Reporting Obligations in Supply and Value Chain Regulation: Tensions between Accountability, Transparency and Bureaucracy

This paper looks at tensions between accountability, transparency and bureaucracy in the context of supply chain regulation. Transparency is commonly perceived as a prerequisite for accountability. Reporting obligations help oversight bodies and the broader public to hold actors accountable. In the context of supply chain regulation, contested reporting duties include information on global suppliers and their compliance with human rights and environmental standards. The paper analyses the reporting duties established by binding legislation, specifically by the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) (Directive (EU) 2024/1760) and the potential conflicts behind contestation against these duties. It is based on research carried out in the framework of the research competence center on global supply and value chains established at the Berlin School of Economics and Law in 2024 (www.gsvc-research.org).