• The Commission’s proposal for a sustainable corporate governance directive has been pushed back to October 27.

• Ahead of the SDG Summit 2021 on 11-14 October, CSR Europe publishes the report of the meeting with the European Parliament’s Responsible Business Conduct working group on how to effectively shape an EU integrated approach on due diligence.

The European Commission’s proposal for a directive on sustainable corporate governance, originally expected in June, is now expected to be released on October 27. This initiative aims to introduce new rules on how sustainability should be incorporated into long-term business strategies. For instance, it includes both new due diligence rules to curb environmental and labour abuses in corporate supply chains as well as new corporate directors’ duties to integrate mandatory sustainability criteria into their decision-making.

In this effort to achieve impact at scale, it is crucial for all the players to step out of their comfort zone to co-design the measures that will enable the future EU law to deliver on its full ambition: it is a cultural shift in the way we can protect life and earth through responsible sourcing, production, and engagement with consumers.

It is in this context that on 18th May, CSR Europe and the European Parliament’s Responsible Business Conduct working group (RBC wg) hosted a meeting to discuss with EU policymakers, business networks and civil society organisations how to effectively shape an EU integrated approach on due diligence that brings positive change on the ground.

As highlighted in the report of the event, decades of voluntary standards, industry investment and sustainability programmes have not brought the sustainable production and market access we anticipated. To be credible in its efforts to enhance the livelihoods of farmers, miners and workers, the EU must strive for an integrated, inclusive, and progressive European approach on due diligence, that includes:

1. A new EU regulation that puts the ultimate responsibility for due diligence on each individual company, while equipping victims of abuses and their representatives to hold companies accountable

2. Ambitious accompanying measures to support the involvement of producers at all levels, the engagement with governments in the global south and interaction with all markets’ actors

3. The support to existing and new European sector alliances on due diligence without creating "safe harbours" to legal liability:

• For all stakeholders to benefit from open-source risks analysis

• To reinforce the future European horizontal law with sector guidelines

• To engage in a broader dialogue that touches on all due diligence related issues, including purchase practices.

• To develop sector and cross-sector projects for impact

On 14th October, at the high-level plenary “Resilient & Inclusive Supply Chains”, CSR Europe will test the European Union’s willingness to go beyond corporate compliance through the new due diligence legislation and strategic accompanying measures to support the continuous transformation of supply chains. The real challenge is two-fold: to build a wider level playing field on due diligence at the European and international level and to empower actors and industry federations to develop collaborative solutions that can enhance the livelihoods of workers, farmers, and miners locally.

For more information:

Contact Elisa Casazza

Senior Project Manager

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