The EU Just Weakened Its Own Green Rules – And That Should Worry Us All

This week, the European Parliament approved a major rollback of the EU’s flagship sustainability reporting and corporate due-diligence rules. It didn’t make many headlines. It probably should have.

The changes dramatically reduce the number of companies required to report on environmental damage, human rights abuses, and supply-chain harm. Even more concerning, they strip out plans to harmonise access to justice across member states, making it harder for affected communities to hold companies to account.

In short: fewer companies covered, weaker oversight, and less legal protection for people and the planet.

What was supposed to happen?

The original laws were designed to:

• Require large companies to report honestly on their environmental and social impacts

• Hold businesses responsible for human rights abuses and ecological damage in their supply chains

• Create consistent legal routes across the EU so victims could seek justice, regardless of which country a company operated in

It wasn’t radical. It was about transparency, accountability, and fairness.

What’s changed?

The revised version:

• Excludes thousands of companies that were previously covered

• Weakens requirements around due diligence in global supply chains

• Removes key provisions aimed at aligning legal access across EU states

The practical effect is simple:
many companies will no longer have to look too closely at where their materials come from, who is harmed along the way, or how much damage is done before products reach the shelves.

Why this matters beyond the EU

Supply chains don’t stop at borders.

Decisions like this affect:

• Workers in developing countries

• Communities living near extractive industries

• Forests, rivers, and ecosystems far from Europe

• Consumers who assume “green” labels mean something

When reporting rules are watered down, greenwashing becomes easier and accountability harder.

The uncomfortable truth

Climate and sustainability targets are only as strong as the laws enforcing them. Rolling back protections sends a signal that economic convenience is once again winning over long-term responsibility.

And once protections are removed, they are rarely restored quickly.

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🔗 Call to Action

This week’s Going Green Podcast looks at:

• What the EU vote actually changed

• Who benefits — and who loses

• Why transparency matters more than ever

• What this tells us about the future of environmental policy

Because sustainability isn’t just about targets.
It’s about rules that still apply when they’re inconvenient.