A value chain could include an organisation’s products and services, business relationships and supply chain.

Imagine the scenario: your organisation is not in-scope of the EU directive, but nevertheless, you receive a document by email entitled, ‘CSRD: Value Chain Questionnaire’ from a key supplier. Slightly unnerved at the sight of this, you soon realise why it has found its way to you.

The supplier is a multinational organisation that employs hundreds of people; it is caught by the CSRD and is carrying out its sustainability audit in accordance with the EU directive. Your organisation is a key part of its value chain, and so it needs to understand more about your organisation, as per the requirements of the CSRD reporting framework.

This information will have to be provided in a standardised way, following the European Sustainability Reporting Standards framework (ESRS). The specific requirements that are likely to apply are set out under ESRS Social 2 (ESRS S-2) of the directive.

Our expert HR lawyers are well-placed to assist organisations complete these questionnaires received from suppliers, customers or parent entities, in accordance with the requirements under the CSRD.

Please note that recent proposals from the EU Commission, known as the ‘Omnibus-package’, are expected to have a significant impact on the scope of the CSRD, including on the reporting standards. At this stage, we do not know what it would precisely mean for the standards themselves, and until then, the above information still applies. We have written about the Omnibus Package in more detail here.