The global regulatory landscape for sustainability reporting and corporate due diligence is becoming ‘increasingly complex’, as governments move from voluntary ESG guidance to mandatory disclosure and compliance requirements, Cascale has said.
The group, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, made the assessment in its 2026 Global Due Diligence and Sustainability Reporting Legislation Report, which analysed 21 pieces of legislation related to human rights and environmental due diligence and sustainability reporting in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
As it noted, there has been ‘growing momentum’ towards mandatory due diligence, climate disclosures, and transparent sustainability reporting, requiring companies to identify, mitigate and address environmental and human rights risks across supply chains.
In addition, climate disclosure legislation is increasingly becoming more detailed and enforceable, as many jurisdictions align with frameworks such as TCFD and IFRS S2.
Sustainability reporting landscape
“The regulatory landscape is no longer moving in one direction – we’re seeing the EU narrow parts of CSRD and CSDDD at the same time as markets like Canada, Australia, and parts of Asia-Pacific continue strengthening sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements,” commented Gabriele Ballero, manager, public affairs, Cascale. “That creates a genuinely complex operating environment for companies managing global value chains.
“What this report makes clear is that companies cannot approach this through fragmented, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction compliance strategies alone. The real challenge is building governance systems, data capabilities, and due diligence practices that work across multiple frameworks at once. Companies that invest early in that kind of operational readiness will be far better positioned to absorb what’s coming next.”
Higg Index
The report also maps sections of Cascale’s Higg Index – a suite of tools to measure the social and environmental performance of the consumer goods value chain – against legislative requirements, identifying the areas in which firms are best prepared for emerging legal obligations and broader sustainability strategies.
“Companies increasingly need robust data that can support both operational improvements and external disclosure expectations,” added Maravillas Rodriguez Zarco, vice president, tools & data, Cascale.
“By helping organisations connect regulatory expectations with practical implementation tools, this report highlights how standardised approaches and credible data systems can support continuous improvement across complex global value chains.” Read more here.
