Environmental Due Diligence as an Instrument for the Implementation of Environmental Policy and Environmental Risk Management: Theoretical and Legal Foundations and Prospects for Ukraine in Post-War Recovery

Abstract

The purpose of the article is a comprehensive study of the essence of environmental due diligence as a tool for implementing environmental policy and managing environmental risks, an analysis of modern regulatory and legal regulation in the European Union and Ukraine, as well as determining the prospects for its implementation in the conditions of European integration and post-war reconstruction of the state. The methodological basis of the study is general scientific and special legal methods of cognition, in particular: the dialectical method - for analyzing the development of legal regulation of environmental relations; system-structural - for studying the place of environmental due diligence in the environmental management system; comparative legal - for comparing the national legislation of Ukraine with the law of the European Union and related terms; formal-legal - for analyzing regulatory and legal acts; and the generalization method - for forming scientific conclusions.

The article substantiates that environmental due diligence is a comprehensive procedure for assessing environmental risks, which provides investors with reliable information about the environmental consequences of enterprise activities and contributes to making informed management decisions. It is established that Ukraine lacks proper regulatory support for this procedure, which necessitates its implementation taking into account European experience. The relationship between environmental due diligence and environmental control mechanisms, such as environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment and environmental audit, is analyzed. It is proven that environmental due diligence has a broader functional content and integrates elements of environmental, legal and economic risk assessment. The impact of the ESG concept on the development of corporate responsibility is considered and its importance for the formation of modern environmental policy is substantiated.

It is concluded that the implementation of environmental due diligence in Ukraine is a necessary condition for ensuring environmental safety, increasing investment attractiveness and harmonizing national legislation with European Union law. It is proposed to consider environmental due diligence as a key tool for managing environmental risks in the process of post-war reconstruction of the state, which will contribute to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development and integration of Ukraine into the European economic space.