The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: tracking transposition and goldplating across the EU

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is EU legislation subjecting in-scope companies to far-reaching due diligence obligations in relation to the adverse human rights and environmental impacts of their own operations as well as those of their subsidiaries and their upstream and downstream “chain of activities”. It also requires them to adopt and implement transition plans for climate change mitigation in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Following a roller-coaster legislative process that started in February 2022, the CS3D came into force in July 2024.

This is not the end of the legislative process. EU Member States now need to transpose the directive into national law by adopting their own implementation acts. They have until 26 July 2026 to do this, and their national laws must apply from mid-2027 to mid-2029 to in-scope companies depending on their size.

Goldplating

Unlike some EU directives, the CSRD is not a maximum harmonisation directive. This means Member States can extend it – “goldplate” – when they transpose it into national law.

View the table below to find out about the status of transposition in each one, including a headline of any goldplating coming along. Where there has been, or looks likely to be, goldplating, we have more detail on the substance of this. Get in touch with us if you would like to find out more.

Superimposing a collection of slightly different national requirements onto an institution’s global reporting framework is difficult and bears regulatory risk. Talk to your contacts at Linklaters to discuss how to manage multiple national law requirements to build one holistic CSRD disclosure methodology.

More information about CS3D?

Aside from in relation to transposition, we have a wealth of resources available to you on this topic. Listen to our podcasts on various aspects of the CS3D framework, and keep an eye on our Sustainable Futures blog for the latest developments and updates.