A regulatory term referring to an entity: (i) with which the company has a commercial agreement related to the operations.
Business partner is the CSDDD relationship term that captures both direct and indirect entities connected to a company's operations, products, or services. That breadth matters because the Directive does not stop its due-diligence lens at the first contractual layer.
Directive (EU) 2024/1760 on corporate sustainability due diligence
an entity: (i) with which the company has a commercial agreement related to the operations, products or services of the company or to which the company provides services pursuant to point (g) (‘direct business partner’); or (ii) which is not a direct business partner but which performs business operations related to the operations, products or services of the company (‘indirect business partner’);
Reference: Article 3, point f
CSDDD entered into force on 25 July 2024. Member State transposition is required by 26 July 2026. The Directive applies first to the largest companies (net turnover > €1.5 billion EU-wide and > 1,000 employees) from 26 July 2027, with phased extension to smaller companies over the following years.
This term matters when a company maps who falls inside its due-diligence perimeter, especially where risk may sit beyond the first contractual counterparty. Distinguishing direct from indirect partners affects data-collection strategy, contractual leverage, and the evidential path for showing that risk assessment went far enough.
For Minespider, business partner is a perimeter term. It determines how far a due-diligence workflow must reach into the network before the company can credibly say it has identified and assessed material risk.