The European Parliament has now approved the "Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive", which will apply to both EU and non-EU companies doing business in the European Union. (This law is being implemented gradually, depending on the size of the company involved, but any company doing business in the EU worth more than €450 million will be subject to its provisions within five years, and the law will also apply to any franchising or licensing companies contracts in the EU, which create a turnover of more than 80 million euros in the EU and earn at least 22.5 million euros from license fees within the EU.) The requirements imposed by this law are significant, including the adoption of the so-called climate transformation plan in accordance with the Paris Agreement (limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius), as well as achieving net zero emissions by 2050. In addition, with certain limited exceptions, companies will be forced to minimize and eliminate adverse environmental impacts in at every point in their supply chain – both upstream and downstream activities. (More on lexology.com)