(AGENPARL) – gio 19 gennaio 2023 Dear journalist,
The European business community supports an EU due diligence framework. However, it calls for realism, proportionality, and workability. For the framework to truly enable and guide businesses in taking necessary steps towards more sustainable supply chains, the business community urges the European Parliament and the European Council to take seven recommendations and concerns into account in the next steps of the legislative process.
Please find attached a copy of our message with seven recommendations on how to make the due diligence proposal more workable for European businesses.
Best regards,
Anna-Lena Gleich
Anna-Lena Gleich
PRESS ADVICER
168 AVENUE DE CORTENBERGH
1000 BRUSSELS – BELGIUM
[www.businesseurope.eu](http://www.businesseurope.eu/)

Testo Allegato:
Joint Business Statement on
the
due diligence
proposal

(CS3D)

19
J
a
n
uary
202
3

T
he European business community supports
an EU due diligence framework
. However, it calls for realism,
proportionality, and workability
for
this

framework to
truly
enable

and
guide

business
es

in taking
necessary

steps towards more sustainable supply chains.
This includes companies under the scope but also SMEs that
will be impacted.
In th
is crucial phase of the legislative
process,

the business community would like to put
forward a num
ber of
recommendations and
concerns
to

enhance the benefits of
the corporat
e sustainability
due diligence proposal

(CS3D)
:

â?¢

The most
important element of the proposal should be full
harmonisation
. This is necessary to avoid
fragmentation

e

a level playing field. This can be achieved by using
,

for instance,
an â??internal market clauseâ?. If the EU
wishes

its model to be used as a reference elsewhere
in the world,
it cannot rely on
the limited
harmonisation
provided by

the
directive
that
would potentially
lead to

27 different
frameworks
.

â?¢

Focusing o
n
all aspects

within the

whole value chain

is n
either

manageable
nor

realistic
.
Supply chains
alone can comprise

multiple tiers with hundreds or thousands of locations, product lines and
entities
.

Companies should be able to prioritise the

most salient risks

and have the freedom to
take appropriate
actions to cease, prevent or mitigate identified adverse impacts
in
accordance with a
risk
–
based
approach
.
Without this ability to prioritise
,

companies cannot realistically implement due diligence
requirements
in
an
efficient way
.

The absence of a risk
–
based approach

could also

lead to
counter
–
productive
disengagement

from

value chain
s
.

The obligation to exercise due diligence must be
proportionate to the size and means of the company in question.

â?¢

Regulating directorsâ?? duties is unnecessary

to reach the objectives

of the proposal and does not
belong in a due diligence framework. It will have negative side
–
effects, e.g. interfering with national
company law systems and creating

legal uncertainty, without added value to the ability of companies to
apply effective due

diligence.

â?¢

The

list of norms/conventions in the Annex

is
too far reaching
and

generates

legal
uncertainty
.
Most of the norms in the annex are only

applicable to
states and
not legal
private
entities like companies
.

T
o be workable
,

this
list should be
reviewed and shortened
,

clearly indicating what are
the
requirements
directly appl
icable

to companies, and guidance must
be
provided
on how this should be implemented
in practice
.

â?¢

Legal liability provisions need to be balanced
and truly incorporate the widely accepted principle that
due diligence is first and foremost an obligation of means and that companies cannot be made liable for
damages

they
have not caused or directly contrib
uted to

(
intentionally

or
negligently
).

â?¢

Clear guidance needs to be
adopted
and made available before rules
enter into

effect

to help
companies comply with and national authorities to enforce the legislation. Sectoral guidance
would be
helpful

for specific industries as well as commodities such as minerals

based on applicable relevant
international guidelines and standards
.

M
ore
emphasis

should be given

to

multi
–
stakeholder

and
industry

initiatives

to support companies
â??

due diligence efforts
, for example by

recognising
relevant
initiatives where appropriate.

â?¢

The
legislation

should
acknowledge the possibility of organising due diligence at group level
,
including groups of companies that do not have a classic corporate structure consisting of parent
companies and subsidiaries
.

W
e

urge
the
European Parliament and the
Council to take these
recommendations

and concerns
into account
in the
following steps of the
legislative
process
. As it has been the case so far
,
the European business
community stands ready to engage constructively to make the

upcoming framework fit for purpose.

***