Brussels, 1 June– Today, the European Parliament has approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which is set to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains.
EURATEX supports the establishment of transparent and accountable value chains and highlights that the European Parliament’s report has significantly improved from the European Commission’s proposal. Indeed, the European Commission’s proposal risked shifting responsibilities from bigger to smaller players in the supply chain, and was also deviating from existing global due diligence guidelines such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain in the Garment and Footwear Sector.
At the same time, EURATEX warns that the European textiles industry – largely made up of SMEs – will still indirectly be affected by the directive. In order to implement it, a workable due diligence framework, that is also well-balanced and proportionate, is necessary. EURATEX stresses the importance of the fact that the final legislation must be manageable for companies in practice, with clear and harmonized support mechanisms for SMEs.
As a next step, trialogues are expected to commence soon, namely the negotiations between the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.
