Financial firms are largely exempt from the scope of the directive, for now

The Council and the European Parliament agreed to a provisional deal on the corporate sustainability due diligence directive (CSDDD), which aims to enhance the protection of the environment and human rights in the EU and globally. 

The directive sets obligations for companies to mitigate their negative impact on human rights and the environment such as child labour, slavery, labour exploitation, pollution, deforestation, excessive water consumption or damage to ecosystems. It applies to large EU companies and parent companies with over 500 employees and a worldwide turnover of €150 million. The legislation will also apply to companies with over 250 employees and with a turnover of more than €40 million euro if at least 20 million are generated in certain “high risk” sectors. These actual and potential adverse impacts apply not just across companies’ operations but also up and down their value chains.