Europe – The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) to strengthen environmental and human rights protection in the EU and globally.
The directive imposes obligations on large companies to assess and address adverse impacts on human rights and the environment throughout their business chain.
Key elements of the agreement include
- fixing the directive's scope for companies with over 500 employees and €150 million turnover, excluding the financial sector temporarily
- strengthening large company’s obligation to adopt and implement a transition plan for climate protection
- enhancing civil liability and access to justice
- introducing penalties based on company turnover
- qualifying CSDDD compliance as a criterion for the award of public contracts
Next steps: The provisional agreement now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
Source: Council of the EU