The EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) came into force on 25 July 2024. Germany must transpose it into domestic law within two years by amending Germany's Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains accordingly.
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action would like to incorporate the experiences of business representatives with real-world experience into this process and discuss the opportunities and challenges of creating fair supply chains. Against this backdrop, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, together with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights, launched the #FairSupplyChains dialogue series for companies and interested trade associations as a six-part series of events from November 2024 to March 2025.
The company workshops in retrospect
The #FairSupplyChains dialogue series included two major framework events and four company workshops. In close cooperation with the Helpdesk on Business and Human Rights, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action wanted to work directly with companies to develop solutions to the most important challenges in implementing due diligence in accordance with the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains and the CSDDD.
On 3 December 2024, the first workshop "Use of digital tools in the due diligence process" took place in Leipzig. On 16 January 2025, cooperation of companies in the due diligence process - industry initiatives, audit pooling, etc. - was on the agenda in Cologne. On 30 January 2025, due diligence obligations in the more distant parts of supply chains were discussed in Nuremberg. The last workshop on 13 February 2025 in Hamburg was entitled "Creating clarity: The relationships between the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG), EU Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)."