Breakfast Briefing: From Brussels to Beijing and Beyond

BY Maja Johannessen, Anniina Kristinsson

27 June 2025

On June 26th, 2025, we organised the first session of our new Breakfast Briefing series – an in-person morning at our Copenhagen office featuring coffee, croissants, and sharp perspectives.
The focus of the morning was on human rights due diligence (HRDD) across the product lifecycle. We explored how regulatory developments in the EU, China, Japan, key U.S states and other markets are reshaping how businesses take responsibility throughout their value chains.

A regulatory whistle-stop-tour of key markets by Joanne O’Donnell, Head of Global Regulatory Compliance at Compliance & Risks

Our guest speaker, Joanne leads a team of over 40 regulatory specialists and brings more than 14 years of experience advising global clients on ESG and product legislation. Known for their expertise in global regulatory intelligence, Compliance & Risks offered valuable insights during the session. Together, Compliance & Risks and Nordic Sustainability bring complementary strengths, combining regulatory insight with strategic foresight to support organisations in anticipating and navigating change.

“Human rights due diligence is a marathon, not a sprint. It spans the entire product lifecycle from sourcing and ethical labour practices, to design, use, and end-of-life treatment.” Joanne O’Donnell

In it for the long race: the course and obstacles

The path is far from straightforward. Regulatory uncertainty and diverging global approaches are making it increasingly difficult for companies to plan with confidence. Geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism further impact alignment across jurisdictions.

In this shifting landscape, navigating the hurdles with the right tools, plans and mindset will be crucial.

Stocktake on the global HRDDD landscape

Joanne provided a snapshot of how different jurisdictions are approaching HRDD, and where they stand in the race.

Europe remains an early frontrunner but is facing challenges in aligning rules across Member States and finalising key legislation
The United States lacks a unified federal approach. Instead, state-level initiatives are emerging independently, creating an often confusing regulatory environment
Asia is gaining ground, with South Korea taking a proactive stance, while China is advancing more cautiously, prioritising environmental regulation over human rights for now.
South America is in the early stages, though still trailing behind in terms of widespread adoption of mandatory HRDD laws.

Three takeaways from the session

Human rights due diligence is going global and growing teeth

Once largely voluntary, HRDD is now being formalised through mandatory laws in several jurisdictions. These vary in scope and enforcement, but the overall direction shows how companies must take responsibility across their full value chains or risk financial, reputational, or legal consequences.

Different countries are running different races

From the EU’s early lead to the U.S. patchwork of state-level efforts, from South Korea’s proactive policies to China’s more state-led approach, no two jurisdictions are fully aligned. Regulatory fragmentation and geopolitical tension are creating uncertainty, but also pushing companies to step up their internal governance and horizon scanning.
>In this context, a return to basics is emerging as a valuable approach: grounding due diligence in internationally recognised frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines. These standards offer both a responsible foundation and strategic value in navigating today’s complex policy landscape.

Winning strategies are proactive, not reactive

Joanne outlined practical ways companies can stay ahead, from anchoring work in UN and OECD guidance, to investing in materiality assessments, using AI to manage data overlaps, and treating HRDD as part of broader resilience planning.

What’s next?

As the global due diligence landscape continues to evolve, companies are seeking clarity on how to move forward. While regulatory frameworks remain fragmented, many of the emerging laws are grounded in a common foundation—such as the six-step due diligence process

Dive into this webinar to see how we’re driving real impact on due diligence with CPH Airports and Ørsted.

At Nordic Sustainability, we support clients in navigating this complexity by helping them:

Map their current due diligence maturity
Conduct human rights risk and materiality assessments
Develop and implement due diligence and human rights policies
Build tailored roadmaps that align with both regulatory expectations and internal priorities

We also work with clients to unlock the value of due diligence as a tool for strengthening risk management and long-term resilience. In a world of growing scrutiny and shifting expectations, embedding human rights due diligence into core business strategy is a competitive advantage.

Compliance and Risk brings expertise in regulatory interpretation, governance frameworks. It has over 24 years experience helping companies stay on top of existing and emerging regulations via its cloud-based enterprise-ready online platform called C2P which consists of both a Product Compliance and an ESG Solution backed up its team of subject matter experts. The team supports clients in:

Tracking and monitoring compliance with existing and emerging regulations across almost 50 regulatory topics in over 195 countries and regions
Analysing and summarising complex regulations and supporting documentation
Unlocking global market access in a world increasingly focused on sustainability.
Answering relevance and other queries associated with key regulations via its Ask our Experts service.

Together, Nordic Sustainability and Compliance and Risks offer a comprehensive, end-to-end approach to due diligence. By combining strategic sustainability insights with regulatory precision, we help clients build resilient, future-ready organisations.

A warm thank you to Bea Vanhala for capturing the spirit of our event so radiantly.