Do our ideas about what makes companies competitive actually hinder the shift toward sustainability? What role do share or stock buybacks have in this? And has the move towards sustainable finance actually succeeded in providing incentives for companies to change? As former ECB President Mario Draghi made his own proposals for returning Europe to competitiveness and President von der Leyen reveals her new proposed team, we ask if there is enough money for sustainability and competitiveness. If yes, where is it? To discuss these related issues, Frankly Speaking welcomes Myriam Vander Stichele, senior researcher at SOMO, the center for research on multinational corporations. You’ll hear more about: Competitiveness for long term resilience of the company is still the strongest argument What are share buybacks, what is happening and what are the implications for business How reality is catching up and how it's time to go back to an evidence-based debate to end polarisation Myriam shares how Europe must be a leader and champion the role of cooperation rather than simple economic competitiveness Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Welcome to the third season of Frankly Speaking! We’re kicking it off strong with a crucial topic: trust and what can drive improving it in business? To discuss this, Richard Howitt welcomes Alison Taylor, author of Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World. Alison is a clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, Executive Director of the organization Ethical Systems, and has been involved with some major consulting organizations, including Control Risks, Preventable Surprises and Business for Social Responsibility. In this episode, you’ll hear more about: Why Alison advocates for companies to say less and do more - and whether there's a danger in that The challenge of balancing meaningful action with broader accountability The crucial distinction between trust and reputation management Why it's high time companies start treating people like human beings Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn!
Today, Frankly Speaking welcomes Professor Michael H. Posner, director of the Centre for Business and Human Rights at NYU Stern School of Business. He also served in the Obama administration as assistant secretary of State. Throughout his career, Mike has played a key role in establishing some of the major global initiatives on responsible business, including the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, the Fair Labor Association, and the Global Network Initiative, and he continues to be one of the leading voices on business and human rights in the United States. You’ll hear more about: How too much about business and human rights is still process, not outcome or performance. Why companies must not abrogate responsibility A strong call for standards on due diligence for genuine accountability for businesses on their conduct The difficult political situation in the United States at the moment and how to respond to the ESG backlash Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
This week, Richard Howitt welcomes Robert McCorquodale, professor of international law and human rights and current chair of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, to discuss their report presented last month to the 56th Human Rights Council on investor responsibility to respect human rights. You can read a summary of the report here. In this episode, you’ll hear about: ESG is not the same as human rights: there must be a systematic integration or the consideration of human rights in relation to ESG How investors should and can prevent 'rightswashing' A call for the EU to look again in two years at including investment in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) While soft law holds significant importance, it is the amendment of hard law that ultimately brings about substantial and concrete change Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Germany's NewClimate Institute has produced the Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor, evaluating the transparency and integrity of climate pledges of 51 major companies across different sectors and geographies. Richard Howitt welcomes Frederic Hans and Thomas Day, co-authors of the report to discuss their findings and key recommendations to companies in their journey to net-zero. In this episode, you’ll find more about: Good business practices and what makes a business leader in climate action efforts Checklist of things to avoid if companies want to try and do this better If the ESRS and ISSB Standards are improving things and if companies can feel confident in following them? The need for science-based targets and what SBTi should do next What is green hushing and to what extent it can be dangerous Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter!
In this week’s episode, Richard Howitt asks: can we believe the numbers on environment, social and governance (ESG)? To address this, we welcome Richard Hardyment, author of Measuring Good Business: Making Sense of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Data. In it, he states that there is little or no evidence that ESG has and has had any positive outcomes for people and the planet in the real world. And yet he calls himself emphatically pro-sustainability. After directing research at the World Benchmarking Alliance, he is now Head of Business Engagement at the Institute of Business Ethics. In this episode, you’ll hear more about: The secret about sustainability reporting numbers The different ways in measuring social and environmental disclosures What makes a good proxy? How to pick up context in sustainability reporting? Can we measure the goodwill of the business? Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
We are a few days away from the European elections, and there is a frenzied atmosphere in Brussels for what the results might mean for the future of sustainability in the EU, Europe's Green Deal and for its implications for business. In this week’s episode, Richard Howitt welcomes Antonia Zimmermann, trade reporter for Politico Europe, which reports on European politics and policy, and Anna Brunetti, experienced financial journalist and economy editor at Euractiv. This conversation is going to guide you through what's happening and what might happen in the future. Together they discuss: What caused the backlash against the Green Deal and the green agenda in Europe? If Europe needs to play catch-up when it comes to financing the green transition What is the tone of this EU Elections campaign? Their predictions on the outcome of the 2024 EU elections Despite the risks, the challenges, the fears and the dangers, will climate stay on the agenda in the upcoming mandate? Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
In this Frankly Speaking episode, Richard Howitt welcomes MEP Heidi Hautala (Greens/ EFA), vice president of the European Parliament, founder of the EP’s working group for Responsible Business Conduct and former development minister of Finland. This year, Heidi has declared that she will step down at the forthcoming European elections. As one of the foremost advocates of business and human rights in Europe and a lead campaigner for Europe's new corporate sustainability due diligence law (#CSDDD), who better and what better time to ask Heidi about what has been achieved and what still needs to happen. A warm thank you to Heidi Hautala not only for coming on the podcast but most importantly for all the work done on the business and human rights agenda in the past 30 years. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
** Note to the listeners: due to technical difficulties, we recommend listening to this episode on Spotify while the audio is being updated on all platforms. Thank you for your patience and for bearing with us while we fix this technical issue. This week in the podcast, Richard Howitt welcomes one of the leading business voices on supply chain management in the world, Linda Kromjong, president of amfori, Global Business Association and a key advocate of open and sustainable trade in Europe and in the world. Together they discuss: Why is due diligence important for companies? Why is the CSDDD a pro-business directive? Why is this good for business? An insider view on what happened in the last moments before new and unexpected deals had to be done by Member States. How environmental due diligence and human rights due diligence go hand in hand Linda’s message to businesses about implementing the CSDDD Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
This week in Frankly Speaking, we put the spotlight on a new report produced by the OECD and analysing the state of corporate sustainability reporting in the world. To discuss it, we welcome Caio de Oliveira, policy analyst at the OECD, who's had major responsibility in producing the report and who leads the sustainability work streams at the OECD on behalf of the Corporate Governance Committee and the Financial Markets Committee at the organisation. Caio has previously worked for the Brazilian government's Economic Ministry and for the country's Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). Richard and Caio address: The findings of the OECD’s Global Corporate Sustainability 2024 report How much and to what degree is sustainability reporting going on by companies The high levels of reporting of scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions compared to low levels of scope 3 indirect emissions reporting Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
Many of us know that dependence of developing countries on raw commodities leaves them vulnerable to price volatility and sees profit made in countries where the commodity is imported and then processed, rather than where it is produced. It's often farmers in those developing countries who are at the end of the line. That problem has been specifically highlighted in the cocoa sector this year. Today in the podcast we look at where cocoa prices have gone parabolic, rising from just over 2,000 USD a tonne in 2022 to over $10,000 a tonne in 2024. It’s seen not just companies and farmers in producer companies suffer, but major chocolate companies in the global North, which have seen costs multiply and their share prices plummet by up to a third. To discuss what's happening here, our guest is Antonie Fountain, managing director of the Voice Network, watchdog and catalyst for a reformed cocoa sector. Antonie is also the co-author of the Cocoa Barometer, the biennial review of sustainability in Cocoa. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
In this new Frankly Speaking episode, we explore the question of human rights due diligence by companies by asking what should go in the contract. Due diligence approaches have been criticized as simply using contractual clauses to pass off risk and responsibility down the supply chain. To address how this can be avoided and to discuss what should and shouldn’t be in the contract, Richard Howitt welcomes Professor Sarah Dadush, writer and teacher in business and human rights at Rutgers Law School in the United States. She is the founding director of the Responsible Contracting Project, the mission of which is to improve human rights in global supply chains through innovative contracting practices. Check out Responsible Contracting Project's website to access all their tools. Together, they discuss the concept of "shared responsibility" and: For companies committed to responsible business conduct, how should they contract with suppliers? What should and should not be written down in contracts? How to avoid a culture of excessive litigation in corporate responsibility The importance of transparency in supporting responsible contracting How this all fits into human rights due diligence legislation such as the upcoming CSDDD. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
In this Frankly Speaking episode, we explore how companies should undertake a materiality assessment when they tackle their sustainability report. The concept of materiality is derived from financial accounting in business and human rights, and very simply asks the question: does this information matter? To guide us, we welcome back Filip Gregor, head of Frank Bold’s Responsible Companies section and member of EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Board, which draws up and recommends the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Richard and Filip discuss: How materiality is done in the ESRS and what does double materiality mean How companies should start to think about assessing and measuring impact materiality The logic behind the "traffic light" system for risk assessment in EFRAG's draft guidance on Materiality Assessment Filip’s advice to companies that want to better understand financial materiality What is the role of the stakeholder in relation to the materiality question Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
In this episode, Frankly Speaking explores the new climate disclosure rules just agreed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States and asks what are the implications both in the US and worldwide. To answer those questions, Richard Howitt welcomes Tracey Rembert, Associate Director, Climate Change and Environmental Justice at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), and Alexandra Wright-Gladstein, founder and CEO of the climate-friendly investment fund Sphere. Together they discuss: If the SEC’s rules are a major advance in business sustainability or too big compromise What are the positives of the new rules and potential challenges ahead Whether companies are going to get on and start preparing to do this now? If the ESG backlash is going to carry on unabated or does this decision change it in some way Their advice to investors and companies to start preparing for these new rules Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
In this new Frankly Speaking episode, Richard Howitt and his guests ask what is really happening in Europe's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the proposed law on how companies identify, prevent and remedy human rights and environmental abuses in their global supply chains. Given political agreement by EU governments and members of the European Parliament before Christmas 2023, some governments undertook a volte face and indicated they would not support the law at the final administrative stage, when it would normally be nodded through without even discussion. To guide us on why this is happening and what will happen now, Richard is joined by Andreas Rasche, professor of Business in Society at Copenhagen Business School and author of the book Corporate Sustainability, and Julia Otten, Senior Policy Officer at Frank Bold and lead on the Responsible Companies’ work on Corporate Due Diligence. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
Today, Frankly Speaking welcomes Veronica Poole, Global International Financial Reporting Standards and Corporate Reporting Leader at big four accountancy company Deloitte. In that role, Veronica has been at the forefront of moves to set sustainability reporting standards for business to the creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). She is both one of the leaders in the world with knowledge about the ISSB but also with responsibilities to help companies implement its recommendations. In this episode you’ll hear Veronica’s views on: Her historic role in the formation of the ISSB The importance of enterprise value creation The connection between broader sustainability issues and the material financial impact on the company What is significant about new IFRS standards and which priorities should come next for the ISSB Evolution of the assurance sector and if it’s ready for mandatory sustainability reporting Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
On the podcast this week, we are joined by Belinda Christine Borck, Global Public Policy Coordinator at the Dutch-based chocolate producer Tony's Chocolonely. Tony’s mission is to make 100% slave free the norm in all chocolate worldwide, and founder Teun van de Keuken picks the name “Chocolonely” to encapsulate his “lonely fight against inequality in the chocolate industry”. The company has changed the standard square piece format of the chocolate bar to an unequally divided piece to symbolize the unequally divided cocoa supply chain. In this episode, Richard and Belinda discuss: How chocolate companies can combat systemic poverty by ensuring that farmers and producers in their supply chain receive a living income The importance of traceability as a base for companies to take responsibility for their potential negative impacts The role of legislations such as the EU Deforestation Regulation, the EU Forced Labour Regulation or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to enhance corporate transparency and address human rights and environmental violations Tony’s Open Chain: how collaborating on cocoa does not impede competition on chocolate … and more! Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
"We don't just need to change companies, but to change the system." How often have we heard this statement? In this Frankly Speaking episode, Richard Howitt is joined by Dr. Anneloes Smitsman. They address what systems change means and how companies can contribute to achieving it. We also discuss if there is a social tipping point where people's acceptance of the need to act on climate change will make a decisive difference in how consumers, employees and investors support the necessary changes in companies. Dr. Anneloes Smitsman has a PhD in systems science, a pioneer in human development and in systems change, futurist, and entrepreneur. Annaloes is also the founder and CEO of EARTHwise Centre. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
Happy New Year to all Frankly Speaking listeners! Today’s guest is Nele Meyer, appointed last year as director of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice, a European network of NGOs which undertake advocacy on issues of corporate accountability. In this first episode of 2024, Richard and Nele look back on a key achievement of the past year: the new EU rules on mandatory due diligence, given political agreement late in December. In the second part of the episode, they look forward to what will be important in corporate sustainability, business and human rights in 2024. Listen in and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA
For the last Frankly Speaking episode of 2023, Richard Howitt welcomes Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition and named last month by Time Magazine as one of the world’s top 100 Climate leaders. Their mission brings together a group of nonprofit organizations collaborating to accelerate an inclusive transition to a net zero economy. With their ‘Fossil to Clean’ campaign, they called all Parties at COP28 "to transform the global energy system towards a full phase-out of unabated fossil fuels and halve emissions this decade." Although the outcome of this year’s COP was not what was hoped for, “for the first time we have a global agreement to transition away from all fossil fuels in line with science.” But what does this mean for business? In this conversation you’ll hear more about: Maria’s overall feeling about what happened in Dubai, Whether or not international pledges are still relevant and authentic If Carbon Capture and Storage is the solution for a net-zero economy How business can play a role in shifting narratives towards progress and sustainability Maria's advice to companies on climate and sustainability reporting Enjoy your listen in, subscribe and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. We wish you a good holiday season and best wishes for 2024, will be back on the 10th of January with a brand new episode! ***Participate in our anonymous survey: Help us understand what you enjoy in the show, what you want us to do better, and who you want to listen to next! https://forms.gle/xCkhhWrwf6qCiyJHA