CSDDD for journalists

From this spring 2025, large companies in the EU are legally obliged to disclose their impact on climate, the environment and human rights.

Their ‘corporate sustainability reports’ contain a wealth of new data. But lobbyists did a lot to water down the obligations and the reports are full of financial jargon and legal language.

I studied the concerning EU directives and talked to MEP’s, scientists, accountants, CEOs and NGO’ to come up with a practical reading guide for journalists and NGO researchers.

What you will learn‍

• Which companies fall under the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)? 
• What do they have to report? 
• Which are the ‘European Sustainability Reporting Standards’?
• What can be deduced from a company's ‘Double Materiality Assessment’ and ‘value chain’?
• How can you use the ‘EU Taxonomy’ to expose greenwashing?
• Which organizations play a role in ensuring compliance with the guidelines? Who should we keep an eye on and who can help us interpret the regulations?
• What role can we, as journalists, take on? 
• What are good questions to ask legislators, regulators and companies?

The training is also very suitable for NGO researchers who scrutinise the human rights and climate policies of companies.