EU's due diligence rules to hold brands accountable for unfair pricing, labour issues: Experts
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to be implemented in 2029
The European Union's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), set to be implemented in 2029, could create opportunities to hold both brands and buyers accountable, experts have said.
Alongside Bangladesh's exporters, buyers could be held accountable for issues such as purchasing practices, labour rights, and the environment, they said at a training programme held at a hotel in the capital today (31 August).
"Bangladesh and other suppliers to EU countries will have to comply with the EU CSDDD, that is true. But it also offers a chance to hold brands and buyers accountable, particularly on fair pricing and labour rights," said Shahinur Rahman, a Dhaka-based consultant for Mondiaal FNV, the international solidarity arm of the Dutch trade union confederation FNV.
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He stressed the need for a coordinated approach among suppliers, labour organisations, and the international community to ensure brands meet due diligence requirements. He also noted that while some brands are willing to pay fair prices, intense competition often leads suppliers to undercut rates for export orders.
The EU Due Diligence Act, adopted in 2024, makes large companies legally responsible for human rights and environmental impacts across their global supply chains.
The CSDDD, operating under this Act, requires both large EU companies and certain non-EU companies with significant business in the EU to identify, prevent, and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their operations, subsidiaries, and supply chains.
The two-day training, titled "Capacity Building for Journalists on Human Rights Due Diligence," was organised by the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS).
Labour leaders highlighted the need for Bangladesh to prepare for the challenges the CSDDD will bring.
"If the government fails to implement policies to protect labour rights and ensure sustainable production, Bangladesh may lose export orders, as buyers will not risk fines by sourcing from a country that does not comply with the CSDDD," said Naimul Ahsan Jewel, general secretary of Jatiya Sramik Jote, during Saturday's session.
Other speakers at the event included BILS Executive Director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, Director Nazma Yesmin, Deputy Director Md Yousuf Al-Mamun, and Md Aurongajeb Akond, associate professor at Mawlana Bhasani Science and Technology University.
