Sustainability due diligence
Ensuring your company knows and addresses its impacts on people and the planet
Due diligence
Whether driven by investor pressure, legislative requirements, the need to attract talent, or the desire to avoid reputational damage and lawsuits, companies are increasingly expected to conduct sustainability due diligence. This involves identifying and addressing any harm to people or the environment within their value chain.
Sustainability due diligence, also known as Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD), is the method by which companies demonstrate their commitment to respecting human rights and protecting the environment.
If you can demonstrate how you learn from your mistakes,
you are on the right track.
Our Sustainability
due diligence services
Are you compliant?
Due diligence is here to stay. International standards have influenced EU rules and national legislations globally. The frameworks have many overlaps and some gaps. We help you understand your gaps and how to close them. Our excellence lies in supporting you to put due diligence into practice – whether your aim is to comply, or to go beyond.
We have experience with:
- Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
- The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
- EU Forced Labor Regulation (EUFLR)
- German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG)
- French Corporate Duty of Vigilance Law
- UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
- OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (and sector specific guidelines)
EU law due diligence
services:
CSDDD
Advisory on due diligence obligations under EU law
The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) establishes a legal obligation for companies within its scope to identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their own operations, subsidiaries, and value chains.
Our CSDDD services:
Readiness and system design
- Gap analysis against CSDDD requirements and scope
- Design of due diligence policies, processes, and governance structures
- Review of existing policies and contracts against CSDDD requirements
- Due diligence support for transactions, mergers, and market entry
Assessment and engagement
- Stress testing of existing due diligence systems
- In-depth impact assessments and high-risk area management
- Stakeholder engagement processes in line with CSDDD requirements
Monitoring impacts and remediation
- Determining and implementing appropriate action in response to identified impacts
- Monitoring of due diligence effectiveness over time
- Design and review of grievance mechanisms in line with CSDDD requirements
EU Forced Labour Regulation
Advisory on compliance with the EU ban on forced labour products
The EU Forced Labour Regulation prohibits the placing, making available, and exporting of products made with forced labour on the EU market. Enforcement is based on investigations at product and supply chain level, rather than on a company’s general compliance status.
Our EU Forced Labour Regulation services:
Risk mapping and assessment
- Risk assessment at company, supply chain, and product level
- Risk assessment for investors and private equity, including at portfolio and target level
- Prioritisation of risk areas based on regulatory exposure
Responding to risk and impact
- Development of plans to address identified risks
- Support in prioritising and sequencing corrective actions
- Advisory on appropriate corrective action
Organisational readiness
- Training for procurement, compliance, and management functions
- Integration of forced labour risk indicators into existing due diligence systems
- Support in embedding risk monitoring into day-to-day operations
General due diligence
services:
Identifying your potential and actual impacts
Effective due diligence starts with understanding where your most severe impacts are. There is a difference between a higher level understanding of your typical impacts and doing deep dives on the ground, understanding actual impacts and finding out root cause.
We can help with:
- Value chain mapping and impact identification
- Deep dive Human rights impact assessment
- Evaluating suppliers or customers
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Know your Customer (from a human rights perspective)
- New market, new product, new business partner
- Double materiality assessments in line with ESRS
See also our services under Global Compliance & Complex Markets.
Addressing and preventing impacts
When impacts are found something needs to be done. We can help you in finding the appropriate measures for particular situations, to remediate, mitigate and prevent further harm. We can support in concrete context specific measures on the ground as well as key measures that need to be taken on headquarter level.
Some examples of how we can support are:
- Human rights management framework
- Together with your direct or indirect business partner establish a preventive or corrective action plan
- Advice on responsible exit (see more in our services under GlobalCompliance & Complex Markets)
- Support in choosing appropriate measures to address identified impacts to minimize and bring harms to an end and finding remedy
- Support communication with business partners on expectations on Human Rights performance
Developing governance and policies
Explicit governance and accountability structures are a prerequisite for effective due diligence. We help you develop policies and codes, integrate it into the business and set up governance and define accountabilities for relevant roles.
Some examples of what we offer:
- Due diligence policy development and updates
- Code of Conduct development and updates
- Due diligence integration into your organisation
- Updating your contracts
Embedding due diligence into your organisation
For a successful due diligence process, companies need to ensure two key elements: internal competence and integration into internal processes.
We can help you with:
- Relevant competence development and training to Board, executive level, management, functions, control and line management.
- Incorporation of DD into risk, audit, compliance, procurement, legal.
- Toolbox: updating and reviewing tools such as checklists, contracts, SAQs, codes, purchasing practices.
- Supplementing certifications, external audits and assurance processes from a DD perspective.
- “Sanity check” – validate the correctness of your integration and monitor its implementation
Creating stakeholder engagement
To enable meaningful dialogue, it is essential to understand the purpose of the engagement and to treat all stakeholders with respect. Our framework for stakeholder engagement ensures that all interactions are meaningful, ethical, and safe.
We can help you:
- Develop an engagement and communication strategy, policy or plan
- Map stakeholders
- Engage with affected stakeholders for your impact assessment
- Engage with proxies, human rights experts, industry and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
- Practical advice on how to make the engagement safe and meaningful depending on context.
Creating your complaints mechanism
Effective remedy requires a systematic approach, not ad hoc solutions. We can help you avoid the “case-by-case” approach and adopt structured procedures for consistent response.
We offer assistance with:
- Transitioning from hotlines or whistleblowing to comprehensive complaints mechanisms
- Developing complaints procedures and notification mechanisms
- Establishing grievance procedures
- Preparing your legal and compliance functions
- Remediation efforts
Reach out to get your own tailored solution!
Contact:
+46 8 522 03 450
info@enact.se