Prof. Dr. Lena Partzsch and Helen Breunig compared the 2017 French Loi de Vigilence (LdV), the 2021 German Supply Chain Due Diligence Law (LkSG) and the 2024 EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), incl. the 2025 Omnibus propsal, with regard to the environment. They demonstrate that there is a regulatory ‘race to the top’ with ‘bends’ in the sense that the new laws lag behind existing ones in some aspects. In the long term, however, due diligence obligations for companies worldwide have become more precise and comprehensive. Companies that already respect human rights and reduce their emissions have first-mover advantages.

 

Partzsch, L., Breunig, H., 2025. Towards ‘greening’ trade? The environment in the French, German and EU supply chain laws. Global Environmental Change 95, 103078, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2025.103078

 

Highlights

• New supply chain laws set the stage for the ‘greening’ of international trade.
• First framework for measuring and comparing environmental benchmarks.
• ‘Hardening’ of non-product-related production process methods (npr-PPMs).
• Regulatory development is a ‘race to the top’ with ‘bends’.
• ENGOs gain visibility by using laws to challenge pollution in exporting states.