The European Commission (“Commission”) has launched a four-week feedback period — open until June 3, 2026 — on a draft delegated act to revise the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS 2.0”). Ultimately, EU companies in scope of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) will have to draft their annual sustainability statements in accordance with the ESRS 2.0. Non-EU ultimate parent companies may also use the ESRS 2.0 to publish one globally consolidated CSRD sustainability statement.
Continue Reading European Commission Publishes “ESRS 2.0” for Public Consultation: Draft Closely Follows EFRAG’s Technical Advice with Additional Simplifications for Companies
UK Government launches the Fair Work Agency: What do employment and business and human rights specialists need to know?
On April 7, 2026, the Fair Work Agency (“FWA”) was established as a new single enforcement body for employment rights in the UK, operating under the framework set out in Part 5 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA”). In this alert, we provide an overview
Continue Reading UK Government launches the Fair Work Agency: What do employment and business and human rights specialists need to know?EU CSDDD/CSRD Omnibus Published in Official Journal: Transposition, Delegated Acts, and Guidelines Are Next
On February 26, 2026, the European Union published Directive (EU) 2026/470 on the simplification of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) in its Official Journal, clearing the final step in the Omnibus I legislative process.
This blog post: (i) summarizes the substance
Continue Reading EU CSDDD/CSRD Omnibus Published in Official Journal: Transposition, Delegated Acts, and Guidelines Are NextUK Business and Human Rights Landscape: 2026 Outlook
When the UK Modern Slavery Act (“MSA”) came into force in 2015, it was hailed as a landmark for supply chain transparency on a key human rights risk. Today, there is widespread recognition among stakeholders that the UK may have fallen behind in its approach to corporate human
Continue Reading UK Business and Human Rights Landscape: 2026 Outlook
Provisional Agreement on the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD): Key Elements of the Deal
In the early hours of December 14, 2023, the Council of the EU (“Council”) and the European Parliament (“Parliament”) reached a provisional political agreement on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”). Described as a “historic breakthrough” by Lara Wolters, who has led this file for the Parliament, the CSDDD will require many companies in the EU and beyond to conduct environmental and human rights due diligence on their global operations and value chain, and oblige them to adopt a transition plan for climate change mitigation.
Given the CSDDD’s relevance for companies’ ongoing compliance planning on environmental and human rights matters, this blog aims to advise clients on the basic elements of the CSDDD agreement based on press releases from the Council, Parliament, and the European Commission (“Commission”), even if much uncertainty remains. Although a political agreement has been reached, the text of the agreement is not publicly available and a number of details of the legal text will need to be finalized in follow-up technical meetings. Covington will publish a more detailed alert on “how to prepare” for the CSDDD once the full text is available (likely in early 2024).
In Short
After intense negotiations since the Commission published its proposal in February 2022, the Directive is set to lay down significant due diligence obligations for large companies regarding actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights and the environment, with respect to their own operations, those of their subsidiaries, and those carried out by their business partners.
Continue Reading Provisional Agreement on the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD): Key Elements of the DealEight Imminent Key Changes to UK Employment Law
From as soon as 1 January 2024, the UK Government is implementing a wide range of new employment law that will affect organizations with UK operations. Below is a handy table summarizing key changes and start dates.
Some critical issues for employers include: (i) stronger workplace protections against sexual harassment; (ii) increased employee flexible working rights; (iii) new holiday pay rules; (iv) new employee rights to request predictable working terms; (v) rights for agency workers to request jobs at client companies; and (vi) changes to TUPE.
Continue Reading Eight Imminent Key Changes to UK Employment Law2023 African Forum on Business and Human Rights: What do companies need to know?
Last week, Ethiopia hosted the 2nd regional African Forum on Business and Human Rights. This year’s Forum focused on local perspectives and solutions to implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), including in the context of operationalising the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Participants included a range of stakeholders including business enterprises and associations, governments, civil society, Indigenous Peoples groups, labour organisations, international and regional organizations and national human rights institutions. Dialogue touched on critical issues including the intersection between environmental and social impacts and the importance of developing and implementing business and human rights (BHR) frameworks that are appropriate for Africa.
In this post, we distil several considerations for businesses operating in Africa:
- Stakeholders are committed to establishing BHR frameworks tailored to Africa
An underlying theme of the Forum — “For Africa, From Africa” — was the implementation of the UNGPs through African perspectives. Participants discussed the extra-territorial reach of the EU’s proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), through which the EU seeks to play a critical role in global standard setting on human rights due diligence. There was a clear recognition that the CSDDD and a plethora of other EU ESG laws are likely to apply directly or indirectly to businesses and significantly impact many businesses in the region. The EU is currently piloting projects in several African states to develop frameworks to assist states and businesses in preparing for CSDDD implementation and mitigate the risk of the law negatively impacting value chains. Despite this, there was some criticism regarding a perceived limited engagement with stakeholders in the Global South in the CSDDD drafting process and the potential risks and implications that could flow from that, including for example, a concern that costs of meeting due diligence standards could ultimately be pushed down to small-holding farmers and SMEs within the value chain.
Continue Reading 2023 African Forum on Business and Human Rights: What do companies need to know?Green Groceries: Key ESG Issues for the FMCG Industry (including FBOs)
Those in the business of fast‑moving consumer goods (“FMCGs”) are likely aware of the plethora of environmental and product stewardship regulations applicable to the FMCG sector. These laws are set to increase and expand in application. What FMCG companies also need to get to grips with are a range of broader (and also fast‑moving!) environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) developments and consequent risks and opportunities. Companies need to understand how the new world of ESG impacts their supply chains, key ingredients and components, consumer choice and confidence, competitive advantage, market accessibility, and marketing.
Designed as a ‘primer’ for FMCG companies, in this piece, we cover a range of key trends in the emerging UK and EU ESG legal landscape as relevant for the FMCG sector, from farmers to Food Business Operators (“FBOs”) and from manufacturers to retailers. We also discuss some key legal and reputational risks; as well as pointers to help companies decipher and prepare for the ESG storm.
We focus on the UK and the EU (first movers on many ESG issues), but the landscape in other jurisdictions (including, for example, the US) is also evolving and becoming more complex.
Key ESG Issues for FMCGs
We think there are four categories of key ESG developments for FMCGs to watch: (I) corporate reporting and disclosure regimes; (II) green/sustainability claims and labelling; (III) supply chain obligations; and (IV) product packaging and presentation.
Many emerging ESG frameworks cut across sectors. This may be efficient for regulators, but can make identifying sector-specific risks and opportunities more challenging. We have sought to do that below.
Continue Reading Green Groceries: Key ESG Issues for the FMCG Industry (including FBOs)The 11th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights: Key Takeaways for Business
The focus of this year’s UN Forum on Business and Human Rights was “putting rights holders at the centre” of business’ human rights due diligence efforts. In this post, ahead of Human Rights Day, we distill the important takeaways for business, drawing on Forum discussions among a range of stakeholders, including corporate representatives, governments, NGOs and rights-holders themselves.
1. The business and human rights legal landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace and this trajectory will continue.
Many governments worldwide are considering and implementing new human rights due diligence legislative initiatives. Aside from laws already passed and the EU sustainability due diligence initiative (see our earlier alert), there are similar proposals on the table in Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, and other countries. Japan recently published non-binding guidance for business, intended to drive good practice. Other countries are developing “National Action Plans” (“NAPs) under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“UNGPs”), which can be a pre-curser to binding regulations. While legislative initiatives to date have largely been found in the Global North, we are also seeing movement in other regions: The African Union recently convened the first African Forum on Business and Human Rights.
While at varying stages of development and implementation, the fundamental tenets of these due diligence laws generally are similar. Companies are required to implement due diligence programs to identify and mitigate adverse human rights (and often environmental) impacts in their own operations and global supply or value chains.
Continue Reading The 11th UN Forum on Business and Human Rights: Key Takeaways for BusinessUK: new “world-leading” deforestation and ecosystem supply chain law
The UK Government recently announced that it is developing legislation that would make it illegal for large businesses operating in the UK to use certain commodities that have not been produced in line with local laws, and require in-scope companies to conduct due diligence to ensure that their supply chains
Continue Reading UK: new “world-leading” deforestation and ecosystem supply chain law