For this to be possible, the CSDDD must be shaped focusing on the needs of different stakeholders across global value chains. As stated in the General Principles of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the framework should be implemented ‘with particular attention to the rights and needs of, as well as the challenges faced by, individuals or populations that may be at heightened risk of becoming vulnerable or marginalised’.

Around the world, smallholder farmers play a substantial role in supplying global agricultural supply chains. Between 70 to 90% of global cocoa, coffee, rubber, tea, and cotton is produced by smallholders. While smallholders can be active drivers of sustainable development, the conditions for them to produce their goods in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable way are often lacking. As a result, smallholders rarely earn a living income, and when they hire workers, they often are unable to pay them a living wage. The ability to earn a living income is at the heard of the fulfillment of other human rights and environmental standards. As such, it should also be explicitly recognised as within the scope of the due diligence framework set up by the CSDDD.

This paper dives deeper into the concept of living income to look at what it is composed of, how it can be measured and who are the people that are relying on it. It then moves to an overview of how it could and should be integrated throughout the due diligence process.