A “wrecking ball” has been dropped on European Union plans to stamp out workplace and environmental abuses in companies’ global supply chains after its biggest members watered down a new law, campaigners say.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, or CSDDD, was due to be approved this week but is now hanging in the balance after Germany, France, and Italy pulled support. Now NGOs and supportive lawmakers are worried that the legislation will be derailed altogether.
The crackdown was prompted in part by the role European companies played in tragedies including the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh and the 2019 failure of Brazil’s Brumadinho dam. It has already taken many years to reach the cusp of becoming law.
About the author
Rob Merrick
Rob Merrick is the U.K. Correspondent for Devex, covering FCDO and British aid. He reported on all the key events in British politics of the past 25 years from Westminster, including the financial crash, the Brexit fallout, the "Partygate" scandal, and the departures of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Rob has worked for The Independent and the Press Association and is a regular commentator on TV and radio. He can be reached at rob.merrick@devex.com.
