The EU blocked a proposal on Wednesday aimed at fostering sustainability and responsible corporate behavior in the bloc. The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) aimed to accomplish these goals while also protecting human rights and the environment in companies’ operations and corporate governance.

The European Commission previously adopted the proposal on February 23. The CSDDD stipulates that EU member states ensure that companies take appropriate measures to identify actual or potential adverse human rights and environmental impacts in their own operations, in their subsidiaries, and at the level of their established direct or indirect business relationships in their value chain. The CSDDD would have affected both large EU limited liability companies and some non-EU companies.

The CSDDD can only be adopted if a qualified majority of EU member states is reached. This means that at least 15 EU countries representing at least 65 percent of the total EU population must vote in favor of the proposal. On Wednesday, this necessary support was not found. According to the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, it will consider if it is possible to address the concerns put forward by member states in consultation with the European Parliament to bring the proposal back up for another vote.

The UNICEF Representation to EU Institutions stated that the EU has a responsibility to make sure that children’s rights are not abused by businesses, which arguably would have been accomplished by the CSDDD The European Coalition for Corporate Justice also drafted a joint civil society statement, claiming that the failure of the EU Council to endorse the CSDDD marks a deplorable setback for corporate accountability and the protection of human rights and the environment worldwide.