Other regulatory requirements

In addition to the corporate sustainability due diligence directive, other EU sustainability rules require companies to obtain information, manage risks, and ensure traceability in their supply chains. In practice, these requirements are often implemented through contracts.

For example, the EU Battery Regulation requires companies to collect detailed information about raw materials and sustainability characteristics, including traceability data and third-party verification. The Conflict Minerals Regulation similarly requires importers to establish supply chain due diligence and obtain information about mineral origins and supply chain actors.

Other product legislation can create similar contractual needs. For instance, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) introduces requirements related to product sustainability, information availability, and digital product passports. To comply, companies need contractual arrangements with suppliers to obtain reliable product data and ensure that required information can flow across the value chain. Similarly, the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) introduces requirements for construction product information, documentation, and digital product passports, which in practice require contractual arrangements to ensure that relevant product data and documentation are obtained from suppliers and transferred across the construction supply chain.

These are only examples. Other EU legislation, such as the Forced Labour Regulation and various sector-specific product laws create similar expectations. In practice, regulatory obligations are often translated into contractual requirements for information sharing, traceability, monitoring, and corrective action across the supply chain.

Now, for turning sustainability requirements introduced by EU and national legislation into contractual requirements, you need to know what makes a contract, right?