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Climate transition plan in the EU corporate sustainability framework: a legal and empirical analysis

Liikejuridiikka 3/2025 s. 68–98
12.12.2025
Asiantuntija-artikkeli

In response to the climate crisis and lack of adequate action, the European Union (EU) introduced new legal requirements for large companies. As part of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU obliges large companies operating in the internal market to draft and implement a climate transition plan. This approach aims to ensure that businesses align their models and practices with the transition to a sustainable economy, adhere to the global temperature goals of the Paris Agreement and meet the targets set by European Climate Law. This article provides a legal and empirical analysis of companies’ obligations to draft climate transition plans under the CSRD and CSDDD, focusing on key content elements such as the duty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within corporate operations and across value chains. The study combines doctrinal legal analysis with qualitative expert interviews, which are utilised to build an understanding of how these new climate-related obligations are perceived and to explore their potential implications and impacts on companies. Further, drawing on the conceptual framework on environmental sustainability, the article connects the discussion of corporate responsibilities with global climate mitigation targets, ecological limits and planetary boundaries.

Asiasanat
• Euroopan unioni - Ilmastonmuutos - Kestävyysraportointi - Kestävä kehitys - Yritysvastuu