Sweden: Govt should transpose CSDDD progressively & establish effective enforcement structures, says Swedwatch
"CSDDD: An Overview of the law and its current state of play," 23 August 2024
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), adopted by the EU in May 2024, obliges large EU and non-EU companies operating in the Union to take steps to ensure their business practices throughout their global operations respect human rights and the environment... Whilst imperfect, Swedwatch along with many civil society organisations welcomes this long-awaited and potentially game-changing law...
In the case of Sweden, the [higher] threshold means that only an estimated 328 companies fall under the scope of CSDDD. However, as these companies tend to have long and complex value chains, many of their contractors and subcontractors – in Sweden and aboard – may be indirectly affected by the law.
Swedwatch’s expectations on Sweden
Swedwatch will closely be following the transposition process into Swedish law. As EU member states are free to go beyond the minimum requirements set out in the CSDDD, Sweden has an opportunity to recover some key elements currently missing, for example in relation to downstream due diligence, company scope and the role of the finance sector.
In addition to progressively transposing the directive, the Swedish government has a responsibility to maximise its impact, including by putting in place effective enforcement structures which result in real change for rightsholders in global value chains. Hence, the success of the CSDDD also hinges on effective implementation.