Today the European Parliament approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in a significant step forward for effective corporate accountability. Among the key achievements are the alignment with the international UN and OECD standards, requiring companies to conduct risk-based due diligence across their full supply chain; civil liability – which finally gives more weight to access to justice and remedy for those harmed; stakeholder engagement, including with human rights defenders, which will ensure rights holders have a say on issues and measures that affect them; and provisions for greater fairness among value chain partners. While there were blockades and grave concessions, especially towards the end of the process, the CSDDD has also had unprecedented support from civil society, political leaders, companies and investors during its progression, with many welcoming its provisions to deliver a level playing field for responsible business and essential protections for workers, communities and the environment from corporate abuse.
The decision is being welcomed by trade unions and workers globally, and comes after MEPs faced pressure from global unions and Bangladeshi workers on the 11th anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse to support the CSDDD to protect workers’ rights along global value chains. The next, last step to adopt it is final formal approval in the EU Council.
See also; in another landmark decision, the European Parliament voted in favour of a far-reaching law to ban products made with forced labour from the EU market on 23 April. The Forced Labour Regulation is designed to go hand in hand with the CSDDD.
Sourcehttps://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/eu-csddd-political-agreement/
