Executives from TotalEnergies and Siemens, along with more than forty major European companies, have sent an open letter to the presidents of France and Germany. They are calling on them to abolish the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) — a law that requires businesses to respect human rights and protect the environment throughout their supply chains. Companies that fail to comply could face fines of up to 5% of their global turnover.
Corporate sustainability means that businesses are responsible not only for profits but also for their impact on society and the environment. Under this principle, companies must ensure that their suppliers do not exploit workers, harm ecosystems, or violate ethical standards.
However, large corporations argue that the new law is overly complicated and expensive to implement. They claim it creates excessive bureaucracy and makes European companies less competitive on the global market.
The collective letter is a clear example of lobbying in action. Powerful business groups are trying to influence political decisions to weaken or cancel regulations they see as too strict. Outwardly, they justify this by pointing to economic concerns, but in practice, they are defending their own business interests.
Critics warn that repealing or softening this law could have serious consequences: weaker environmental protections, more labor abuses, and less corporate accountability for social and ecological impact.
At the same time, companies that have already invested in sustainable practices could find themselves at a disadvantage compared to those avoiding such commitments. EU institutions have not yet officially responded to the letter, but corporate sustainability is expected to become one of the main topics of political debate in Brussels in the coming months.
