The Commission's proposed EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU CSDDD) is a pivotal step towards raising the bar for stronger corporate accountability on human rights and the environment and setting a level playing field for companies. However, there are opportunities for improvements to meet the intended objectives of the directive. In particular, following up on our joint paper on “Legislating for impact: Three Recommendations to Make Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence Work for Smallholders”, we believe more can be done as part of the CSDDD and through accompanying measures to secure the rights of smallholders and communities in global value chains and support them to respond to increased requirements from their buyers, stemming from compliance with the EU CSDDD. At its core, due diligence should be a rightsholder-centric process that is based on cooperation and partnerships between actors in global value chains.