The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) hosted the conference "Together Towards Effective Implementation of CSDDD: Multi-Stakeholder Approaches in Corporate Due Diligence" in Brussels on 23 September. The event brought together over 130 participants from EU institutions and Member States, business, civil society and sustainability initiatives to discuss the potential of multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) for the efficient and effective implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
The directive requires companies on the EU market to identify and address potential negative impacts along their global supply and value chains. MSIs can support companies in fulfilling their due diligence obligations e.g. through shared risk assessments, joint pilot projects, collective action or cross-company grievance mechanisms.
Together Towards Effective Implementation of CSDDD: Multi-Stakeholder Approaches in Corporate Due Diligence
The Secretaries of State Lilian Tschan (BMAS) and Dr Bärbel Kofler (BMZ) opened the event by highlighting the power of collaboration in MSIs. The Federal Government has gained significant experience with multi-stakeholder approaches, for example through the sector dialogues hosted by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Multi-stakeholder partnerships provide a platform for pooling resources and leverage, while increasing the uptake and impact of measures.
The keynote was delivered by Nils Behrndt, Deputy Director General for Justice at the EU Commission, responsible for issuing further guidance on CSDDD implementation. His speech was followed by a panel discussion with practical insights from different MSIs and an interactive marketplace session hosted by the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.
Lilian Tschan, Permanent State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, with Nils Behrndt, Deputy Director-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission, and Mark Jacobs, Director International Trade Policy and Economic Governance, Government of the Netherlands.
Participants at the Résidence Palace in Brussels.
Networking and marketplace session.
Panel “Experiences with multi-stakeholder approaches and their potential for corporate due diligence”.
Q&A session at the conference.
Pitches of the marketplace hosts.
Networking and marketplace session.
Networking and marketplace session.