Key ESG Developments – January 2021
Vedanta resources settled the claims brought in the English courts by Zambian villagers over alleged copper mine pollution
In this case, over 1,800 Zambian villagers had brought a claim against the UK parent company, Vedanta, and its Zambian subsidiary, KCM, on the basis of the alleged pollution from discharges of effluent from the Nchanga Copper mine in Zambia owned and operated by KCM. In April 2019, the UK Supreme Court had allowed the claims to proceed and affirmed that a parent company may incur a duty of care in respect of the activities of a subsidiary in determined situations.
A Dutch Court ordered Shell Nigeria to compensate Nigerian farmers
In this case, separate proceedings had been filed by 4 Nigerian farmers in the Netherlands against parent company Royal Dutch Shell (RDS) and its Nnigerian subsidiary, SPDC, on the grounds of the environmental damage allegedly caused by oil leaks from pipelines and associated infrastructures operated by SPDC. On the 29th of January 2021, the Court of Appeal of the Hague delivered three judgments finding SPDC strictly liable for the oil spills in the villages of Oruma and Goi (nigeria). The court stated that Shell could not prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the leakages resulted from sabotage. The court also found that RDS owed a duty of care to the communities in the vicinity of the pipeline to ensure that a leak detection system was installed and ordered the company to ensure the Oruma pipeline was equipped with one.