Supply chain transparency is no longer a niche sustainability issue. Across global markets, regulators are introducing new disclosure requirements that are reshaping how organizations assess, monitor, and report on supply chain risks.
While many of these regulations are directed at large public companies, the impact extends far beyond those directly in scope. Private companies are increasingly being asked by customers, investors, and business partners to provide more detailed information about their suppliers, labor practices, sourcing, and environmental impacts.
Below are key regulations driving this shift and five practical steps organizations can take to prepare.
Why Supply Chain Transparency Is Increasingly Important
Regulators are placing greater scrutiny on how companies manage risks across their value chains—particularly around human rights, forced labor, environmental impacts, and deforestation. At the same time, investors and customers are asking organizations to demonstrate stronger oversight of suppliers and provide more reliable sustainability data.
The challenge for many organizations is keeping pace with an increasingly fragmented regulatory landscape. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, industry, and company size, while implementation timelines continue to shift. Building a structured process for identifying applicable regulations and tracking developments positions organizations to adapt as requirements continue to expand.
Labor-Focused and Human Rights Regulations
Several regulations aim to improve transparency around labor conditions, forced labor, and human rights risks across supply chains. Some key ones to know include:
UK Modern Slavery Act
In effect since 2015, the UK Modern Slavery Act requires certain commercial organizations operating in the UK with an annual turnover above £36 million to publish annual statements outlining steps taken to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking within their operations and supply chains.
Australia’s Modern Slavery Act
Australia’s Modern Slavery Act entered into force on January 1, 2019. The law applies to large businesses and entities operating in Australia with annual consolidated revenue of at least AU$100 million and requires annual reporting on modern slavery risks and mitigation efforts across operations and supply chains.
California Transparency in Supply Chains Act
Effective since 2012, California’s law requires large retailers and manufacturers doing business in the state, with annual worldwide gross receipts exceeding $100 million, to publicly disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking within their direct supply chains. Disclosures required may include information on supplier verifications, certification requirements, auditing practices, and employee training.
Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labor and Child Labor in Supply Chains Act
Canada’s Fighting Against Forced Labor and Child Labor in Supply Chains Act came into force in 2024. The law requires certain government institutions and private-sector entities involved in producing, selling, distributing, or importing goods in Canada to submit annual reports on measures taken to prevent and reduce the risk of forced and child labor within their operations and supply chains.
EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), requires certain large companies operating within the EU to identify, assess, prevent, and mitigate adverse human rights and environmental impacts across their operations, subsidiaries, and value chains. While the directive entered into force in 2024, subsequent amendments under the EU Omnibus I package narrowed its scope and adjusted implementation timelines. Member states must transpose the directive by July 26, 2028, with compliance requirements applying to in-scope companies from July 26, 2029.
The CSDDD is also influencing the broader regulatory landscape across Europe. Some member states are already aligning national due diligence frameworks with the directive’s requirements as they prepare for implementation. Germany, for instance, is winding down its Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) and largely paused enforcement as of late 2025, to replace it with CSDDD-implementing legislation.
Environmental and Deforestation Regulations
In addition to labor and human rights requirements, regulators are increasing scrutiny around environmental impacts within supply chains.
EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)
The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requires companies placing certain commodities and derived products on the EU market, or exporting them from the EU, to demonstrate they are not linked to deforestation or forest degradation. Covered commodities include soy, cattle, palm oil, rubber, coffee, cocoa, and wood. The regulation introduces traceability and due diligence requirements designed to improve visibility into sourcing practices across global supply chains.
EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) significantly expands sustainability reporting requirements across the EU. While it applies directly to certain large organizations and other in-scope organizations, it also creates indirect pressure across supply chains. Companies subject to CSRD often need to report on emissions, labor practices, and governance, as well as other sustainability data from suppliers to meet their own disclosure obligations. For many private companies, this means requests for sustainability information are becoming more detailed and more frequent, even when they are not directly subject to regulations themselves.
How Organizations Can Stay Ahead of Evolving Supply Chain Requirements
Keeping pace with evolving regulations can be challenging, particularly for organizations managing complex supplier networks or operating across multiple jurisdictions. As new requirements emerge and implementation timelines shift, maintaining visibility into regulatory obligations becomes increasingly important.
1. Identify Which Regulations Apply
Requirements vary significantly depending on company size, geography, industry, and operational footprint. Understanding which regulations apply is the first step toward building a more informed compliance strategy.
Novata’s Regulatory Navigator uses company-specific information, including revenue, employee count, operating countries, and industry classification, to identify applicable regulations and highlight relevant requirements.
2. Monitor Regulatory Developments
Regulatory requirements continue to evolve through new legislation, implementation guidance, enforcement actions, and amendments. Staying informed about these developments—and maintaining visibility into key dates and milestones— can help organizations anticipate changes, plan ahead, and avoid last-minute responses to evolving requirements before they become urgent compliance challenges.
3. Screen for Risk / Engage Internal Stakeholders
While regulation sets the floor, underlying risks beyond regulation still remain. Having a mechanism to engage the people who can act on risks across your supply chain (whether it’s forced labor, deforestation, or human rights impacts) is how you move from reactive regulatory compliance to real resilience.
Engage suppliers early and treat them as partners, not just audit targets. The relationship is the work: it’s what makes long-term improvement possible and lets you respond quickly when problems emerge.
4. Centralize Regulatory Intelligence
Regulatory information is often scattered across government websites, legal updates, industry publications, and internal teams. Consolidating relevant regulatory intelligence into a single view can improve consistency and support more efficient decision-making.
5. Build Scalable and Auditable Processes
As supply chain disclosure requirements grow, manual processes can become difficult to maintain across suppliers, jurisdictions, and reporting cycles. Establishing structured workflows for supplier engagement, data collection, and documentation can help organizations respond more efficiently to evolving requirements.
Novata’s Supply Chain solution streamlines supplier data collection and supports more consistent, auditable reporting processes. Combined with Regulatory Navigator’s visibility into applicable regulations and evolving requirements, organizations can build a more scalable approach to managing supply chain disclosure obligations.
Navigating Evolving Supply Chain Regulations with Novata
Supply chain disclosure requirements continue to evolve globally. But organizations don’t need to solve every challenge at once. With greater visibility into applicable regulations, key dates, and emerging developments and trends, organizations can move beyond reactive compliance and take an informed approach to managing supply chain risks and sustainability reporting.
A more structured approach to monitoring regulatory obligations can help teams stay aligned as requirements continue to evolve. Get started with Regulatory Navigator to cut through regulatory complexity and understand which requirements apply to your organization. And learn how Novata’s Supply Chain solution can help you take control of your supply chain sustainability data with more efficient, scalable, and audit-ready workflows.
