Today, the Council of the EU approved a watered-down version of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). It includes a severely reduced scope: Only about 0,05% of companies across the EU will be subject to the new law, a cut of roughly 2/3 - compared to the December trilogue outcome.
"The Belgian Presidency of the Council managed to save EU companies from having to comply with a patchwork of national laws and found agreement on a common EU response to exploitation in global value chains. However, the cuts introduced at the eleventh hour leave a bitter aftertaste: They will likely reduce the positive impacts on people working in the value chains of EU companies due to the reduced scope and throw into doubt the reliability and legitimacy of normal EU decision-making processes," says Julia Otten, Senior Policy Officer at Frank Bold.
Today's approval builds on four years of work done by the European Commission, European Parliament and by the Member States - alongside with the engagement from trade unions, civil society and businesses. As Frank Bold, we advocated for defining a level-playing-field on responsible corporate conduct for large companies in the EU and designing an effective EU response to the race to the bottom in global value chains.
It is now the turn of the European Parliament to take the high road and cast the definitive vote in favour of an agreement that, while imperfect, will contribute to fairer and more sustainable global value chains.
This short video explains everything you may have ever wanted to know about the Reconstruction of the State, but were afraid to ask.
New reporting rules require certain large EU companies to include in their management report a non-financial statement. These companies need to begin gathering and auditing information in order to be prepared to publish the required information within good time after the end of the 2017 financial year. Frank Bold recently published a short guide on the Non Financial Reporting Directive that identifies who will be affected and explains how to comply with the new reporting requirements.
On September 28, Frank Bold will hold the Creating Sustainable Companies Summit gathering leading thinkers, businesses, policymakers and civil society in Brussels to chart the way to the next generation of corporations and future of corporate governance.
