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European Union and its member states have approved a framework to prevent that companies providing low prices based on dumping, child labour, pollution and exploitation will not be better positioned in the EU market. They adopted the Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which will provide guidance to companies on how to prevent significant negative impacts in their operations and value chains.
The text of the Directive must be transposed into the legislation of the Member States, and therefore into Czech law, within the next two years. The first companies will be required to follow it from mid-2027.
As Frank Bold, we have long highlighted the lack of solutions to the problematic behaviour of some companies in the European market and have been expertly involved in ensuring that the legislative solution is of the highest quality and most effective. During the four years of negotiations we initiated multistakeholder statements that brought together associations, business, NGO and union voices, like in a December 2023 statement.
The CSDDD will require companies to address the impacts on climate through climate transition plans. The purpose of the transition plan is to ensure that the company’s business model and strategy are compatible with the sustainable economy transition and the objectives of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
We have also highlighted in a briefing the need for clear standards on responsible business conduct in times of armed conflict, such as the Russian war in Ukraine. It is important that the private sector does not take rushed reactions, but is prepared and ensures that companies do not contribute to armed conflict, or otherwise exacerbate crises.
The Directive will start to apply to very large EU companies with more than 5000 employees and a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 1,5 billion in 2027 and by 2029 all companies with more than 1000 employees and a net worldwide turnover of more than EUR 450 million in the last financial year are in scope. That is approximately 5500 companies across the EU in 2027, thereof about 1500 in Germany and about 34 in the Czech Republic.
The CSDDD also applies to non-EU companies with a significant turnover in the EU.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) do not fall within the scope of the directive, but they may be indirectly affected as contractors or subcontractors. To reduce the financial and administrative burden on SMEs, the CSDDD requires Member States and the Commission to provide information and financial support to build SMEs’ capacity. Companies whose business partners are SMEs are also encouraged and, in some cases, required to help them comply with due diligence measures, with training and financial investments.
Frank Bold has also addressed how sustainability due diligence can be implemented, what are examples of good and bad practice and existing tools that can help business. Read our e-book with FAQ assembling figures, examples and helpful guidance.
Lastly, we have launched Frankly Speaking - a new podcast discussing developments in the field of ESG, business and human rights, and corporate reporting. A new episode is published every second Wednesday and available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
After three months of rushed decision-making, the European Commission presented its Omnibus Simplification Package and proposed major rollbacks to the EU’s corporate sustainability legislation, threatening to undermine Europe's leadership in sustainable business practices and ESG reporting.
With the latest leaks, it is becoming clearer and clearer that President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis are willing to sacrifice the very foundations of the EU’s ESG legislation all whilst bypassing the due legislative process.
The expert group Frank Bold, along with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, has submitted a complaint to the European Commission regarding the actions of Czech authorities in setting emission limits for the Počerady coal power plant. In August 2024, a court revoked the plant's extensive emission limits derogation, and authorities were required to immediately reflect this decision in its operating permit. However, this has not yet happened. As a result, the power plant is currently violating the legal limit for mercury emissions. The complainants are calling on the Commission to investigate whether the Czech Republic’s approach to Počerady is in breach of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
