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BREAKING: On 24 April 2024, the European Parliament approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD; final consolidated text from Parliament websitehere). Civil society welcomed this as another crucial step for human rights and environmental protections in business, despite previous concessions. We will collect reactions as they come in the timeline below. The next, last step to adopt the CSDDD is a final formal approval in Council.
Background
In the early morning of 14 December 2023, negotiators from the European Parliament, Council (member states) and Commission had reached a final political deal on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). A joint press conference took place the same day.
Civil society welcomed the Trilogue agreement as a landmark moment for human rights and environmental protections in business, but criticised loopholes and missed opportunities, such as the exclusion of financial activities from due diligence.
Following the political agreement from December 2023, final technical details were worked out, paving the way for EU Parliament and Council to formally adopt the directive (final 4 column document here). However, despite ongoing broad business support for the directive, an effective and at the same time practicable risk-based approach, and comprehensive protections for SMEs, German junior coalition partner FDP - in a last-minute move that received much international and national criticism - announced it was rejecting the compromise. They were blocking German support for the CSDDD in Council.
In a meeting on 28 February, member states failed to endorse the CSDDD, with Italy's and France's (after a last-minute attack) position uncertain as well. Over 130 organisations, including the Resource Centre, called on the Belgian Presidency and member states to return to negotiations and secure a majority for the text agreed during the Trilogue. A recording of a press conference held the same day by EU Parliament Rapporteur Lara Wolters is available here.
On 15 March 2024, EU member states endorsed the Belgian Presidency’s political deal on the CSDDD, despite Germany's abstention. Compared to the deal reached in December 2023, the new agreement included some painful concessions, particularly on the number of companies it will cover. NGOs welcomed the Council's endorsement as a landmark decision, but criticised the last-minute changes to the deal. The new compromise text passed a vote in the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee on 19 March.
90+ businesses & networks reaffirm support for CSDDD ahead of final approval stage
Signed by large companies, SMEs & networks including Maersk, Cisco, Nokia, H&M, Scania and Ritter Sport
The last-minute setback in early 2024 was despite overwhelming support. Numerous academics and large and small companies and their networks called on the German Government and Chancellor Scholz to secure a majority for the EU Trilogue compromise. There were similar calls on EU Governments by businesses from other regions, as well as over 300 B&HR professionals and the United Nations.
The EU Commission had first presented a proposal for an EU mandatory due diligence law in February 2022 and Trilogue negotiations began in summer 2023, after the Council adopted its position in December 2022 and the Parliament in June 2023.
In the timeline below, we are collecting updates, analysis, civil society and other reactions to the political agreement and follow-up process.
For background leading up to the political agreement on 14 December 2023, please refer tothis story.
This publication by the Danish Institute for Human Rights summarises the key elements of the CSDDD, considers steps for effective implementation, and recommends strategies for aligning with the UNGPs
Overview of business voice in support of mandatory due diligence, notably the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), since February 2024
Ahead of the European Parliament's final vote on the legislation on 24 April, more than 90 large companies, SMEs and networks including Maersk, Cisco, Nokia, H&M Group, Scania and Ritter Sport have united to endorse the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and call on EU decision makers to now finally adopt it.
Stéphane Brabant, Senior Partner at Trinity International AARPi, and Eugénie Denat, summarise the most essential provisions of the CSDDD in order to reassure businesses about the application of the directive and its content.
In this briefing, ECCJ, CAN Europe, Reclaim Finance, Frank Bold, ECCHR and ClientEarth address some of the main myths around the CSDDD and lay out the importance of this law in finally holding European corporations accountable.
The preliminary endorsement by member states of the Forced Labour Regulation ramps up pressure on wavering countries to also endorse CSDDD on Friday, reducing the political room to justify continued resistance to the law.
In March 2024, over 50 representatives from businesses including Ferrero, Mondelez Italia and Mars, associations and NGOs, urged the Italian Government to support the CSDDD ahead of another - and potentially the last - chance to secure EU Council endorsement. This statement joins a chorus of voices from across large and small businesses, associations, academia, and civil society in support of the CSDDD.
EU negotiators went back to the drawing board over the weekend to bulletproof the text of the bloc’s corporate due diligence law (CSDDD) in the hope of securing a final deal by Friday (15 March) at the latest, Euractiv understands.
Failure to agree an ambitious EU Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive will lead to greater fragmentation of corporate accountability legislation, fail to protect lives and the environment, and make life harder for companies and investors
The delay in approving a new EU directive does a disservice to companies that need legal certainty, says chair of the UN working group on business and human rights Robert McCorquodale
Ahead of the European Union vote on whether to adopt the Corporate Sustainability and Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), ICAR, joined by 69 other partner organizations around the world, sent the following letter urging European countries to vote in favor of a strong due diligence directive.
The Uganda Consortium on Corporate Accountability (UCCA) released a statement to express their disappointment over the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER) failure to reach a final agreement on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D).
While an attempt was made to approve the directive in Council today, these efforts were reportedly derailed further by a last minute effort by France to significantly scale back the scope of the new rules to apply only to companies with more than 5,000 employees, instead of the proposed 500 employee threshold.
The joint civil society statement highlights the vital nature of the EU sustainability legislation - necessary and overdue to trigger the change in business conduct - and the need to maintain collective pressure to avoid compromising key principles in subsequent decisions.
At the last minute, France made an impossible demand of the negotiators, calling into question the compromise agreement reached after several years of hard work by the Member States, the European Parliament, and the Commission, says ECCJ
Non-exhaustive examples showing how questions of effectiveness, supply network/value chain complexity, and feasibility for companies have been addressed by the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
In a blog post, a group of BHR scholars and practitioners explain why the CSDDD is needed for businesses and human rights and address some of the most common misconceptions about the text.
The CSDDD is a world-leading initiative to put internationally agreed standards of corporate behaviour from the UN and OECD into law, write MEP Heidi Hautala and BHR experts Olena Uvarova and Ihor Konopka.
In a joint statement, 26 companies and networks urgently call on the German Chancellor to agree to the political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). ALDI SÜD, Bayer, Primark, FRoSTA, KiK, Mars, Tchibo, VAUDE, Ritter Sport and the Global Network Initiative are among those affirming business support for the text agreed in December 2023.
"It is precisely in times of political crisis and economic challenges that defending the universal rights and fundamental values that unite us can strengthen the foundation for a brighter future", the statement says.
The rapporteur wrote a letter to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to express her serious concern at reports Italy may block the EU’s proposed new rules on human rights and environmental due diligence for companies. She called on the Italian Government to fully support the proposed Directive.
The adoption of the Directive would represent a significant advance in the global efforts to respect, protect, and fulfill children’s rights and human rights, support gender equality and address environmental challenges, as well as boost efforts to create a level playing field for businesses, the statement says.
Businesses (including Ferrero) as well as other stakeholders call on the Italian Government to support the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
WBCSD brings together over 225 of the world’s largest, most forward-thinking companies working together to accelerate the transition to a sustainable world.
Non-exhaustive examples on protections and opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) Trilogue compromise agreement
This week, the Council of the European Union can be a game changer, by adopting the compromise text resulting from political trialogue negotiations last December on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). CIDSE and COMECE urge the EU Member States to support the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Tuesday urged EU leaders to approve a ground-breaking agreement on business and human rights, amid reports that support for the measure may now be in question in the European Council.
In the context of ongoing regulatory developments and the expected vote on the European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the UN Global Compact reiterates its support for mandatory human rights due diligence.
European Union countries on Friday postponed a decision on a proposed law which would require large companies to check if their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage after Germany indicated it would abstain.
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has been taken off the agenda of Friday’s meeting of EU ambassadors, as it was not expected to reach a majority among EU countries.
18 doctoral researchers from the International Doctorate Programme on Business and Human Rights at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany urge all EU member state governments to vote in favor of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The Free Democratic Party is blocking a major EU business policy initiative at the last minute. Germany’s abstention reflects the earlier reluctance of its coalition partners to push back harder against efforts by the liberals to kill the law.
The crucial meeting on 9 February will determine whether the EU can secure a law that benefits companies, markets, affected communities, and the environment alike.
70 companies and networks, including Nokia, Novo Nordisk, Ørsted, Vattenfall and Bestseller, call on their governments to vote in favour of the initiative at the upcoming Council meeting.
Ahead of the EU Council’s vote on the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), over 300 business and human rights practitioners joined a call to support the CSDDD.
Ahead of a crucial vote on Friday on new landmark European Union business legislation that would help safeguard human rights, which the German government is now threatening to withdraw its earlier support for, Amnesty International calls for all member states to approve this legislation.
Gathered within the Business for a Better Tomorrow coalition, large, medium-sized, and small businesses, argue undermining the compromise would be a strategic mistake for the European economy and would create legal uncertainty.
As the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) nears a crucial juncture in its legislative and political journey, recent developments in Germany have intensified the debate surrounding this EU milestone in holding corporations accountable.
AIM, which represents manufacturers of branded consumer goods in Europe, urges EU member states to support Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive compromise agreement.
As the vote on the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) approaches this Friday, UNI Global Union is calling on governments to support this legislation, which is key to embedding human rights across companies’ operations and value chains as well as across economies.
On February 6, 2024, the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Eurosif - the European Sustainable Investment Forum, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights (IAHR) released a statement reiterating their support for the agreement reached between the Council and European Parliament on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The German Institute for Human Rights urges the German Government and all other EU member states to vote in favour of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in the final vote on 9 February.
According to the trade unionists Nasir Mansoor and Zehra Khan, even if there are some areas that need to be improved, the German Supply Chain Act is already having a positive impact and is protecting human rights on the ground - as are those companies that are willing to address human rights in their supply chains.
Statement by legal professionals from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal who work together to develop European Model Clauses (EMC) in the framework of the future European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
Chancellor Scholz needs to rule on the matter and decide that his government supports the law, despite resistance from the FDP, writes Juliane Kippenberg from Human Rights Watch.
Mary Robinson, Chair of The Elders, and Phil Bloomer, Executive Director, BHRRC, reflect on the massive leap forward made by the EU last week, with its ground-breaking political deal to better tackle human rights abuses and environmental harms caused by business. Globally, this is the first attempt to enshrine the international standards set by the UN and the OECD in laws across a major economic bloc, and with legal liability and administrative penalties for companies that do not comply.
