Abstract:
Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) has long been viewed as a voluntary aspect of CSR.
which Is driven by SON law tools, ethical obligatIons and market Incentives. Nevenheless, the alarming rate of
climate change, Joss of biD-diversity and environmental degradation has led to regulatory transformation of
voluntary corporate to compulsory legal requirements. In this paper, we are going to explore how corporate
environmental responsibility has evolved with the trend of becoming a legally binding responsibility as a result of
mandatory environmental due diligence laws. The stud)' examines the changing regulatory frameworks such as
the European Union Corporate Sustalnabillty Due DIligence Directive (CSDDD), national supply chain due
diligence laws, and climate related disclosure laws. It assesses the extent to which these legal tools place
proactive requirements on corporations In order to detect, avoid. control. and report on environmental damage
throughout their operations and value chains. The paper carries a doctrinal legal approach. In an attempt to
understand the scope. enforcement procedures and the lJabllity provisions that are contained In the modern due
diligence regimes. The an/de maintains that mandator), environmental due diligence Is a jurldlflcatlon of CSR,
the Institution of environmental responsibility In corporate governance Institutions and responsibility of directors.
It also looks at whether these legal mechanisms can be successful In Increasing the accountability of the
corporations or whether they may turn Into procedural compliance tools but have no meaningful effects of
environmental change. The study reviews the practical Implications of this regulatory evolution by discussing the
Issues of enforcement, extraterritorial application and access to remedies of affected communities. Finally, the
paper ends by staling that the environmental due diligence laws represent a paradigm shift in corporate
regulation, which goes beyond voluntarism to a paradigm of enforceable sustainabl1Jty regulation. Their success,
however. relies on their strong enforcement. proper liabiJity and stakeholder involvement.
