The European Union’s newly enacted Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) imposes stringent requirements on large corporations to address and mitigate human rights and environmental impacts throughout their supply chains. Effective from May 24, the directive targets businesses with more than 1,000 employees and a net turnover exceeding €450 million, including non-EU companies with substantial EU operations. This initiative, driven by France, focuses heavily on sectors like mining. However, it has faced criticism for excluding financial institutions and specific products, which some argue weakens its overall impact, especially from the perspective of African stakeholders who see continuous investments in fossil fuel projects on the continent.
For instance, in South Africa, the controversy surrounding Shell’s offshore gas exploration underscores the environmental challenges that the directive aims to tackle. Despite these intentions, the development process of the CSDDD has been criticized for insufficient engagement with stakeholders from the Global South, raising concerns about the directive’s fairness and effectiveness in ensuring accountability and equitable governance within global supply chains. The directive’s broad scope emphasizes the need for comprehensive international frameworks to support sustainable business practices globally.
