The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) published a public policy briefing, How to ensure inclusive and impactful CSDDD implementation (November 2024), that makes the case for inclusive and impactful CSDDD implementation, and describes what kinds of areas to pay attention to.
Human Level’s Take:
- The WBA makes the case for an inclusive approach to the EU CSDDD to fully realise its potential. By inclusive approach, the WBA means an approach that ensures that the relevant guidance to be developed by the European Commission will be developed alongside value chain actors and vulnerable communities.
- Only then will we be able to ensure that the guidance addresses real-world risks and challenges effectively and is grounded on impacts that happen on the ground.
- There are eight areas of relevance for guidance that will be developed by 2027: due diligence process; model contract clauses; risk factor assessments; data and digital tools; climate transition plans; resource sharing; stakeholder engagement; and sector specific guidance.
- Of particular note, the WBA extracts key takeaways from its benchmarks for the European Commission - as well as Member States, companies and other relevant actors - to take particular note of when transposing/ implementing the EU CSDDD.
- First, companies need to pay attention to responsible purchasing practices, such as paying suppliers on time and avoiding last-minute change. Second, companies need to meaningfully engage with affected stakeholders, as this improves the entire human rights due diligence process. Third, companies need to commit to respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities and human rights defenders. And fourth, companies need to advance concretely on closing farmers’ and fishers’ living income gaps, including identifying living income benchmarks and calculating living income gaps.
Some key takeaways:
- An inclusive approach necessary to fully realise its potential: The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) has the potential to bridge critical gaps in corporate accountability by mandating companies to identify, prevent, and address human rights and environmental harms in their value chains. This binding framework can improve labor conditions, ensure fair wages, protect resource rights, and provide effective grievance mechanisms for vulnerable groups like farmers, workers, and local communities. However, its success depends on prioritizing the needs of these groups during implementation, with meaningful stakeholder engagement, tailored grievance systems, and safeguards to prevent unintended harm. By focusing on empowering the most affected, the CSDDD can drive systemic change toward equitable and sustainable global practices.
- An inclusive approach in practice: WBA makes the case for collaboration across sectors, with the EU and Member States leading consultative processes that involve companies, civil society, and international organizations. Practical, sector-specific guidance developed alongside value chain actors and vulnerable communities is key to addressing real-world risks and challenges effectively. Ensuring meaningful engagement with those most affected by human rights impacts or environmental harm allows for the creation of due diligence measures that are equitable, contextually relevant, and impactful. Capacity-building programs, localized grievance mechanisms, and safeguards against unintended harm—like supplier exclusion—are essential to ensure that the CSDDD drives systemic change, protects vulnerable groups, and strengthens corporate accountability.
- Areas to watch out for: The WBA has been compiling a number of company benchmarks over the years, which provides insights into the kinds of areas that will be key for successful implementation of the EU CSDDD. First, from the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark ,the WBA finds that companies show minimal progress on engaging with their supply chain. In particular, there has been virtually no progress made on implementing responsible purchasing practices, such as paying suppliers on time and avoiding last-minute change. Without tackling this root cause, progress in the supply chain will not take place. Second, from the Social Benchmark, the WBA finds that engaging with affected stakeholders improves companies’ human rights and decent work practices. Companies that engage with affected stakeholders perform better on average across all areas tracked, showing the critical importance of stakeholder engagement for all areas of human rights due diligence. Third, from the Nature Benchmark, the WBA finds that Indigenous Peoples, local communities and human rights defenders remain forgotten by companies. Most companies don’t commit to respecting their rights, don’t commit to obtaining free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), and don’t commit to neither tolerate nor contribute to threats, intimidation or attacks against human rights defenders. And fourth, from the Food and Agriculture Benchmark, the WBA finds that companies are not closing farmers’ and fishers’ living income gaps. Most countries agricultural companies are sourcing from are impacted by persistent poverty. Although some companies support farmers’ income stability through procurement and pricing practices, less than 4% of companies identify living income benchmarks or calculate living income gaps.
