The European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, informally the European Union supply chain act, came into operation in 2024. It ensures “that companies in scope identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their actions inside and outside Europe.”
It is each member state’s responsibility to implement and enforce this legislation as outlined in the Directive, and to ensure appropriate checks and balances at every stage. In this way the legislation itself outlines a route to best practice, but this is dependent on the approach to implementation of each member state.
Most EU member states are still working on the implementation at national level. In Italy, our campaign partners at We World have been part of the Impresa2030 campaign, working to ensure robust translation into national law. In Switzerland, not an EU member, a 2020 Responsible Business Initiative calling for mandatory due diligence and corporate liability was rejected in a nationwide vote. Since 2022 a limited due diligence legislation is in effect there, but only for minerals and metals from conflict areas and child labour.
