Finnwatch

Finnwatch welcomes the revision of public procurement directives and this opportunity to provide feedback for it. The EU has in recent years introduced new sustainability rules for companies, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which introduce sustainability due diligence obligations and related reporting duties for in-scope companies.

It is clear that the current public procurement directive is not fit to scale business respect for human rights and the environment. As such, we support the review of public procurement directives as there is a pressing need for a transition to sustainable business models.

Finnwatch response to the European Commission 29.5.2026 Finnwatch response to the European Commission consultation on the revision of the European sustainability reporting standards ESRS E1 (climate disclosures) While we welcome that the E1 standard on climate-related disclosures has maintained sufficient coverage of climate related sustainability issues, we would like to point out few changes that should be…

Opening of the attached position paper · the full paper is on the Commission’s record (source link above)

Finnwatch, a business and human rights NGO based in Helsinki, Finland, welcomes the long-awaited commission proposal for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. At times when we are facing multiple crises from covid-19 to climate emergency, rapidly accelerating holocene extinction and a war in Europe, this directive could represent a landmark step towards minimising the adverse impacts of unsustainable…

In June 2021, Finnwatch published a report on the market for emission compensations in Finland. The report also deals comprehensively with Finnish land-use sector projects, so its findings and recommendations are relevant to the proposal for certification of carbon removal. The PDF version of the report is attached and can also be found at https://finnwatch.org/fi/julkaisut/anekauppaa-vai-ilmastotekoja

Filed in Finnish · English published by the European Commission

Finnwatch welcomes the initiative to establish a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. Current level of consumption in the European Union is utterly unsustainable and in direct contradiction with the EU goals of stopping climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

Finnwatch welcomes the initiative to expand the scope of the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) to downstream products and encourages the commission to also consider expansion to new products groups. The mechanism has multiple overlapping benefits for the goals of climate policy.

The European Climate Law is the cornerstone of climate action in the EU and its member states. In light of the recent opinion from the International Court of Justice ICJ and the relentless progression of disastrous effects from climate change, the policymakers should recognize their important role while amending the Law and setting the future targets.

Finnwatch would like to thank the Commission for the opportunity to provide feedback on the Commission proposal for a regulation establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority (and repealing the existing UCC).

Finnwatch welcomes the planned reform of the UCC and this opportunity to provide feedback. As an NGO that investigates human rights abuses in global supply chains and facilities redress and remedies for victims, we need access to supply chain information. Whereas some pioneering companies are forthcoming with this information, many companies are not.

The EU Commission's calls for simplification of the tax system are reasonable, given the administrative burden of navigating 27 distinct national tax systems. However, it is important to consider carefully revisions to directives such as ATAD in order not to undermine their policy objectives. Many proposals framed as simplifications risk creating more space for profit shifting and aggressive tax planning.

In its response, Finnwatch is focusing only on the proposed changes to the battery due diligence obligations. Finnwatch does not support the Commission's proposal to reduce the scope of the application of certain due diligence obligations in the batteries regulation by extending the exclusion clause that currently applies to companies with less than 40 million euros turnover to companies with less than 150 million…

Finnwatch finds it regretful that the Commission proposes to delay the implementation of battery due diligence obligations. When the Commission once again starts to roll back on legislation that has been so recently adopted that it has not yet even been implemented, it creates uncertainty and undermines democracy and the EUs reliability and credibility.