The EU could have held companies accountable for harming their workers, polluting the environment and violating human rights by implementing powerful corporate sustainability legislation. For a while this seemed possible when the Commission introduced its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which was adopted in 2024. It could have led to tangible protections for people and the climate but instead it was reopened and watered down in 2025, and formally adopted into law by the Council of the EU in 2026. This is the full story of the EU Due Diligence law that was lost after it was weaponised for political gain by polluters and politicians.
Download the story of the EU Due Diligence law and how we lost human and environmental rights protections in its wake.
