The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into force in early 2025, marks a transformative shift in how manufacturers must approach environmental responsibility. Building on the earlier Ecodesign Directive, the ESPR now applies far beyond energy-related products, extending its requirements to nearly all categories sold in the EU market. This sweeping regulation […]
The UK’s renewed commitment to its net-zero by 2050 target, laid out in the updated national strategy of October 2024, has placed supply-chain emissions under the microscope like never before. While large firms have long been encouraged to track their direct emissions (Scopes 1 and 2), the new mandate now requires detailed reporting of Scope […]
The reauthorization of the US Farm to School Act, which came into effect in July 2023, has quietly transformed the way states approach transparency in farm-to-table initiatives for K–12 schools. While the spirit of the law has always been about supporting local agriculture and ensuring healthier meals for students, this latest update places stronger emphasis […]
The 2024 amendments to the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive have, in a way, shifted the burden of accountability further upstream in packaging supply chains. For EU retailers, this isn’t just a regulatory adjustment; it’s a prompt—some might say a nudge, others a push—to rethink how packaging origins, compositions, and end-of-life plans are tracked and reported. […]
The 2023 amendments to the US Tariff Act have introduced a new dimension to import compliance, one that—while perhaps expected by some—still caught many trade professionals adjusting their internal processes on short notice. The core requirement is straightforward in theory: importers of goods subject to Section 301 tariffs must now disclose their upstream suppliers with […]
Since its introduction in 2018, Australia’s Modern Slavery Act has gradually reshaped corporate approaches to supply-chain governance. The Act started by focusing primarily on large corporations with obvious physical supply chains — manufacturing, agriculture, logistics. But as e-commerce has boomed, so too has recognition that modern slavery risks don’t stop at traditional production floors or […]
The EU’s Battery Regulation, which came into effect in February 2023, marks a notable shift in how the region governs the lifecycle of batteries, particularly for electric vehicles (EVs). It’s not just about recycling rates or carbon footprints anymore—though those matter too. The new framework sets out something arguably more ambitious: full traceability of critical […]
Canada’s enhancements to the Responsible Minerals Assurance Process (RMAP), which officially came into force at the start of 2023, have quietly started reshaping how tech hardware firms in the country approach mineral sourcing. The updated framework, while still aligned with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, introduces more stringent requirements—most notably, periodic on-site audits of smelters […]
Since the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act came into effect in March 2022, most discussions have focused—understandably—on its domestic workplace implications. The law prohibits the enforcement of arbitration agreements in cases involving sexual misconduct, a shift that many view as long overdue. But its ripple effects extend beyond HR departments […]
The conversation around resource efficiency and circularity in supply chains has grown louder in recent years, and in South Korea, the legal framework is keeping pace. The 2023 amendments to the Act on the Promotion of Saving and Recycling of Resources have quietly—but firmly—pushed companies, particularly those in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), toward much stricter […]
Japan’s regulatory and policy environment regarding supply-chain responsibility has, in recent years, evolved in ways that perhaps didn’t receive quite as much attention as comparable developments in the EU or US. But with the release of its Responsible Mineral Supply Chain Guidelines—which came into effect in April 2024—there is now clearer direction for companies, particularly […]
India’s regulatory landscape appears poised for another significant shift, this time in the realm of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs published its draft Corporate ESG Rules in July 2025, which—if finalized as expected—would impose mandatory ESG reporting on the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalization. A key feature, […]
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed Climate-Related Disclosure Rule, which many expect to be finalized by the end of 2025, has already started reshaping corporate conversations in boardrooms across the country. At its core lies a rather simple, though undeniably weighty, demand: that publicly traded companies provide transparent, standardized reporting of climate-related risks. Of […]
Since the revised ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) Rules of Origin came into force in July 2022, exporters across Southeast Asia have found themselves navigating a far more demanding compliance environment. At the heart of the change lies a sharper focus on verifiable proof of origin, designed to safeguard the integrity of preferential tariff […]
Since its entry into force in January 2023, the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has steadily expanded the landscape of corporate disclosure. Much of the early focus fell, unsurprisingly, on large enterprises and publicly listed giants. But as the months have passed—and as deadlines for compliance loom—attention is shifting towards another group now firmly […]
The UK’s proposed Mandatory Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Bill—introduced in 2024 and now making its way through Parliament—has already prompted considerable debate in boardrooms and policy circles alike. Though formal enactment isn’t expected until early 2026, many companies, particularly those with annual turnovers exceeding £36 million, are starting to think seriously about what […]