Sourcing Journal: "The EU Omnibus is Here. Where Does It Leave Supply Chain Due Diligence?"

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Sourcing Journal’s Jasmin Malik Chu described the current state of play of European supply chain and corporate accountability rules--CSDDD and CSRD—after the European Commission released their "omnibus" changes. Her conclusion: this "omnibus" package significantly waters down the major regulations aimed at making large firms liable for social and environmental harms throughout their supply chains. GLI Executive Director Jason Judd and Academic Director Sarosh Kuruvilla, along with GLI Visiting Fellow Samira Rafaela—a former MEP who was also a rapporteur on CSDDD—are quoted in the piece.Those quotes are pulled from these GLI statements:

GLI Executive Director Jason Judd and Academic Director Sarosh Kuruvilla:

“We have worked for years to move from voluntary corporate schemes to basic mandatory rules that protect workers in global supply chains. Thirty years of private regulation in fashion and food and other sectors have—on the whole—failed to stop harms to workers and the environment. CSDDD and CSRD are responses to this. But the promised simplification in the Omnibus fails on two critical counts. One, it effectively does away with CSDDD legal liability for lead firms causing harms to workers. And two, it radically reduces CSRD scope instead of simplifying and strengthening. Focused, quantitative reporting on outcomes—not firms’ policies or plans or programs—should be the bedrock of corporate reporting on labor practices.

Visiting Fellow Samira Rafaela, former MEP and CSDDD rapporteur (involved in trilogue):

“The so-called simplification is, in reality, de-regulation. It once again exposes the overwhelming influence of corporate lobbying in Brussels. For years, European lawmakers have worked on CSDDD—a complex and groundbreaking framework designed to uphold human rights and environmental standards in business practices. The Omnibus proposal has not only weakened the results of democratic negotiations but also undermined the credibility of EU decision-making.

“Businesses, consumers, and regulators deserve clarity. Limiting due diligence to tier 1 suppliers and addressing only direct business partners’ breaches fundamentally contradicts the purpose of the CSDDD. These reversals also have serious consequences for the fight against forced labor, particularly the removal of civil liability and the obligation to terminate contracts where human rights cannot be guaranteed. I hope the European Parliament rejects the Omnibus proposal and stands firm in defending the original CSDDD and CSRD."