Over 20 global businesses and networks, including Aviva investors and Unilever, have published a joint statement calling for alignment of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) with existing international standards like the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The current iteration of the directive departs from these international standards, the statement has warned. To ensure increased alignment, the group has called for the CSDDD to be risk-based and apply to the entire spectrum of risks and impacts across corporates’ entire value chains, and to clearly reflect the importance of the perspectives of all affected stakeholders, including workers, unions, communities and human rights and environmental defenders. The directive will not be effective without meaningful enforcement to ensure companies subject to these requirements carry out their due diligence to a high standard, the statement added. It said: “The CSDDD will not achieve its full impact if it harmonises expectations between EU member states while diverging from the accepted international standards of the UNGPs and OECD Guidelines. […] A European level playing field should recognise companies’ efforts by setting an ambitious norm to improve human rights, environmental and climate outcomes along global value chains in line with the international standards.”
📣 Business support for strong EU due diligence law 🇪🇺
20+ businesses & networks inc @MarsGlobal @IngkaGroup @ericsson @HapagLloydAG & @theGNI are calling for #CSDDD to align with #UNGPs & OECD Guidelines ahead of crucial votes at @Europarl_EN.
Businesses are asking for…🧵1/ pic.twitter.com/MNlH5gav3n
— Business & Human Rights (@BHRRC) April 11, 2023
