Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

Why does it matter?

For agri-food companies, most severe human rights and environmental risks sit at the first mile: child labour, forced labour, land rights and deforestation among smallholder suppliers. The CSDDD turns the UN Guiding Principles approach to human rights due diligence into binding law for the largest companies.

What did the 2026 Omnibus change?

Directive (EU) 2026/470, published on 26 February 2026, amended the CSDDD. According to the European Parliament:

• scope was narrowed to the largest companies (see the FAQ);
• companies take a risk-based approach across their chain of activities and are not required to systematically carry out in-depth assessments beyond direct business partners;
• information requests to SME business partners are limited;
• the obligation to adopt a climate transition plan was removed;
• civil liability is governed at national rather than EU level.

How does it work in practice?

The core steps remain: integrate due diligence into policies, identify and assess adverse impacts, prevent and mitigate them, remediate actual impacts, maintain a grievance mechanism, monitor effectiveness and communicate.

Common pitfalls

• Treating narrowed scope as the end of the matter. Suppliers of in-scope companies still receive requests.
• Relying on audits alone, which reach few farms, instead of direct farmer engagement.

Farmer1st’s human rights due diligence service gives companies direct, consented channels to farmers to identify and monitor impacts.