In recent months, political discourse around supply chain legislation has been focused around the simplification of reporting processes both on national and European levels. The European Union Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive originally aimed to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts of corporations. However, this is jeopardised by this push back against necessarily comprehensive reporting processes.
In February 2025, the EU Commission published their Omnibus proposal “to simplify EU rules, boost competitiveness, and unlock additional investment capacity.” Our campaign partners at Oxfam Germany and the Initiative Lieferkettengesetz (“Supply Chain Law Initiative”) – strong advocates for accountability in supply chains – heavily condemn these recent developments. They fear “catastrophic changes to civil liability provisions and a shift away from climate protection legislations – ultimately dismantling the core of the EU’s Supply Chain Directive. The proposal put forward by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen significantly weakens existing European supply chain regulations, affecting both environmental standards and human right obligations that companies must uphold along their global supply chains.”
THE PICKERS campaign and action by our partners are timely and necessary to safeguard this legislation’s original, more comprehensive aims. Upholding, and indeed, implementing this legislation universally across Europe is essential to transforming the system and requires widespread political support as well as delivery by member states.
