The European Green Deal introduces two new regulations
Recently, the European Parliament ratified two pivotal articles of The European Green Deal: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation ("ESPR") and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive ("CSDDD Directive"). These regulations will enhance the recyclability, repairability, upgradability, and reusability of products sold in the EU.
To comply with the rules, companies must exercise human rights and environmental due diligence about their operations, those of their subsidiaries, and their direct and indirect business partners throughout their chains of activities. This applies regardless of whether impacts occur within or outside the European Union. However, product disposal and indirect downstream business partners have been removed from the scope of the application.
Previously, the EU had endorsed three other articles of the deal: the Deforestation-Free Supply Chains Regulation (effective June 2023), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive ("CSRD"), and Green Claims.
The European Green Deal, ratified in 2020, represents a comprehensive framework of policy initiatives crafted by the European Commission, aimed at steering the European Union (EU) towards climate neutrality by 2050. This ambitious plan encompasses a thorough review of existing legislation to assess its environmental impact and the introduction of new laws targeting various sectors such as the circular economy, building renovation, biodiversity, farming, and innovation. Central to the European Commission's strategy, unveiled in 2020, is the commitment to transform Europe into a net-zero emitter of greenhouse gases by 2050, all while demonstrating that economic growth can be achieved without exacerbating resource consumption.
