Responsible Business Law After the 2026 EU Omnibus Reform

The EU's "Omnibus" simplification package finally landed this year: Directive (EU) 2026/470 was published on 26 February 2026 and entered into force on 18 March 2026, materially narrowing both the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Scope thresholds jumped — CSRD now catches only firms above 1,000 employees and €450 million turnover, CSDDD only above 5,000 employees and €1.5 billion — and Member States lose the ability to gold-plate due diligence rules beyond the harmonised floor. The political fight behind the numbers has been sharp: competitiveness advocates call it overdue relief, sustainability specialists call it a retreat from mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.

Whichever side of that debate a reader sits on, the practical upshot is the same: responsible business obligations in the EU are not disappearing, they are being recalibrated — and the legal architecture behind them (treaty law, trade-bloc agreements, ILO standards, ESG disclosure) is exactly what in-house counsel, compliance teams and researchers now need to map correctly.

A single reference point for a moving target

That is the gap filled by The Routledge Companion to International Law and Responsible Business, edited by Bart Wernaart (Fontys University of Applied Sciences) and newly published by Routledge. Across roughly 35 chapters and five parts, the volume moves from the methods and institutions of international law — the UN, the Bretton Woods institutions, the law of treaties — through business-law fundamentals (contract, private international law, antitrust and ESG convergence) into the functional fields where responsible-business obligations actually bite: food law, public procurement, business and human rights, and sustainability reporting.

For teams tracking how CSDDD, CSRD and their non-EU equivalents interact with the older architecture of international trade and investment law, it offers a comparative starting point rather than a single-jurisdiction snapshot — useful both for postgraduate teaching and as a reference when a new directive lands and needs to be placed in context fast.

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Q&A

What changed in EU sustainability law in 2026? The Omnibus Directive (EU) 2026/470, in force since 18 March 2026, narrowed the scope and obligations of both the CSRD and the CSDDD, focusing them on the largest companies.

Does this companion cover the Omnibus reforms directly? It covers the broader legal architecture — treaties, trade institutions, ESG, human rights, sustainability reporting — that reforms like the Omnibus package sit inside, making it a reference point for understanding where such changes fit.

Who edited the volume? Bart Wernaart of Fontys University of Applied Sciences, who also contributes several chapters, working with an international group of co-authors.

Is it suitable for both teaching and research? Yes — designed as a foundation for students new to international business law and a reference for established scholars and compliance professionals.

Where can I order it? Directly from CLNZ Books, with secure worldwide shipping and payment by credit card or PayPal.