Move would mean 2,941 fewer companies would have to comply with new human rights and environmental rules – a drop of 69%
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A push from the French and Italian governments to reduce the number of companies covered by the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) would allow major airports, ports and airlines to escape climate commitments, according to new Global Witness analysis.
Alongside a broader suite of human rights and environmental due diligence measures, the CSDDD obliges companies to write and put into effect climate transition plans, which would put them on a pathway to reducing their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and the EU’s climate targets.
However, recent positions taken by the French and Italian governments would exclude more than two-thirds of the companies currently covered by the CSDDD.
This would mean the law would no longer apply to some of the EU’s biggest airports – including Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and Vienna International Airport.
Europe’s three largest ports – Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp – would also be excluded, meaning no EU ports would have to comply with the law. Major airlines including Aegean, Air Baltic, ITA Airways and LOT would also be taken off the list.
Beate Beller, campaigner at Global Witness, said:
“In 2023, there was a moment of genuine hope when the EU agreed a groundbreaking law to make big companies act on climate. However, the French and Italian governments are trying to slash the number of companies covered – after having already done the same thing last year.
“This knee-jerk reaction to recent global events risks undermining the EU's strategic advantage as an environmental and human rights standard-setter. It would leave a very small pool of companies left to comply with the law, and let some of Europe’s biggest airlines, airports and ports off the hook when it comes to tackling the climate emergency.”
The French and Italian positions call only the very largest companies operating in the EU to be covered by the law. Their proposal would apply to EU companies with at least 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion in annual turnover worldwide, and non-EU companies which generate at least €1.5 billion in the EU.
The CSDDD currently covers 4,282 companies with an average threshold of 1,000 employees and a global turnover of more than €450 million. This is already a substantial decrease on what was originally agreed in December 2023, with EU Member States including France and Italy successfully decreasing the scope by a third.
During the initial re-negotiation of the CSDDD in 2024, the number of companies covered by the law was already reduced by two-thirds, down from approximately 16,300.
The French and Italian positions would mean less than 10% of the companies originally covered by the law would have to comply with it. The two governments also propose to delay the application of the law into force.
Notes to editor
Data from the SOMO Datahub shows that if the threshold were adjusted to 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion turnover, the number of companies covered by the CSDDD would be reduced by 68.68%.
If these proposed thresholds as suggested by France and Italian are adopted, the number of covered groups would fall dramatically to just 1,341 corporate groups.