Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence in Groups of Companies

The new proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) will require that certain parent companies must conduct due diligence in their subsidiaries. To comply a parent company needs to determine which subsidiaries are covered by these duties, how to conduct this due diligence and finally how it may be enforced by stakeholders in the subsidiaries. An analysis of the proposal shows that the answer to these very relevant questions is not always straightforward nor are the solutions chosen in the proposal always the most optimal. Furthermore, it seems likely that the proposed directive - if adopted - will affect how groups are structured and how they operate.