EU: Experts analyse key implications of Omnibus package for CSDDD, CSRD, and EU Taxonomy
“EU Omnibus Unveiled: What’s at stake for the EU’s sustainability framework?”, 7 March 2025
Frank Bold’s Julia Otten presented our views at a webinar co-organised with ShareAction, WWF European Policy Office, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice and the World Benchmarking Alliance…
Find below a summary of the key points discussed…
1. Reducing the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive below OECD and UNGPs standards…
By discouraging companies from checking their suppliers beyond Tier 1, the Omnibus proposal breaks with the risk-based approach established by international standards…
Allowing companies to only suspend contracts with high-risks suppliers and review their due diligence process every 5 years will enable them to continue engaging in risky business ties with little accountability…
Narrowing the engagement with smaller suppliers puts workers and the environment at greater risk.
2. A race to the bottom for civil liability and penalties…
The deletion of EU-wide civil liability provision is a clear step back from harmonisation…
The cancellation of the obligation to provide representation mechanisms will make it harder for victims to be represented by NGOs and trade unions…
Changes to administrative liability in the CSRD now give Member States a lot of discretion in setting maximum limits for penalties, which will lead to a race to the bottom…
3. Legal uncertainty and major confusion for companies’ sustainability reporting
The so-called ‘Stop the clock’ proposal is misleading for companies on what is applicable to them and how to prepare…
It is crucial to discuss what midcaps actually need, and provide them with proportionate standards…
The omission of sector-specific guidance means that the European Commission has given away its own power to international standard setters…
4. Less data, less accountability: a weakened EU Taxonomy that undercuts sustainable investment…
The 10% materiality threshold threatens the objectives of the EU Taxonomy, …
The combination of the reduction in scope of the EU Taxonomy and the materiality threshold threatens the Green Bond initiative that depends on this data…