Skip to content
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
Insurance Journal - Property Casualty Industry News

Featured Stories

  • Former AIG Exec McElroy Faces Sex Assault Charges
  • Aon Promotes Reinsurance Leaders
  • Articles
  • Jobs
  • Markets

Current Magazine

current magazine
  • Read Online
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Front Page
    • National
    • International
    • Most Popular
    • Magazine
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Videos/Podcasts
    • Newsletters
  • News
    • Most Popular
    • National
    • International
    • East
    • Midwest
    • South Central
    • Southeast
    • West
  • Magazines
  • Research
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Features
    • Events
    • Forums
    • Market Directories
    • Quotes
    • Polls
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Insurance Giving Back
  • Subscribe

EU Plans to Walk Back Key Planks of Toughest ESG Legislation

By Frances Schwartzkopff and John Ainger | February 24, 2025
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Article
  • 2 Comments
The European Commission is proposing a significant watering down of what was arguably its most consequential piece of ESG regulation.

The European Union’s executive arm is proposing that the bloc amend eight main points in the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, according to a draft proposal seen by Bloomberg. The changes span everything from limiting corporate obligations to monitor potential ESG breaches in supply chains, to reducing potential fines.

The move follows intense pressure on the bloc — both from within and outside Europe — to rein in a piece of legislation whose early design was intended to expose companies to legal liability if they failed to purge their value chains of ESG violations. Companies in the EU have warned that complying with CSDDD will make it harder to compete with the US and Asia. In France, officials have gone so far as to ask that CSDDD be shelved.

EU Weighs Easing Corporate Liability Under Toughest ESG Law

In the US, meanwhile, incoming US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told Republican senators last month that he was willing to consider deploying “trade tools” to ensure American companies exposed to the EU market aren’t expected to comply with CSDDD.

The commission is due to unveil its proposal for the so-called omnibus legislation on Feb. 26. Aside from CSDDD, the omnibus process will also look at ways to simplify the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Taxonomy Regulation.

A spokesperson for the commission declined to comment, citing a policy of not responding to leaks.

The proposed amendments to CSDDD seek to:

  • Extend the scope of “maximum harmonization” to ensure CSDDD aligns well with other regulations
  • Broadly limit the concept of due diligence so that it only applies to direct business partners
  • Remove the obligation to end business ties as a “measure of last resort”
  • Limit the notion of “stakeholder” and further restrict the stages of the due diligence process that require stakeholder engagement
  • Extend the intervals in which companies need to monitor the adequacy and effectiveness of their due diligence measures
  • Clarify the principles around monetary penalties, and remove the minimum cap for fines
  • Remove aspects of the civil liability clause and the rules regarding representative actions
  • Delete the review clause regarding the extent to which financial services firms might be in scope in future

The proposal is already drawing criticism from civil society groups that had been lobbying for the EU to stick to the original principles of CSDDD.

The planned rollback looks “reckless,” said Maria van der Heide, head of EU policy at nonprofit ShareAction. “Sustainability laws designed to tackle the most pressing crises – climate breakdown, human rights abuses, corporate exploitation – are being crossed out behind closed doors and at record speed. This is not simplification, it’s pure deregulation.” (Bloomberg) —

Maria Luis Albuquerque, the EU’s financial services commissioner, said in an interview last month that there’s room for adjustments to ESG rules, but cautioned against expecting outright deregulation.

It’s about “adjusting the pace,” while “maintaining the anchor,” she said then.

Photograph: Solar panels at the Weesow-Willmersdorf solar park, operated by EnBW Energie Baden-Wrttemberg AG, in Werneuchen, Germany, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. Photo credit: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Legislation Europe

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

People Moves: Consilium Taps Carpenter’s Coleman for C-Suite After Co-CEO Baird Suddenly Exits; Everest Promotes Shaw as Chief Commercial Officer of Int’l Division
PE Firm Warburg Pincus Acquires Majority Stake in Keystone Agency Partners
DeSantis Names Ingoglia CFO; Tough Talk, Mixed Voting Record on Property Insurance
Air India Junior Pilot Asked Captain Why He Turned Off Fuel Switches

Written By Frances Schwartzkopff

More From Author

Written By John Ainger

More From Author

Interested in Legislation?

Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Categories: International & Reinsurance NewsTopics: Climate Change, climate reporting, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), environmental social and governance (ESG) criteria, ESG regulation, EU climate change, EU ESG rules
  • Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com

Featured Comment

  • February 24, 2025 at 8:15 am
    PolarBeaRepeal says:
    Like or Dislike:
    Thumb up 5
    Thumb down 4

    ” The proposal is already drawing criticism from civil society groups that had been lobbying for the EU to stick to the original principles of CSDDD. ”

    The only ‘sticking to’ will be the fruitless, hopeless protests from those civil society groups who glue themselves to busy roadways.

    These changes are driven by the sweeping political changes we see in the US, Germany, and a few other European and South American countries. Sanity is making a comeback.

Latest Comments

  • February 24, 2025 at 9:08 am
    Tiger88 says:
    I agree, EU legislators should "walk the plank" over this nonsense.
  • February 24, 2025 at 8:15 am
    PolarBeaRepeal says:
    " The proposal is already drawing criticism from civil society groups that had been lobbying for the EU to stick to the original principles of CSDDD. " The only 'sticking to' ... read more

Add a CommentSee All Comments (2)Add a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

More News
Uber Alleges Inflated Injury Bills in Los Angeles Insurance Fraud Lawsuit
What’s in the EU’s 18th Sanctions Package Against Russia?
Hackers Exploit Microsoft SharePoint as Firm Works to Patch
Renewal Rates in Q2 Tell of ‘Slowly Softening’ Commercial Lines Market, Says Ivans
More News Features

Read This Next

  • EU Plans to Walk Back Key Planks of Toughest ESG Legislation
  • Lawsuit Challenges Florida's Citizens Claims Arbitration by Administrative Judges
  • Marsh McLennan Reports Q2 Organic Revenue Growth of 4%, Down From Q2 2024
  • When Insurance Isn't the Optimal Risk Management Approach
  • DeSantis Names Ingoglia CFO; Tough Talk, Mixed Voting Record on Property Insurance

Insurance Jobs

  • Director of Property Liability Claims - Wilsonville, Oregon
  • Vice President of Life Operations - Lansing, MI
  • Underwriter – Cyber / E&O Insurance – Remote - Remote
  • Direct Sales Agent Specialist (2622) - Durham, NC
  • Sales Executive-Small Commercial (Phoenix territory) - Phoenix, AZ
MyNewMarkets
  • What to Know About Construction and Environmental Liability
  • How Embedded Insurance Supports Real Livelihoods in the Growing On-Demand Economy
  • How to Keep Third-Party Events from Becoming First-Party Losses
  • Is It Covered: Auto Coverage Under a CGL Policy
  • When Harassment Follows You Home: Managing EPL Risk in a Remote Work Era
Claims Journal
  • Uber Alleges Inflated Injury Bills in Los Angeles Insurance Fraud Lawsuit
  • Alaska Airlines Resumes Operations After IT Outage
  • Camp Mystic Deaths After Floods Darken a Cherished Texas Tradition
  • Canal Insurance Company Names Stachura Chief Claims Officer
  • Jury Awards $100M in Shooting Death of Former Florida State Senator's Son
Academy of Insurance education
  • July 22 How To Write: Umbrella
  • July 24 Navigating The Impact of Hospital Closures on Workers' Compensation
  • July 31 In The Wake: Personal Lines Issues After a Huge Storm
  • August 7 EPLI Basics

Insurance News

  • News by Region
  • News by Topic
  • Yesterday

Site Search

Features

  • Insurance Markets Directory
  • Forums
  • A.M. Best Company Ratings
  • Industry Events
  • Agencies For Sale
  • Newswire
  • Insurance Jobs
  • Rankings & Awards

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • For Your Website
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Insurance Journal

  • Submit News
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Reprints
  • Link to Us
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Insurance Journal
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map