EU: Briefing analyses shortcomings of proposed due diligence directive in the ICT sector
"The Shortcomings of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Proposal in the Information, Communications, and Technology Sector", October 2022
The EU’s long anticipated Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence is intended to hold companies in the information, communications, and technology (ICT) sector to account for human rights abuses and environmental damage, but it is set to fail.
Out of the over 6 million companies active in the ICT sector, only 675 of those located in the EU would fall within its scope. Statistically, it is easier to win the lottery than identify a company obliged under the EU’s new due diligence legislation due to a weak thresholds mechanism and a narrow interpretation of high-risk sector categorization.
This report points to its critical shortcomings in the Directive and gives concrete recommendations to EU bodies engaged in refining the Proposal.