“The Asia way”: A regional approach to human rights and environmental due diligence
At the United Nations Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum Asia-Pacific 2025 (UNRBHRF 2025), amfori co-organised a session with the Economic Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia. More than 70 participants joined and explored how the region is shaping human rights and environmental due diligence, and specifically to form what we see as “The Asia way”. While opportunities arise in global norms and trends, the region also faces its challenges, and ambitions vary across different countries. However, the message is clear. Asia is not a passive taker of due diligence regulations. It is building a regional approach that fits local realities and connects with global expectations.
What is moving in Asia
Thailand and South Korea were widely referenced when it comes to due diligence regulations in Asia. Their mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws drafted this year signal the intent to lead in the region on responsible business and human rights. However, beyond having a law that directly places due diligence in its name, our discussions in the UNRBHRF 2025 highlighted wider policy moves that deserve greater attention globally, especially in East Asia and ASEAN.
In China, the Government is assembling its national architecture through the Corporate Sustainability Disclosure Standards and a draft Environmental Code. The ambitions for a unified disclosure system by 2030 and the high priority placed on the environment have paved the way for its due diligence pathway. The Japanese Government has also issued the Japanese Audit Standard for Textile Industry (JASTI), which is effective and mandatory for foreign workers now, and the Sustainability Disclosure Standards, which will soon also become mandatory as early as March 2027.
Across ASEAN, there has been an intention to engage with ESG issues; the lack of necessary resources and challenges faced by SMEs could be daunting. Despite so, Thailand has stepped up the progress of an HREDD law. Regional tools such as the ASEAN Simplified ESG Disclosure Guide and the ASEAN Greening Value Chain Playbook, published before the ASEAN Summit in May 2025, set a common reference. The direction is varied, yet the trend is unmistakable.
“The Asia way” and the need for a regional approach
The Asia way is pragmatic. It links due diligence and disclosure policies and regulations to national development and trade strategies, such as the commitments to improve labour welfare, the goals for carbon peak and neutrality, the bid for OECD membership, and the necessity to maintain trade relations with the EU. Thus, this progress moves in phases incrementally. To ensure the harmonisation of standards, these countries maintain consistency and alignment with international norms such as the UNGPs, the OECD Guidelines and the ISSB Standards.
Although different Asian countries adopt different regulatory pathways and ambitions, it is clear that Asia is not just responding to the global trends, it is defining and leading the trend that forms a recognisable “The Asia way” to due diligence. This has also highlighted the importance of a regional approach.
Supply chains do not stop at borders. A factory in Vietnam may source from China, ship through Thailand, and sell to buyers serving both Asian and EU markets. Without a regional approach, duplication grows and costs rise. A shared approach reduces noise, improves data quality and lets companies focus on real risk management rather than form-filling.
What does it mean and how can amfori help?
Businesses in Asia are aware of the international regulatory landscape, particularly the EU’s CSDDD and CSRD. In parallel, we should not overlook how Asia is shaping the due diligence and disclosure landscape in “the Asian way”. For amfori members and their suppliers, the core practices that you have already employed remain effective: risk-based due diligence, buyer-supplier collaboration, credible worker voice, and decision-useful disclosure. These keep companies ahead and well-prepared for the upcoming developments in Asia.
amfori will continue to support members and their suppliers in Asia through our well-established solutions. Our regional offices in the APAC region will continue to monitor the regulatory trend and provide tailored guidance, training and support in Asia.
What happens in Asia is not a “copy and paste” of regulations from other regions. It builds context, keeps pace with international norms, and connects policy to practice. This is The Asia Way that we hope to envision: regional, practical, and geared to deliver results that all supply chain actors can trust.
Next stop: amfori Asia Sustainability Summit
After an inspiring amfori Europe Sustainability Summit, amfori is now heading to Asia for the amfori Asia Sustainability Summit, taking place on 5 November 2025 in Hong Kong SAR, China.
Themed “Supply chain resilience in Asia in the face of challenges in a volatile world”, this event builds on the momentum of last year’s successful Asia Sustainability Summit in Hong Kong SAR, China and focuses on strengthening responsible and resilient supply chains in a rapidly evolving global environment.
