The EU CSDDD entered into force 18 March 2026. ~6,000 EU and ~900 non-EU companies must now do human-rights and environmental diligence across their value chains — and that obligation cascades to every African supplier they buy from. Here's what your business must do to win, not lose, EU contracts.
<p class="lead"><strong>The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) entered into force on 18 March 2026.</strong> Roughly 6,000 EU and 900 non-EU large companies must now identify, prevent, and remediate human-rights and environmental impacts across their value chains. The directive does not directly regulate most African suppliers — but the obligation rolls downhill. Your EU buyers will pass diligence questionnaires, audit demands, and contract clauses to you. Suppliers that show up ready win. Suppliers that don't, lose the order.</p> <h2>What CSDDD actually requires</h2> <p>The CSDDD obliges in-scope companies to take five linked actions:</p> <ol> <li><strong>Integrate due diligence into corporate policy and risk management.</strong> Board-level accountability; written policy; risk identification baked into procurement.</li> <li><strong>Identify and assess actual and potential adverse impacts</strong> on human rights and the environment across the company's own operations, subsidiaries, and value chain.</li> <li><strong>Prevent or mitigate the adverse impacts.</strong> Includes contractual cascading to direct business partners, capacity-building support