The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which entered into force in July 2024, is a landmark instrument in advancing global efforts to ensure business respect for human rights and environmental sustainability. Welcomed by a broad array of stakeholders – including companies, policy makers, civil society, and national human rights institutions – the CSDDD is a key milestone towards implementing international standards in the field of responsible business conduct, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

The European Commission’s “omnibus” proposal to amend the CSDDD currently being debated at the European Parliament now risks undermining this important progress and the EU’s global leadership on corporate accountability. In its commentary, OHCHR highlights several concerns with the proposal. In particular, OHCHR warns that shifting from a proactive approach to a reactive approach to managing human rights risks and harms could lead to worse human rights outcomes, more complicated and burdensome processes for companies, and an unfair shift of responsibility from business to civil society. Such a proposal raises serious concerns about whether EU law will ultimately be aligned with the international standards it was meant to implement.

Press Release:

GENEVA – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today urged the European Union to ensure any revisions to its corporate sustainability directive do not weaken its alignment with international human rights standards.

An “omnibus” proposal currently being debated by the EU parliament and Council aims to amend key EU sustainability laws, including the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a landmark piece of legislation passed last year that requires large companies to take reasonable steps to identify and address their adverse impacts on human rights and the environment.

“The CSDDD, by far the most ambitious business and human rights regulatory initiative anywhere in the world, has rightly been welcomed by companies, policy makers, civil society, and national human rights institutions alike, and a large number of businesses have already taken steps to ensure they comply with it,” said Türk.

The UN Human Rights Office has just published a detailed commentary on the omnibus proposal explaining the ways in which it would undermine the CSDDD, highlighting several concerns, and calling for any review of this groundbreaking piece of legislation to expressly maintain its alignment with international human rights standards.

“While some streamlining of the EU corporate sustainability regime could be advantageous, it would be counterproductive to water down its alignment with international standards, in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,” warned Türk.

In its current form, the CSDDD has been widely hailed as a welcome step toward ensuring businesses respect human rights and the environment. The omnibus proposal, if adopted, not only risks this achievement, but it also will probably lead to more complicated and burdensome processes for companies, which goes contrary to the stated aims of the proposal itself.

The European Commission’s “omnibus” proposal to amend the CSDDD currently being debated at the European Parliament now risks undermining this important progress and the EU’s global leadership on corporate accountability. In its commentary, OHCHR highlights several concerns with the proposal. In particular, OHCHR warns that shifting from a proactive approach to a reactive approach to managing human rights risks and harms could lead to worse human rights outcomes, more complicated and burdensome processes for companies, and an unfair shift of responsibility from business to civil society. Such a proposal raises serious concerns about whether EU law will ultimately be aligned with the international standards it was meant to implement.

“While some streamlining of the EU corporate sustainability regime could be advantageous, it would be counterproductive to water down its alignment with international standards, in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

For more information and media requests, please contact:

• Ravina Shamdasani - +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
• Liz Throssell - +41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org
• Seif Magango - +41 79 752 0488 / seif.magango@un.org