What: On March 15, 2024, EU Member states approved a new law on supply chain disclosures around labor issues and sustainablity called CSDDD, the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. *The new rules were were watered down due to country objections:
The European Commission has also said it will avoid companies having to navigate multiple, potentially incompatible, national rules within the bloc’s single market.
Belgium, which chairs the EU Council that represents member states, has worked over recent weeks to assuage national concerns over excessive red tape, tripling a threshold so the rules would only apply to companies with over €450 million worldwide turnover in its most recent attempt to overcome an impasse.
The latest draft removed civil liability provisions that would allow trade unions to sue noncompliant firms, a controversial measure which countries such as Finland opposed.
What's next: This passage by the council sends it back to Parliment for a final vote. The committee of jurisdiction has just issued it (as of March 19, 2024) to the floor for MEPs to vote on it in April.
Will it pass: Yes, this is likley to pass and will impact how large shoe companies disclose material impacts throughout their supply chains.
As a backgrounder please see: https://commission.europa.eu/business-economy-euro/doing-business-eu/corporate-sustainability-due-diligence_en