Key Insights from the Conference on Multi-Stakeholder Approaches in the Light of CSDDD

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.

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.

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.