) by undergraduate students, was called the ApolloBVM. But after the COVID-19 pandemic created a global need for medical ventilation alternatives, engineering experts at the OEDK and a Rice undergraduate student joined forces with Rohith Malya, M.D., an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and an adjunct assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice, to further refine the unit. Instructions for the device are available for download on the Rice University website so that it can be built anywhere in the world—for parts totaling less than $300. According a Rice University news release, the plans have been accessed nearly 3,000 times by individuals in 115 different countries.


The original device called the Apollo BVM was created by Rice University undergraduates.

“We were hearing that there was a crisis, and there was a challenge that needed to be solved,” said OEDK Executive Director Amy Kavalewitz in an interview about the device in April of this year. “…We say all the time that if this device helps one person survive, then every bit of this effort was worth it.”

But the device’s lifespan wouldn’t end there. The design was picked up for manufacturing by Stewart & Stevenson, which enhanced the DIY version into a sturdier system intended to be easily portable for emergencies. According to a news release put out by Stewart & Stevenson, the device “was refined by S&S to meet the standard for FDA emergency use authorization and make it ready for high volume production.”

The FDA emergency use authorization, which allows for the use of unapproved medical products during emergencies to treat life-threatening diseases or conditions when there are no available alternatives, will last for the duration of the emergency circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joe Reniers, president of Kirby Distribution and Services, of which Stewart & Stevenson is a subsidiary, said in the news release that the emergency use authorization was an important milestone and that the company “can now commence manufacturing and distribution of this low-cost device to the front lines, providing healthcare professionals with a sturdy and portable ventilation device for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

msdogfood@hotmail.com

Rice University engineers design DIY ventilation unit

Rice University engineers design DIY ventilation unit




As news of ventilator shortages in areas hit hard by COVID-19 grew, a team at Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK), together with global health design firm Metric Technologies, worked to refine an easy-to-assemble ventilation unit originally created by undergraduate engineering students.

The ApolloBVM (BVM stands for bag valve mask) is not intended to be used in place of a ventilator when one is available, but rather as a bridge device. While typical bag valve masks pump air into the lungs by hand, this device is automated, making it highly desirable for patients in need of continuous support. The unit is made from easy-to-acquire materials and features adult, child and pediatric settings.








“Our technicians got together with one whiz-kid student and decided to redesign it and make it super simple,” said Amy Kavalewitz, OEDK executive director. “Working with Dr. Rohith Malya from Baylor as our advisor, they redesigned it in a way where, if you had the tools and you had the equipment and you had some basic knowledge of how to build a device, you could put one of these together.”

Malya, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, an adjunct assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice and a principal at Metric Technologies, worked closely with Danny Blacker, OEDK’s engineering design supervisor, and Rice University then-senior “whiz-kid” Thomas Herring.

In early April, the team published instructions for the unit online for anyone who wished to build one. Cost for parts is less than $300. Since then, the team has contracted with Houston-based Stewart & Stevenson to manufacture the device, and they are working on emergency approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin production.
Tags | ApolloBVM, Baylor College of Medicine, COVID-19, Next Med, OEDK, Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, Rice University, ventilator

msdogfood@hotmail.com

this is a list of institutions of the Texas Medical Center.

t

his is a list of institutions of the Texas Medical Center. TMC
Patient care institutions
Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, affiliated with and partially owned by Baylor College of Medicine.
Ben Taub General Hospital, part of the Harris Health System, Level 1 trauma hospital affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)
Houston Methodist Hospital, affiliated with Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College
John Sealy Hospital, Level 1 trauma center affiliated with UTMB at Galveston [1][2]
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Level 1 trauma center affiliated with McGovern Medical School (formerly UTHealth Medical School)
Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital
Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, affiliated with BCM
Rebecca Sealy Hospital, part of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.[1][2]
Shriner's Hospital for Children — Galveston, burn care unit [1][2]
Shriners Hospitals for Children — Houston
Texas Children's Hospital, affiliated with BCM
TIRR Memorial Hermann, affiliated with BCM and McGovern Medical School
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, affiliated with BCM, McGovern Medical School, UTMB Galveston, and Texas A&M Health Science Center
Educational institutions
Academic and research institutions
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library
Houston Community College System — Health Science Programs
Houston Methodist Hospital
Houston Methodist Research Institute
Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart Center
Methodist Neurological Institute
Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Prairie View A&M College of Nursing
Rice University-BioScience Research Collaborative
Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT)
Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Cancer Center
Texas Heart Institute
Texas Woman's University Institute of Health Sciences, Houston
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston[1][2][3]
Galveston National Laboratory[1][2]
Secondary schools
Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions — named after Michael E. DeBakey
Support facilities[




Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center
John P. McGovern Museum of Health and Medical Science
Ronald McDonald House of Houston
Ronald McDonald House of Galveston
YMCA Child Care Center in the Texas Medical Center
The Menninger Clinic
DePelchin Children's Center
Sabin Vaccine Institute
References


^ "UTMB Joins Texas Medical Center: UTMB Is About 50 Miles Away From Texas Medical Center". KPRC Click2Houston. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04. Retrieved 2010-05-13.^ Jump up to:a b c d e Kappes, Hayley. "UTMB partners with Texas Medical Center". Galveston Daily News. Retrieved 2010-05-13.[permanent dead link]
^ Jump up to:a b c d e WENDLER, RHONDA (2010-03-15). "UTMB-Galveston Now a Texas Medical Center Institution". Texas Medical Center News. Retrieved 2012-04-21.[permanent dead link]

msdogfood@hotmail.com

The Texas Medical Center (TMC)

The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is a 2.1-square-mile (5.4 km2)[1] medical district and neighborhood in south-central Houston, Texas, immediately south of the Museum District and west of Texas State Highway 288. Over 60 medical institutions, largely concentrated in a triangular area between Brays Bayou, Rice University, and Hermann Park, are members of the Texas Medical Center Corporation—a non-profit umbrella organization—which constitutes the largest medical complex in the world.[1] The TMC has an extremely high density of clinical facilities for patient care, basic science, and translational research.[1][2][3]

The Texas Medical Center employs over 106,000 people, hosts 10 million patient encounters annually, and has a gross domestic product of US$25 billion.[1] Over the decades, the TMC has expanded south of Brays Bayou towards NRG Park, and the organization has developed ambitious plans for a new "innovation campus" south of the river.[4] The 4.93-square-mile (12.8 km2) Medical Center / Astrodome area, highly populated with medical workers, is home to over 20,000 people.[5][6]

The TMC is served by the METRORail Red Line, a north-south light rail route which connects the district to Downtown Houston and NRG Park.


Contents
Overview
Texas Medical Center CorporationFormation 1945
Type Non-profit
Location

Houston, Texas, U.S.

President and Chief Executive Officer William F. McKeon

Volunteers 12,000
Website www.tmc.edu

Main article: List of Texas Medical Center institutions

The Texas Medical Center contains 54 medicine-related institutions, with 21 hospitals and eight specialty institutions, eight academic and research institutions, four medical schools, seven nursing schools, three public health organizations, two pharmacy schools and a dental school.[7] All 54 institutions are not-for-profit. Among the affiliated medical schools are the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Texas A&M College of Medicine. Some member institutions are located outside the city of Houston.

In 2016, more heart surgeries were performed at the Texas Medical Center than anywhere else in the world with 13,600 heart surgeries annually. 180,000 annual surgeries were performed. The TMC performed one surgery every three minutes. Over 25,000 babies were delivered each year, more than one baby every 20 minutes. The Texas Medical Center offered over 9,200 total patient beds.[8]

The Center receives an average of 3,300 patient visits a day, and over eight million annual patient visits, including over 18,000 international patients. The TMC has over 750,000 ER visitors each year. In 2011, the center employed over 106,000 people, including 20,000 physicians, scientists, researchers and other advanced degree professionals in the life sciences.[9] The TMC has over 160,000 visitors each day.

The Texas Medical Center houses the world's largest children's hospital (Texas Children's Hospital), as well as the world's largest cancer hospital (MD Anderson Cancer Center).
History[
Founding and early years

Main Street within the Texas Medical Center, viewed from the Baylor College of Medicine (view towards Downtown Houston)


The Texas Medical Center was established in 1945, in part by funds endowed to the M.D. Anderson Foundation by businessman Monroe Dunaway Anderson.[10] The fund's first gift was a check of $1,000 to the Junior League Eye Fund for eyeglasses. In 1941, the Texas State Legislature granted funds to the University of Texas for the purpose of starting a cancer research hospital. The M.D. Anderson Foundation matched the state's gift to the university by supplying funds and land on the condition that the hospital be established in Houston and named after its founder.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved the purchase of 118 acres (0.48 km2) from the estate of local entrepreneur George Hermann (namesake of Hermann Park) in 1944 for the construction of a 1,000-bed naval hospital in Houston. The hospital, later renamed the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, opened in 1946 and became a teaching facility for Baylor College of Medicine. In 1946, several projects were approved for inclusion in the Texas Medical Center including:
Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center (whose campus was pre-existing in the district, having been built in the 1920s)
Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Houston Methodist Hospital
The Shriners Crippled Children's Hospital (now known as Shriners Hospitals for Children)
The Texas Medical Center Library

M.D. Anderson Hospital for Cancer Research of the University of Texas began construction in 1953. Texas Children's Hospital admitted its first patient in 1954.

During the late 1950s, the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research opened. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston added the Gimbel Research Wing. Texas Woman's University Nursing Program began instruction.

In 1962, the Texas Heart Institute was chartered and became affiliated with Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center (known then as St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital) and Texas Children's Hospital. Ben Taub General Hospital of the Harris Health System (known then as Harris County Hospital District) opened in 1963.

The TMC Library provides access to thousands of current digital books and journals and its John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center houses rare medical books dating back to the 1500s, historical manuscripts such as the McGovern Collection on the History of Medicine, the Menninger Collection of Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis, and the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission which recorded the aftereffects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.


Recent history and developments

In 1993, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center began a $248.6-million expansion project which constructed an inpatient pavilion with 512 beds, two research buildings, an outpatient clinic building, a faculty office building, and a patient-family hotel. From 2005 to present, the George and Cynthia Mitchell Basic Sciences Research Building, the Ambulatory Clinical Building, the Cancer Prevention Center and a new research building on the South Campus opened. The Proton Therapy Center, the largest facility in the United States where proton therapy is used to treat cancer, opened in July 2006.[11]

In 2001, the Texas Medical Center was devastated by Tropical Storm Allison, which flooded basements and the first floors with 18 inches of water.[12] This resulted in retrofitting of storm doors and barriers to prevent future flooding.

The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System constructed the six-floor, 165,000-square-foot (15,300 m2) Memorial Hermann Heart & Vascular Institute. Also recently completed around 2006 was the 30-story Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza, which is now the largest medical office building in the Texas Medical Center. At night, it became recognizable by its unique rainbow lantern.[13] The construction was part of the system's citywide "Century Project" initiative.

In 2005, Baylor College of Medicine opened the Baylor Clinic.


The Texas Children's Hospital announced the largest investment and program expansion ever by a single pediatric organization. The $1.5 billion, four-year initiative was targeted for completion in 2010 and focused on research and accessibility. Major projects included the development of the neurological research institute ($215 million), the formation of a maternity center ($575 million), and the expansion of existing research facilities ($120 million). Texas Children's was undertaking the development of one of the largest pediatric hospitals in a suburban setting ($220 million). The remainder of the expenditures were earmarked for new equipment and information systems.[14]

In 2010, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, including the John Sealy Hospital, became the 49th member of the Texas Medical Center and the first member-institution located outside the City of Houston.[15][16][17]

Texas Medical Center–West Campus, serving residents of greater west Houston and adjacent areas, opened in January, 2011. Representing an initial investment of more than half a billion dollars, and almost 1.2 million square feet of healthcare development, the first two facilities to open in the new campus were the Texas Children’s Hospital and The Houston Methodist West Hospital. Texas Children’s West Campus is among the nation’s largest suburban pediatric hospitals.[18]

In 2012, Texas Medical Center added the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, which treats pediatric trauma burns, as its 50th member institution.[19]

In 2016, Texas Medical Center added San José Clinic, the community's leading charity care clinic, as a member institution. Denise Castillo-Rhodes, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Texas Medical Center, as well as a volunteer for San José Clinic noted when it became a member of TMC: "San José Clinic serves a very important role in our community. Thus, it is a natural next step for the Clinic to join the Texas Medical Center as its newest member, as it continues to grow and provide extraordinary healthcare and education at affordable prices.".[20]

In 2020, Texas A&M announced plans to build a $550 million complex on the southern side of the TMC including academic, medical office, and housing buildings.[21]

On June 24, 2020, The Texas Medical Center released data showing a 97% capacity in its ICU facilities due to the Covid-19 crisis.[22] The Texas Medical Center has been a forefront of helping COVID-19 victims in Houston during the pandemic.
Cityscape and infrastructure[edit]


The Texas Medical Center is a dense agglomeration of hospitals, schools, and ancillary businesses clustered on a triangular piece of land bordered by Rice University and the neighborhood of Southampton to the west, Brays Bayou to the south and east, and Hermann Park to the north. With 106,000 employees, the TMC has an employment density of approximately 50,475 per square mile (19,489/km2). The Texas Medical Center Corporation has compared its dense cityscape to the Chicago Loop and Lower Manhattan.[23]

The core of the TMC is serviced by three large arterial roads. Main and Fannin streets run southwest to northeast, while Holcombe Boulevard runs west to east. The Texas Medical Center is one of the few employment centers in Houston which is not directly serviced by a freeway; the nearest freeway is Texas State Highway 288, located to the east of Hermann Park. To compensate, the TMC has developed strong transit connections; the entirety of the district is serviced by the METRORail Red Line, which runs along Fannin. Rail stops in the Medical Center include Memorial Hermann Hospital/Houston Zoo, Dryden/TMC, and the Texas Medical Center Transit Center, which doubles as a hub for local bus routes. These three stops are the busiest stations on the Red Line; ultimately, the district's bus, light rail, and shuttle services deliver nearly 65,000 trips per day to and from the area.[24]

In the 2010s, rapid development within the Medical Center began to strain existing transportation infrastructure; the average daily traffic on Fannin Street and nearby arterial Kirby Drive is expected to double by 2035.[25] New development during the first half of the decade is expected to require an additional 50,000 parking spaces to meet demand.[25] Solutions to the district's traffic problems include expanding existing arterial roads, boosting transit capacity, and constructing new contract parking lots on the outskirts.[25]

The Third Ward Redevelopment Council defines the TMC as being part of the Third Ward. T. R. Witcher of the Houston Press wrote in 1995 that the TMC and nearby areas are "not the first places that come to mind when you say "Third Ward,"[...]".[26]
Government services



The Texas Medical Center Corporation is headquartered at the John P. McGovern Campus on Holcombe Boulevard southeast of Hermann Park, adjacent to the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center.[27] The United States Postal Service operates the Medical Center Station on Almeda Road, and Harris County Public Library operates the Texas Medical Center Library near the Baylor School of Medicine.[28][29]

The Houston Fire Department Station 33 Medical Center, a part of Fire District 21,[30] is near the Texas Medical Center at 7100 Fannin at South Braeswood Boulevard. The original Firehouse 33 was one of the last stations to be housed in an original volunteer fire station. The original Station 33 was the city hall/fire station of Braeswood. The City of Houston annexed the area in 1950. The current Fire Station 33 opened one block from the original station in August 2004. The city relinquished its ownership of the original fire station.[31]

The Texas Medical Center is within the Houston Police Department's South Central Patrol Division.[32]
Residential developments

Formerly TMC had its own employee housing, Laurence H. Favrot Tower Apartments, which accommodated TMC employees and their dependents.[33] On August 31, 2012 the complex closed.[34] Dependent children living there were within the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and zoned to Roberts Elementary School in Southgate,[35] Ryan Middle School in the Third Ward,[36] and Lamar High School in Upper Kirby.[37]
Texas Medical Center Orchestra

Formerly known as the Doctors Orchestra of Houston, the Texas Medical Center Orchestra was established in November 2000 and is one of the few orchestras in the world that originated from health professions. Members of the orchestra include physicians, dentists, nurses, medical students, biomedical scientists, social workers and other health professionals.[38]

The mission of the orchestra is to provide health care professionals with a high-quality outlet for creative expression through the world of symphonic music; perform regularly at affordable concerts that are open to the public and in an accessible venue; attract a diverse audience by commitments to select popular programming reflecting Houston’s diversity; and bring public attention to, and provide programmatic support for, medically related and/or educational charities.[39]

Organizations which have received contributions include: The University of Texas Medical School for heart research; The Ben Taub BOOKS programs; The H.O.M.E.S Clinic; Making a Mark Art Program at Texas Children’s Hospital; HISD's DeBakey High School for Health Professions; Eye Care for Kids Foundation; The Greater Houston Chapter of the American Red Cross; The National Space Biomedical Research Institute; San Jose Clinic; Haddassah; and The Dr. Marnie Rose Foundation.[40][41]

In an effort to increase appreciation for classical music in young audiences, Texas Medical Center Orchestra has developed a close relationship with the charter school, KIPP SHARP of KIPP Houston.[42] By coordinating efforts with KIPP SHARP teachers and administrators, TMCO has integrated its musical programming into the school's curriculum. Works that the orchestra performs are taught and discussed in history, art and music classes. The students are invited to display artwork and essays in the Wortham lobby at TMCO concerts, and they are encouraged to attend with their families. TMCO has included KIPP choirs and orchestras in concert performances.[40]

In 2011, TMCO began working with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lone Star Chapter in an annual co-sponsorship of a bicycle ride, "Gran Fondo: Texas TMCO" that precedes the MS150 and benefits both organizations.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the Texas Medical Center Orchestra was invited to perform Diane Warren's Oscar-nominated song, "I'm Standing With You" in a monumental music video that featured more than 170 artists from six continents. Warren teamed up with director Gev Miron and composer/arranger Sharon Farber to put this effort together, which has raised over $7 million for the United Nations Foundation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO).
Demographics

The City of Houston defines an area around the Medical Center as the Med Center Super Neighborhood. In 2015 that area had 2,717 residents. 52% were non-Hispanic White, 16% each were non-Hispanic Black and Asian, 12% were Hispanics, and 4% were non-Hispanic other. In 2000 the area had 2,358 residents. 47% were non-Hispanic White, 33% were non-Hispanic Asians, 10% were Hispanics, 8% were non-Hispanic blacks, and 2% were non-Hispanic others.[43]
Education

The main TMC area is within the Houston Independent School District (HISD).

Melinda Webb School, a private school for deaf infants to 7 years old, is located in the TMC;[44] it is operated by the Center for Hearing and Speech and was previously at 3636 W. Dallas.[45] The school serves as a day school for children not yet mainstreamed into regular classrooms and a speech and therapy center for those that are. Previously known as the Houston School for Deaf Children, it was given its current name, after a deaf girl, in 1997.[46] The girl died of leukemia circa 1958; a former student of the school, she had been the first area deaf child to be mainstreamed into a public school, as she began attending one in Texas City in 1954. Her father, Frank Webb, donated $1 million to what became the Melinda Webb School in 2002.[45] That year its enrollment was 35-40.[46] In 2020 it began admitting preschool students without hearing difficulties to provide a more mainstream environment.[44]

Medical Center Charter School opened in 1996,[47] catered to employees working in the Medical Center, and had the Montessori method,[48] used until grade two. Its specialty as of 2003 was foreign languages.[49] It was not located near the TMC area but in the Westbury area.[50] In 2014, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced that the school's performance was insufficient and that it sought to revoke its charter.[47] By 2018, its charter had closed.[51]
Religion[edit]
See also: Religion in Houston

Christian churches near the TMC include Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church,[52] St. Mathew's Lutheran church,[52] St. Paul's United Methodist Church,[53] and St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church (of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese).[54] Nine churches established the Church Apartment Ministry, which maintains three apartment complexes for families visiting hospitalized patients.[55]

There is a Jewish house of worship, Medical Center Chabad House, which maintains the Aishel House program.[56]

The Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) maintains the Al-Ma'adah Musalla (Medical Center Musalla), a prayer area.[57]
Parks and recreation[edit]

The Weekley Family YMCA is in the area. It opened in 1951 as the Southwest YMCA,[58] in West University Place. The current facility in Braeswood Place, Houston broke ground in 2001.[59]

msdogfood@hotmail.com

Refugee claimants take Safe Third Country Agreement appeal to Supreme Court

 

Refugee claimants take Safe Third Country Agreement appeal to Supreme Court

Refugee claimants and their advocates are asking the Supreme Court of Canada to review a decision that affirmed the constitutionality of a key pact between Ottawa and Washington on asylum seekers.

In a submission to the high court, they say the case raises "foundational questions of constitutional law" concerning access to remedies for violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

msdogfood@hotmail.com

Germany: New Law Obligates Companies to Establish Due Diligence Procedures in Global Supply Chains to Safeguard Human Rights and the Environment

Germany: New Law Obligates Companies to Establish Due Diligence Procedures in Global Supply Chains to Safeguard Human Rights and the Environment




On July 22, 2021, the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act) was published in the German Federal Law Gazette. The act will enter into force on January 1, 2023. The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act’s objective is to safeguard human rights and the environment in the global economy more effectively. It obligates companies with 3,000 or more employees in Germany to take “appropriate measures” to respect human rights and the environment within their supply chains “with the goal to prevent or minimize risks related to human rights or the environment or end the violation of duties related to human rights or the environment.” (Supply Chain Due Diligence Act art. 1, §§ 1, 3.)

Content of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act

Scope

The Act applies to companies that have their central administration, principal place of business, administrative headquarters, registered seat, or branch office in Germany and have 3,000 or more employees in Germany. Starting January 1, 2024, the number of employees will be reduced to 1,000. Employees that are posted abroad are included for domestic companies. (§ 1, para. 1.)

Risks Related to Human Rights

A risk related to human rights is defined as “a situation in which there is a sufficient degree of probability based on factual indications that a violation of one of the following prohibitions will occur:”
Prohibition on employing a child of 15 years or younger.
Prohibition of the worst forms of child labor of children under 18 in accordance with the ILO Convention on Worst Forms of Child Labor, 1999 (No. 182).
Prohibition of forced labor.
Prohibition of all forms of slavery or similar practices of domination or oppression at work.
Prohibition on disregarding the local applicable rules on workplace safety and working conditions if this could lead to workplace accidents or work-related health risks.
Prohibition on disregarding freedom of association.
Prohibition of employment discrimination.
Prohibition of wage discrimination.
Prohibition on causing harmful changes to the soil, polluting water, polluting air, causing harmful noise emission, or overconsuming water, which severely impairs the natural resources necessary to preserve or produce food, denies access to drinking water, destroys or impedes access to hygiene facilities, or has harmful effects on human health.
Prohibition on those who acquire, develop, or otherwise use land, forest, or water from unlawfully evicting persons from or depriving them of the use of such land, forest, or water when those persons are dependent on the land, forest, or water for their livelihood.
Prohibition on commissioning or using private or public security forces to protect a business project if, due to a lack of control, the security forces will infringe the prohibition on torture, harm life or limb, or interfere with freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining.
Prohibition of an action or inaction that is directly capable of infringing a protected legal interest in a particularly serious manner and whose illegality is obvious, taking into account all circumstances. (§ 2, para. 2.)

Risks Related to the Environment

A risk related to the environment is defined as “a situation in which there is a sufficient degree of probability based on factual indications that a violation of one of the following prohibitions will occur:”
Ban on the manufacture of mercury-added products in accordance with article 4, paragraph 1 of the Minamata Convention.
Ban on the use of mercury or mercury compounds in manufacturing processes in accordance with article 5, paragraph 2 of the Minamata Convention after the phaseout date.
Ban on the handling of mercury waste contrary to the requirements of article 11, paragraph 3 of the Minamata Convention.
Ban on the production and use of chemicals according to article 3, paragraph 1, letter a of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutions (POPs Convention).
Ban on the non-environmentally sound handling, collection, storage, and disposal of chemical waste contrary to the requirements of article 6, paragraph 1, letter d of the POPs Convention.
Ban on the export of hazardous wastes and other wastes according to article 1, paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Basel Convention to a state party that prohibits the import of such wastes, to an importing state that does not consent in writing to the specific import, to a nonstate party, or to an importing state where the wastes will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner.
Ban on the export of hazardous wastes from states listed in annex VII of the Basel Convention to states not listed therein.
Ban on the import of hazardous wastes and other wastes from nonstate parties of the Basel Convention. (§ 2, para. 3.)

Due Diligence Procedures

Companies within the scope of the act must set up each of the following due diligence procedures to safeguard human rights and the environment in their global supply chain:
Establish a risk management system.
Define internal responsibility for compliance with the risk management system—for example, by appointing a human rights ombudsperson.
Carry out regular risk analyses.
Adopt a policy statement on the company’s general human rights strategy.
Implement preventive measures in the company’s own business area, which includes the activities of subsidiaries, if the parent company exerts “decisive influence,” and vis-à-vis its direct suppliers.
Take remedial actions if a violation has already occurred or is imminent.
Set up an internal complaints procedure.
Establish due diligence procedures regarding risks associated with indirect suppliers that will be applied when the company has substantiated knowledge of a violation.
Document the company’s due diligence procedures, risks identified, and measures taken, and then publish a yearly report on its website, which must be free of charge and publicly available. (§ 3.)

Sanctions and Legal Action

Companies that violate the act are not civilly liable. (§ 3, para. 3.) However, companies can be fined depending on the severity of the violation. Large companies with an annual global turnover or more than 400 million euros (about US$475 million) can be required to pay fines of up to 2% of their annual global turnover. (§ 24.) Furthermore, companies that have been fined a minimum of 175,000 euros (about US$208,000) can be excluded from public procurement for up to three years. (§ 22.)

When a person’s “legal interest of paramount importance” protected in one the international agreements listed in the annex to the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act has been violated, that person may authorize a nongovernmental agency or trade union to sue on his or her behalf. (§ 11.) Such protected legal interests of paramount importance include life and limb. (Explanatory memorandum at 52.)




About this Item
TitleGermany: New Law Obligates Companies to Establish Due Diligence Procedures in Global Supply Chains to Safeguard Human Rights and the EnvironmentOnline Formatweb page

Part of
Global Legal Monitor (6,812)
Law Library of Congress (282,231)

Format
Web Page
Contributors
Gesley, Jenny
Dates
2021
Locations
Germany
Languages
English
Subjects
Commerce
Environment
Human Rights and Civil Liberties
Labor

msdogfood@hotmail.com