On 19 February 2024, Italian company Ferrero, jointly with industry peers like Mars and Mondelēz, urged the Italian Government to support the adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) at EU level. The call was joined by leading civil society actors active in the cocoa sector and on deforestation.

The statement welcomes the carefully negotiated text and recalls that over the last years many voices from business have "called for the introduction of pragmatic, consistent and uniform legislation at the EU level and therefore welcome the text of the directive provisionally approved by the Council and the European Parliament.

The new agreement, reached by the EU institutions in December 2023, reflects a careful and pragmatic balance between countries' resolute commitment to protecting human rights and sustainability and the need for caution in imposing new obligations on a sector that is already facing uncertainty and complexity in the global marketplace.

The obligations in the directive ensure a high level of alignment with the internationally recognised standards on due diligence. The harmonisation proposal will provide common standards, instead of regulatory fragmentation that would only bring uncertainty and complexity, including for Italian companies." [unofficial translation from Italian]

The full statement in Italian including signatory logos is attached. An extended version of the statement signed by representatives from additional businesses an other organisations is available here.