The NOVA BHRE Blog

Human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) is increasingly becoming utilized by companies to address their regulatory obligations to avoid importing products that have ties to forced labor arising from regulations such as: Section 307 of the US Tariff Act; the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act; and the EU Forced Labor Ban.

More importantly, HREDD is fast becoming a regulatory requirement by virtue of regulations such as: the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act; the French Duty of Vigilance; the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD); and other similar laws on the verge of being adopted in Europe and elsewhere.

While there has been ample written about undertaking effective HREDD, much less discussion took place as to how to resolve the disputes which will inevitably arise once human rights and/or environmental issues are uncovered.

Human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) is increasingly becoming utilized by companies to address their regulatory obligations to avoid importing products that have ties to forced labor arising from regulations such as: Section 307 of the US Tariff Act; the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act; and the EU Forced Labor Ban.

More importantly, HREDD is fast becoming a regulatory requirement by virtue of regulations such as: the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act; the French Duty of Vigilance; the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD); and other similar laws on the verge of being adopted in Europe and elsewhere.

While there has been ample written about undertaking effective HREDD, much less discussion took place as to how to resolve the disputes which will inevitably arise once human rights and/or environmental issues are uncovered.

This article draws on the experience of practitioners working with companies to implement human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD). It shows how the Omnibus proposal would disrupt company due diligence practices, undermine climate credibility, and create inefficiencies across the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The article proposes concrete and practical approaches to achieving simplification and supporting companies in meeting their business realities.