As the EU Parliament enters its final stretch of negotiations on the Omnibus legislation, internal and external stakes continue to rise. ExxonMobil, the US's largest oil and gas company, has taken the step of urging Donald Trump to help kill the CSDDD entirely, warning it could push businesses out of Europe. This lobbying effort follows the EU Commission's refusal to denounce the opaque processbehind the first Omnibus proposal in a written response to the EU Ombudswoman.
In yet another blow to the sustainability agenda, the EU’s landmark Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) faces yet another delay, raising further questions about the bloc’s willingness to stand firm on environmental protections amid global trade pressures. Amidst these concerns, the EU signed has signed a major free trade deal with Indonesia, the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil.
The EU's backsliding on the its landmark regulations, paired with a flurry of controversial trade deals, are raising concerns that corporate influence is steering the EU away from its climate and human rights commitments.
Upcoming Events
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Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
Updates:
The Omnibus is entering the final stages of the legislative process, with the Parliament undergoing last minute negotiations in the hopes of meeting its 13th of October deadline.
While the Commission and Council have finalised their negotiating positions, the Parliament continues to hold heated negotiations to reach a compromise on its position.
According to insiders, the scope of the CSDDD and CSRD is a particularly contentious topic within the negotiations.
A formal vote within the JURI Committee is scheduled for October 2025, followed by a plenary vote later in the month. The final Parliament position is expected in October 2025, after which trilogue negotiations among the institutions will begin.
At this critical stage in CSDDD negotiations, US company Exxon Mobil is ramping up its lobbying against the law, calling on Trump to push for it to be scrapped in its entirety.
The US’s largest oil and gas company, Exxon Mobil, has taken its concerns regarding the CSDDD directly to Donald Trump, warning that the “regulation will lead to more businesses leaving Europe.”
The CEO of Exxon, Darren Woods, told Reuters that proposed revisions under the Omnibus would not be enough and that the law should be “revoked entirely”. He claimed the law would exacerbate US relocation from Europe and, ”warrant businesses to reduce their activity” there.
This lobbying follows the “extremely unusual” statement in the US / EU deal that the EU would not impose “undue restrictions” on US trade.
The EU Commission responded to the Ombudswoman’s inquiry into the opaque process behind the first Simplification Omnibus, sparking an outraged statement from NGOs.
In April this year, ClientEarth, Anti-Slavery International, Clean Clothes Campaign, European Coalition for Corporate Justice, Friends of the Earth Europe, Global Witness, Notre Affaire À Tous and T&E, lodged a complaint with the Ombudswoman. The compliant highlighted the flawed process that led to the Omnibus proposal, 'including the lack of public consultation, lack of transparency, absence of impact and climate assessments, and the disproportionate influence of corporate interests.’
The EU Comission has now responded to the inquiry launched by the Ombudswoman on the potential maladministration of the body in the first Omnibus package, where it doubled down in defending the way its proposal was put forward.
The coalition of NGOs denounce the Commmission's refusal to acknowledge the opacity of the process, ‘despite clear breaches of its own Better Regulation guidelines and essential procedural requirement under the European Climate Law.’
On the 23rd of September, decision makers, communities, and civil society organisations are marching for the EU institutions to start fighting for a green and social Europe.
The protest is calling for an end to regulation and the emergence of ‘rules for business to ensure that they do not pollute our air and water and that they treat their workers with fairness and dignity.’
Further Reading:
New analysis shows that, while sustainability has significantly declined in perceived importance since 2022, this effect is now changing.
In terms of sustainability as a CEO priority, Andreas Rasche writes that we are roughly back where we were in 2018.
EU Observer Interview with Andrea Rasche on business scholars' warning that EU ‘simplification’ risks climate goals and competitiveness
Earlier this year, 250 business scholars from institutes including MIT, LMU Munich and IMD Lausanne issued the ‘Copenhagen declaration,’ urging the commission to rethink their approach to the Omninbus.
In this interview, Andrea Rashce, a professor at Copenhagen Business School and a driving force behind the declaration, says that he is in favour of simplification if done right, but that tearing up EU green rules is “not a winning strategy for Europe.”
The UN Global Compact makes the business case for sustainability
This new study claims that elements of corporate behaviour once considered “intangible” — employee well-being, fair wages, diversity, and stakeholder trust — have a huge impact on profitability.
Implementation timeline:
- October 2025: Planned vote on the Omnibus in the Plenary of European Parliament (date TBC)
- Late 2025-2026: Trilogue on Omnibus (Parliament, Council and Commission) to negotiate final legal text.
- From 2028 [delayed]: Companies with 5,000+ employees and a net turnover of 1 ,500 million EUR must comply.
- From 2028 [unchanged]: Companies with 3,000+ employees and a net turnover of 900 million EUR must comply.
- From 2029 [unchanged]: Companies with 1,000+ employees and a net turnover of 450 million EUR must comply.
Spotlight: STITCH Partnership launches Human Rights Due Diligence guidance
Beyond Human Rights Compliance contributed to the development of the STITCH Partnership's Technical Guidance on Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Garment, Apparel and Textile Sectors, which was launched today. This guide aims to provide brands with concrete tools to strengthen their human rights due diligence (HRDD) and ensure garment workers’ voices drive lasting improvements in supply chains.
Built on the five core principles of the Framework on Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement — legitimacy, accessibility, safety, equitability, and respect— this Technical Guidance provides practical insights and tools to support meaningful stakeholder engagement at every step of the HRDD process. Learn more and download the resource here: https://lnkd.in/dGbTz7hX
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
Updates:
The EU proposes to delay the EUDR by another year.
The EU Commission is seeking to once again delay the implementation of the bloc’s landmark deforestation law.
The EU’s Environment Commissioner cited “concerns regarding the IT system given the amount of information that we put into the system” as the primary reason for seeking the postponement.
This would be the second delay of the regulation, which was already postponed by a year in 2024 to appease concerns it was too bureaucratic and would penalise smallholder farmers.
According to the Financial Times, the industry is ‘split’ over the law: ‘Cocoa and rubber companies including Nestlé, Unilever, Michelin and Pirelli have all issued statements against delaying the law, while forestry lobbies, farmers and magazine publishers have called for it to be simplified and postponed.’
The EU signs a trade deal with Indonesia, in a demonstration of geopolitical security’s pull over sustainability.
On the 23rd of September, the EU and Indonesia concluded a nine-year negotiation with a deal that will remove tariffs on nearly all European exports to Southeast Asia’s largest economy and strengthen the bloc’s access to critical raw materials (focused on nickel).
The Commission estimates this deal would save ‘EU exporters €600 million annually in levies on cars, machinery, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.’
Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of the European Centre for International Political economy (ECIPE) claims this “is by far the most ambitious Free Trade Agreement that the Indonesians have agreed to.”
Critically, under the deal, ‘Indonesia will be able to export a certain amount of palm oil tarrif-free to Europe.’ While it includes sustainability provisions, which are enforceable through dispute settlement, experts are deeply concerned what this concession means for the future of Europe’s sustainability agenda. The EUDR will be remain a challenge for the palm oil industry to navigate.
This is one in a flurry of trade deals which hope to offset the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, including the Mercosur agreement highlighted in the last edition of the Debrief.
Now, The European Parliament must ratify the deal, as must EU member states and Indonesia's parliament.
Further Reading/Listening:
New study finds that deforestation has killed half a million people in past 20 years.
Research published by the Nature Climate Change journal found that land clearance is raising the temperature in the tropics, accounting for 28,330 deaths a year between 2001 and 2020.
To calculate this, researchers in Brazil, Ghana and the UK compared non-accident mortality rates and temperatures in areas affected by tropical land clearance.
Prof Dominick Spracklen of the University of Leeds claims that this study proves “deforestation kills” and calls for a refocus on the local dangers of deforestation, which often get lost in “the global climate debate and the market-focused expansion of agricultural frontiers.”
Another landmark report has found that ‘cutting down the Amazon will bring extreme rain, wind and heat.’
New findings from Arim Yoon at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany ‘upend the prevailing assumption that removing the rainforest will lead to a drying out of the region’s climate.’
Instead, they found that the clearance of the rainforest will lead to ‘dry spells punctuated by bouts of extreme rain; strong winds that stunt any forest regrowth; and rising temperatures that cause heat stress for both people and wildlife.'
Implementation timeline:
- 30 June 2025: Country benchmarking act adopted
- 30 December 2025: Obligations stemming from the regulation will be binding for large operators and traders
- 30 June 2026: Obligations stemming from the regulation will be binding for micro- and small enterprises
EU Forced Labour Regulation (EUFLR)
Update: None
Further Reading: None
Implementation timeline:
- 2026: EU Commission to publish guidelines, including a forced labour risk database.
- 14 December 2027: law becomes applicable.
Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA)
Updates:
New letter penned by US policymakers calls on the cabinet to take urgent action to block seafood imports linked to forced labour in China.
Ian Urbina reports on Senator Dan Sullivan and Representative Chris Smith’s letter, sent to six cabinet secretaries in the Trump administration, urging efforts to end the importation of seafood fished, farmed or processed using forced labour, with a focus on Uyghur and North Korean forced labour practices.
Citing investigations by The Outlaw Ocean Project on Uyghur forced labour in the seafood sector, ‘the lawmakers called for stronger enforcement and procurement rules to prevent U.S. agencies from buying seafood tied to human rights abuses in China’s fishing industry.’
Further reading:
New Op-Ed by Human Rights Watch’s Yalkun Uluyol: China’s cover-ups don’t hide unending abuse for Uyghurs
This powerful piece documents the continuing subjugation of the Uyghur people and recounts his final visit to the Region in 2016: ‘I did not know it would be my last trip home, my last meal with my grandparents, the last hug from my father and the last time I felt I belonged.’
Uluyol calls on diplomats to continue to make public statements about abuses in Xinjiang during the U.N. Human Rights Council’s September session and to mark the third anniversary of the U.N.’s groundbreaking report.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is for general informational purposes only. It does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice.
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