Navigating the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Strategic Implications for US Companies
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The European Union’s (“EU”) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD” or the “Directive”) introduces new human rights and environmental obligations that reshape global corporate governance. This paper explores its impact on US companies, with a particular focus on compliance strategies under both direct and indirect applicability. It contrasts tactical compliance, which emphasizes risk mitigation while meeting minimum legal requirements, against strategic compliance, where companies use sustainability to gain a competitive edge in the market. This paper highlights how varying enforcement levels across EU Member States may incentivize companies to “forum shop” or choose jurisdictions with more relaxed enforcement. It also explores the concept of “loyalty” in compliance, with companies adopting either minimal or substantive strategies based on enforcement dynamics. This paper concludes with the argument that US companies adopting a strategic compliance approach are better positioned to lead in global sustainability, build stakeholder trust, and drive innovation.
Authors: Silvia Ciacchi, Michael Faure, Sharon Oded
Institution: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Language: English
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7123347644