CSDDD trialogue concluded: a missed opportunity for the finance sector

Today, the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on new due diligence rules, CSDDD, obliging firms to integrate their human rights and environmental impacts into their management systems. 

NFU General Secretary, Carin Hallerström commented on the outcome of the agreement:

We, the Nordic Financial Unions, are extremely disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations, as most of the economic activities of financial institutions are actively excluded from the scope. We, as NFU, have been working tirelessly to showcase that financial institutions, particularly in the Nordic countries, can make a difference when they apply due diligence obligations in downstream activities.

NFU acknowledges that financial institutions such as asset managers are included in the scope of the directive as far as their upstream activities are concerned. This means that financial institutions will have to put in place climate transition plans that align with the most ambitious climate science recommendations for their own operations. 

Carin Hallerström continued: 

Our advocacy work has not been in vain. We will use the review clause on financial institutions to continue advocating for an extension of the scope. This is essential to ensure full compliance with due obligations for financial institutions. Only then can the finance sector play its definitive role in halting human rights abuses and environmental harms.