Recital 44

(44) Where a company cannot prevent, mitigate, bring to an end or minimise the extent of all the identified actual and potential adverse impacts at the same time to the full extent, it should prioritise the adverse impacts based on their severity and likelihood. The severity of an adverse impact should be assessed based on the scale, scope or irremediable character of the adverse impact, taking into account the gravity of the impact, including the number of individuals that are or will be affected, the extent to which the environment is or may be damaged or otherwise affected, its irreversibility and the limits on the ability to restore affected individuals or the environment to a situation equivalent to their situation prior to the impact within a reasonable period of time. Once the most severe and likely adverse impacts are addressed in reasonable time, the company should address less severe and less likely adverse impacts. On the other hand, actual or potential influence of the company on its business partners, the level of involvement of the company in the adverse impact, the proximity to the subsidiary or the business partner, or its potential liability should not be considered relevant factors in the prioritisation of adverse impacts.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-08-27 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.