Webinar recording: CSDDD trilogues – what are the key sticking points?

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD or CS3D) is a proposal by the European Commission to establish a legal framework for mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence obligations for companies operating in the European Union.

The CSDDD is currently being negotiated by the European Parliament and Council, in a process known as the ‘trilogues’. The Parliament and the Council, with the Commission facilitating the discussions, are hoping to be able to reach a final agreement on the proposal by the end of this year although negotiations may well continue into early next year.

On 4 October, we held a webinar in which our ESG experts explored key sticking points in the trilogue negotiations, namely:

• the level of EU-wide harmonisation, in view of the development of other domestic due diligence regimes (in particular in France and Germany) and other sector-specific EU regimes (such as conflicts minerals, deforestation, forced labour);
• the enforcement regime under the EU proposal and the French and German regimes;
• the scope of the “value chain” that companies will have to look at when fulfilling their due diligence obligations;
• the companies that will be in scope (turnover and employee thresholds, as well as potential inclusion of the financial sector);
• the impact on directors’ duties; and
• the introduction of climate transition plans.

See above for a recording of the webinar and see here for the slides from the session.

For more information on the CSDDD and other business & human rights materials:

• read our blog posts on the CSDDD, including on the Commission's proposal, the Council's negotiating position and the Parliament’s negotiation position;
• read our blog post on the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act;
• watch our video on human rights due diligence: prioritisation and where to start;
• view our client note on supply chain due diligence regimes across the globe; and 
• see our Business & Human Rights webpage.