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Smart‐Mix or Stupid Assurances? : How Businesses Used Voluntary Initiatives to (De)Legitimize Supply Chain Regulation

Gustafsson, Maria-Therese ; Bartley, Tim ; Boulanger Martel, Simon Pierre and Murray, John LU orcid (2025) In Global Policy
Abstract
Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) policies seem to represent a pathbreaking shift from voluntary measures to binding rules for global supply chains. Yet these policies endorse a “smart-mix” of voluntary and mandatory measures, and risk over-reliance on questionable private-sector assurances. In this paper, we ask how businesses framed these private/voluntary efforts in the face of looming regulation, focusing on the EU's new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Through a systematic coding of policy positions, we find businesses (1) using voluntary initiatives to delegitimize mandatory measures, (2) seeking to institutionalize voluntary norms, (3) pushing for private assurances to signify... (More)
Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) policies seem to represent a pathbreaking shift from voluntary measures to binding rules for global supply chains. Yet these policies endorse a “smart-mix” of voluntary and mandatory measures, and risk over-reliance on questionable private-sector assurances. In this paper, we ask how businesses framed these private/voluntary efforts in the face of looming regulation, focusing on the EU's new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Through a systematic coding of policy positions, we find businesses (1) using voluntary initiatives to delegitimize mandatory measures, (2) seeking to institutionalize voluntary norms, (3) pushing for private assurances to signify legal compliance, or (4) endorsing mandatory measures to protect the competitive advantage of sustainability leaders. While frames (1) and (4) shaped the debate, we argue that frames (2) and (3) are more fully reflected in the final text of the Directive. We explore both theoretical and practical implications. (Less)
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Global Policy
publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
external identifiers
  • scopus:105017841903
ISSN
1758-5899
DOI
10.1111/1758-5899.70075
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6c654ab3-491a-4475-972e-d4d248398b03
date added to LUP
2025-10-31 08:51:20
date last changed
2025-11-01 04:01:41
@article{6c654ab3-491a-4475-972e-d4d248398b03,
  abstract     = {{Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) policies seem to represent a pathbreaking shift from voluntary measures to binding rules for global supply chains. Yet these policies endorse a “smart-mix” of voluntary and mandatory measures, and risk over-reliance on questionable private-sector assurances. In this paper, we ask how businesses framed these private/voluntary efforts in the face of looming regulation, focusing on the EU's new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Through a systematic coding of policy positions, we find businesses (1) using voluntary initiatives to delegitimize mandatory measures, (2) seeking to institutionalize voluntary norms, (3) pushing for private assurances to signify legal compliance, or (4) endorsing mandatory measures to protect the competitive advantage of sustainability leaders. While frames (1) and (4) shaped the debate, we argue that frames (2) and (3) are more fully reflected in the final text of the Directive. We explore both theoretical and practical implications.}},
  author       = {{Gustafsson, Maria-Therese and Bartley, Tim and Boulanger Martel, Simon Pierre and Murray, John}},
  issn         = {{1758-5899}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
  series       = {{Global Policy}},
  title        = {{Smart‐Mix or Stupid Assurances? : How Businesses Used Voluntary Initiatives to (De)Legitimize Supply Chain Regulation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.70075}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/1758-5899.70075}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}