Beyond Compliance: How can Sustainability Due Diligence Drive Real Impact
Discover CSR Europe’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Implementation service, a customized solution designed to support companies on their Sustainability Due Diligence journey
Over the past few years, we have witnessed a continuous increase in sustainability legislation within the European Union. Initially, the focus was on reporting obligations, requiring companies to gather and disclose increasingly accurate ESG data. However, the emphasis has since expanded to include Sustainability Due Diligence obligations. The requirements have evolved from merely asking companies to describe their sustainability efforts to a more comprehensive and actionable mandate—compelling them to address identified risks and impacts, mitigate them, and ultimately eliminate negative effects.
CSR Europe's approach to due diligence gravitates around two fundamental pillars:
Impact-Oriented Sustainability Due Diligence: Companies should establish policies, processes, and management structures that drive tangible positive environmental and social impact. By developing effective and efficient sustainability frameworks, businesses can minimize bureaucratic burdens related to sustainability and therefore be able to focus resources on real environmental and social impact.
Collaboration to Address Systemic Human Rights and Environmental Challenges: Addressing complex sustainability issues requires companies to collaborate. Promoting corporate collaboration has been a primary focus for CSR Europe, as many of the challenges of our time cannot be tackled by individual companies alone. Combining synergies, resources, and expertise is essential to developing and implementing innovative solutions.
Regarding the second pillar, CSR Europe has achieved significant results through its collaborative platforms, which have been operational for over a decade—examples include Drive Sustainability, Drive+, and Responsible Trucking.
These platforms well exemplify how corporate collaboration can amplify the concrete positive impact of Sustainability Due Diligence strategies, and how it can reach and positively affect rightsholders.
As for the first pillar, CSR Europe has been developing a tailored service to support companies in their Sustainability Due Diligence journey—going beyond compliance and to drive real impact. In 2024, the service was successfully tested, yielding excellent results.
The service consists of two phases:
Phase 1: Scoping and Analysis of Current Performance
The first phase involves a comprehensive assessment of the company's current due diligence framework. This process is guided by the "Ideal Situation" framework, a structured model defining the key attributes that Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence policies and processes should possess to be effective. This framework is based on a comparative analysis of globally recognized due diligence standards, including and not limited to the UNGPs, OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) itself. The company's current practices are benchmarked against this ideal framework, providing an in-depth evaluation of the maturity level of due diligence processes across a six-step process.
A critical component of this phase is the establishment of a company’s task force in support of CSR Europe's team. This ensures direct engagement throughout the process with relevant internal functions such as Sustainability, Ethics & Compliance, Purchasing, Risk & Audit, Human Resources, and other relevant departments. Their involvement facilitates the collection of essential information, enhances internal awareness of sustainability due diligence, fosters a common internal vocabulary, and streamlines efforts for optimal results.
Phase 2: Enhancing the Due Diligence Structure
The second phase is structured based on the key areas for improvement identified in Phase 1. CSR Europe offers modular support, which may include one or more of the following services:
Drafting Due Diligence reports tailored to the information needs of external stakeholders and assessors.
Revising internal policies and processes to establish a comprehensive framework for achieving real impact.
Developing a Roadmap for Action, outlining concrete steps for each internal function to strengthen due diligence efforts.
Reviewing Supplier Profiles to better assess supply chain risks and engage with suppliers.
Organisation of Trainings and Workshops to build capacity on Sustainability Due Diligence.
Developing Sustainability Questionnaires to evaluate supplier performance and collect relevant data.
By leveraging this structured approach, CSR Europe aims to empower companies to build robust, impact-driven sustainability due diligence frameworks that align with both regulatory requirements and corporate sustainability goals.
Do not hesitate to reach out in case you would like to have more information on how we can support your company in achieving a full-fledged, impactful Due Diligence process.
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