Collaboration and contestation in the shaping of the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: implications for global value chain governance

This paper explores the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) in the context of on-going debates on private and public governance of global value chains (GVCs). It analyses contestation and cooperation between distinct stakeholders in shaping the CS3D. It draws on secondary lobbying databases and primary interviews with key actors from civil society, trade union, industry and European Union institutions to explore three key research questions: First, what were the key issues of contestation around the concept of GVCs in the CS3D debate? Second, how was the role of existing private governance initiatives in CS3D conceptualised by key actors? Finally, what does the CS3D imply for the governance of GVCs? We illustrate how compromise emerged on the conceptualization of GVCs and the role of private governance in CS3D. Our findings highlight how this new regime could impact the future of due diligence and GVC governance.