Cascale analysis examines evolving legislation across key global markets and highlights where the Higg Index may support readiness efforts.
Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Oakland (CA) – May 20, 2026: The global regulatory landscape for sustainability reporting and corporate due diligence is becoming increasingly complex as governments worldwide continue shifting from voluntary guidance to mandatory requirements. To help companies in the consumer goods value chain navigate these developments, Cascale has released a new 2026 Global Due Diligence and Sustainability Reporting Legislation Report, analyzing the most relevant adopted and emerging laws related to human rights and environmental due diligence and sustainability reporting.
The report examines 21 legislations across Europe, the United States, the broader Americas, and Asia-Pacific, offering companies a region-by-region overview of current and upcoming obligations. It also identifies where the Higg Index suite of tools may help companies strengthen data, governance systems, and performance measurement practices that are increasingly expected by regulators, investors, business partners, and consumers.
While some regulatory frameworks have narrowed in scope in recent years, including revisions to the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the broader global trajectory continues toward greater transparency, more rigorous sustainability disclosures, and stronger due diligence obligations.
At the same time, countries including Canada, Australia, and jurisdictions across the United States and Asia-Pacific continue strengthening climate reporting, human rights due diligence, and supply chain transparency requirements, often aligning with international standards such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct.
For companies operating global value chains, these changes are creating growing pressure to understand not only what is mandatory today, but also where regulation is heading and how expectations differ across markets.
“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. That creates a genuinely complex operating environment for companies managing global value chains,” said Gabriele Ballero, manager, public affairs, Cascale. “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.”
The report emphasizes that while the Higg Index tools are not compliance instruments, they may help companies access credible, standardized, and scalable data that supports preparedness for emerging legal obligations and broader sustainability strategies.
The analysis maps legislative requirements against relevant sections of the Higg Index, helping companies identify where they may already have access to information that can support due diligence processes, risk assessments, governance practices, environmental performance tracking, and sustainability disclosures.
“Companies increasingly need robust data that can support both operational improvements and external disclosure expectations,” said Maravillas Rodriguez Zarco, vice president, tools & data, Cascale. “By helping organizations connect regulatory expectations with practical implementation tools, this report highlights how standardized approaches and credible data systems can support continuous improvement across complex global value chains.”
The report identifies several major trends shaping the future of corporate sustainability regulation:
The report also assesses how legislation aligns with Cascale’s strategic pillars and core areas of work, including fair purchasing practices, streamlined audits, supply chain decarbonization, and foundational environmental performance.
Designed for both Cascale members and non-members, the report serves as a practical reference guide for apparel, footwear, textiles, and adjacent consumer goods companies seeking to better understand evolving sustainability obligations across jurisdictions.
The report also clarifies that the Higg Index overlap assessment is intended to identify where relevant information may exist within the tools and does not constitute legal advice or guarantee compliance.
“Asia-Pacific is home to some of the most complex and critical nodes in global apparel and footwear supply chains, and the regional regulatory landscape is becoming significantly more demanding. Major markets, including Japan and several others, are adopting mandatory climate disclosure frameworks aligned with TCFD and ISSB standards like IFRS S2 — and that’s just one part of a broader shift. What we’re hearing from members across regions is that policy ambition needs to be matched with practical implementation pathways, ” said Howard Kwong, senior manager, public affairs APAC, Cascale. “The direction is clear worldwide: expectations for transparency, accountability, and measurable sustainability performance continue to grow. Companies that begin strengthening governance, data systems, and risk-based due diligence practices now will be better equipped to respond — wherever they operate.”
Cascale’s 2026 Global Due Diligence and Sustainability Reporting Legislation Report focuses on adopted and mandatory legislation, or legislation expected to become mandatory in the near future, related to sustainability reporting and human rights and environmental due diligence. Legislative proposals, voluntary frameworks, and international guidelines are referenced separately to provide additional context.
The analysis focuses primarily on apparel, footwear, textiles, and adjacent consumer goods sectors, where the Higg Index is most established, while also recognizing broader relevance across global value chains.
Media Contact: Forster Communications, cascaleforster@forster.co.uk
This analysis examines evolving legislation across key global markets and highlights where the Higg Index may support readiness efforts.
Please fill out the form to download the publication
At 2026 OECD Forum, apparel stakeholders address challenges and opportunities in upstream due diligence.
At the recent 2026 OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector held in Paris, responsible purchasing practices, upstream due diligence, and the industry’s role came into focus.
The Cascale team was privileged to contribute this year, participating in four formal sessions.
Interim chief executive officer Harsh Saini spoke at a mainstage workshop on upstream due diligence titled “Moving Beyond Direct Business Relationships” led by the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct’s garment and footwear program manager Peter Higgins, and Lauren Shields, lead of sustainability initiatives. Setting the scene for the workshop, fellow speakers included Clare Woodford, Alpine Group’s vice president of impact and sustainability and Ines Kaempfer, CEO of The Center for Child Rights and Business.
During the session, Cascale’s Saini highlighted the need for greater alignment across the sector to make due diligence workable in practice. She emphasized that focusing only on Tier-1 suppliers is insufficient and risks perpetuating fragmentation and audit fatigue for manufacturers.
“For more than 30 years we’ve been asking suppliers for more and more information, yet we keep duplicating efforts instead of coordinating them,” said Saini. “If we want due diligence to work upstream, we have to move beyond Tier-1, align expectations, and stop overburdening suppliers with fragmented requests.”
She noted that collaboration between initiatives, including Fair Wear, the Social and Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), Better Buying and others, together with shared data from tools such as the Higg Index, is essential to support upstream due diligence and credible decent-work outcomes across supply chains.
The workshop featured a discussion-style format with attendees divided into groups after initial firestarter prompts on upstream due diligence. Groups included brands, manufacturers, sustainability initiatives, and trade unions, CSOs, and policymakers.
Cascale also hosted a virtual side session drawing on insights from the Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index (BBPPI) 2025, “Sustainable Supply Chains in Turbulent Times: Regional Differences in Suppliers’ Experiences of Buyer Purchasing Practices in the Age of Tariffs.”
Katie Hess, head of product at Cascale’s Better Buying, and Orsolya Janossy, senior sustainability manager at Recover, guided the conversation. The virtual session underscored Cascale’s Better Buying data, collected confidentially from suppliers in Spring 2025. It unpacked regional challenges faced by suppliers, the impact of local contexts and business environments on buyer purchasing practices, and how buyer companies can adapt to volatility – while upholding responsible practices during turbulent times.
“This isn’t just a pricing conversation,” said Hess. “It comes down to a stability and feasibility issue. When costing isn’t realistic, it becomes a due diligence issue. Compliance and decent work are what gets squeezed first.”
“What we learned is that responsible sourcing isn’t just about auditing compliance or sourcing compliance, it’s about building a win-win sustainable partnership,” said Janossy.
She showcased a case study from Recover’s suppliers in Bangladesh, where fire safety often lags. Together, they prioritized long-term stability through shared risk management and improved grievance mechanisms and training.
In a separate virtual side session, Cascale’s Jeremy Lardeau, senior vice president of the Higg Index, moderated a discussion hosted by The Industry We Want as part of a Retailer Roundtable (RRT). Representatives from Fair Wear, retailers Zalando and Boozt, and brand member Ecco also joined the conversation. The session explored the essential and often overlooked role of third-party retailers in implementing and upholding effective Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD). Using the RRT to foster a pre-competitive space for retailers, the session examined the role of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) to share and promote best practices. Together, these efforts aim to develop aligned solutions grounded in the OECD Due Diligence for Responsible Business Conduct framework.
In addition, Gabriele Ballero, public affairs manager at Cascale participated in a multi-stakeholder roundtable co-organized by Policy Hub and SLCP, focused on the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) in the textile sector. The discussion gathered brands, manufacturers, policymakers and civil society representatives to assess the practical implications of the Omnibus changes and priorities for upcoming guidance.
Participants emphasized that the sector is not starting from scratch and that implementation should recognize credible existing tools and initiatives rather than create parallel systems. The discussion also highlighted the need for clarity around “reasonably available information,” warning that without guidance companies may over-collect data or face legal uncertainty. Stakeholders broadly supported a progressive, risk-based approach, greater interoperability across instruments, and collaboration to address deeper tiers of the supply chain while reducing audit fatigue.
Also in attendance were Cascale’s Carolina van Loenen, director of stakeholder engagement; Orine Dsouza, senior manager, Higg Facility Tools; and Hanna Griesbeck Garcia, Manager, stakeholder engagement, EMEA. As in years past, the stakeholder engagement team played a leading role in event preparation.
