---
title: "Adverse environmental impact"
description: "Adverse environmental impact (CSDDD): an impact on the environment from a breach of the prohibitions and obligations the Annex lists."
canonical: "https://gencompl.ai/glossary/adverse-environmental-impact"
language: "en-US"
type: "Glossary term"
published: "2026-10-13T21:30:08.371Z"
modified: "2026-10-13T21:37:06.316Z"
---

# Adverse environmental impact

An adverse impact on the environment resulting from the breach of the prohibitions and obligations listed in Part I, Section 1, points 15 and 16, and Part II of the Annex to this Directive, taking into account national legislation linked to the provisions of the instruments listed therein.

**What does "Adverse environmental impact" mean under the CSDDD?**

Defined in: [CSDDD](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/csddd) (32024L1760)

[Home](https://gencompl.ai/) › [Glossary](https://gencompl.ai/glossary) › Adverse environmental impact

> An adverse impact on the environment resulting from the breach of the prohibitions and obligations listed in Part I, Section 1, points 15 and 16, and Part II of the Annex to this Directive, taking into account national legislation linked to the provisions of the instruments listed therein

## Defined in / by

- [CSDDD (32024L1760)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/csddd), Article 3(1), point (b)

Last updated: 13 October 2026.

## What the Annex lists

The definition sets no general standard of environmental harm. It points to a closed list in the Annex. Two of its three references sit in the human rights part of the Annex, not the environmental one. Part I, Section 1, point 15 prohibits causing measurable environmental degradation, such as harmful soil change, water or air pollution, harmful emissions, excessive water consumption, degradation of land or deforestation, where the degradation impairs the natural bases for food, denies safe drinking water, hinders access to sanitation, harms a person's health, safety or use of land, or adversely affects ecosystem services. Point 16 protects the right of individuals, groupings and communities to lands and resources, including the prohibition to unlawfully evict or take land, forests and waters.

Part II then lists prohibitions and obligations from environmental instruments. The first nine points cover, among others, the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Rotterdam Convention and the Montreal Protocol. The definition adds that national legislation linked to the provisions of those instruments is taken into account.

The practical consequence is that an environmental harm enters the Directive through a breach of a listed prohibition or obligation, not through its size alone. A company mapping its exposure starts from the Annex text and works outwards to its own activities, not the other way round.

> **What we could not establish**
>
> We read all of Part I, Section 1, point 15 and point 16, and the first nine points of Part II. The Annex runs longer. Read the Official Journal text before drawing a conclusion about a specific substance, species or site. This entry fixes the term. It does not decide whether the term catches your institution; counsel decides that.

## Questions and answers

### Is every pollution event an adverse environmental impact?

No. Only an impact that results from the breach of a prohibition or obligation listed in the Annex counts.

### Where in the Annex are the environmental provisions?

In Part I, Section 1, points 15 and 16, and in Part II.

## Sources

- [Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on corporate sustainability due diligence](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401760) (EUR-Lex · 13 June 2024)

## Related content

### Glossary term

- [Adverse impact](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/adverse-impact-csddd): An adverse environmental impact or adverse human rights impact.

### Regulation

- [Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/csddd): The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive is Directive (EU) 2024/1760. After Omnibus I, Member States must transpose it by 26 July 2028 and apply it from 26 July 2029, to companies with more than 5,000 employees and EUR 1.5 billion in net worldwide turnover. The Netherlands has a draft bill, the Wivo, which names the ACM as supervisor.