Frankly Speaking discusses this week the recent update of the OECD Guidelines on multinational enterprises with Allan Jorgensen, Head of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct since 2021. He was previously Head of Sustainable Trade for Danish logistics company A.P. Moller-Maersk. Prior to that, Allan served in the public sector as Director of Human Rights and Business at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The guidelines are the world's principal soft law instrument on responsible business. The OECD describes them as the "most comprehensive international standard on responsible business conduct". They are the only one which is multilaterally negotiated, endorsed by governments and having the unique system to hear complaints known as specific instances, The National Contact Points or NCPs.

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This week on Frankly Speaking, we welcome David Vermijs and discuss the final draft of the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The draft Delegated Act from the European Commission is currently subject to a feedback period until the 7th of July. David is the Director of Business Engagement at one of the leading organizations on business and human rights in the world, Shift. He is also a member of EFRAG's Sustainability Reporting Board, the body which undertakes the technical work to recommend the new sustainability reporting standards.

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For this episode, we invited Giulia Bondi to discuss the new EU Deforestation Regulation recently adopted and the role of businesses in saving the world's forests. Giulia is a Senior EU Campaigner on Forests at the investigatory organisation Global Witness. Giulia has been part of the European Union policy community for over ten years and is a leading voice on the matter.

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This week, we welcome Sonja Haut to discuss ‘impact’ - the idea that companies can calculate and use valuations of how the business affects society and the environment, and investors can put their money into supporting it. Sonja is a true pioneer and has published a book called ‘The Case for Impact’. She is Head of Impact Valuation at the pharmaceuticals company Novartis and a member of the World Economic Forum Futures Council. 

Find out more about impact economy, the role of transparency, corporate purpose, and more!

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Frankly Speaking is discussing carbon tariffs this week: In May 2023, the European Union's green tariff, known as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism or CBAM, came into force. We are discussing this development with one of its key advocates, Agnese Ruggiero, Policy Lead at Carbon Market Watch, an independent watchdog working on carbon pricing, carbon markets and industrial decarbonisation. 

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In this episode Frankly Speaking is focusing on the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission is about to issue binding rules for US companies to report on climate. But where there's been the so-called ESG backlash, with 17 states having passed legislation banning ESG investment and where President Biden's first veto was against an attempt to block this at the federal level. We welcome Bennett Freeman, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, to explain what’s happening. Bennett is also a former Senior Vice President at Calvert Investments, one of the largest responsible investors in the United States and whose many activities today include serving as Associate Fellow at the think tank Chatham House.

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Frankly Speaking welcomes Antje von Dewitz, Chief Executive Officer of the outdoor brand Vaude, based in rural southern Germany. Vaude has won awards as Germany's greenest company and Antje is an ambassador for the Economy for the Common Good, served as vice president of her industry body, the European Outdoor Group, and she is a past winner of Vanity Fair's Changing Your Mind award.

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Frankly Speaking welcomes Professor Beate Sjåfjell, who publishes extensively on corporate governance and the integration of sustainability in the role of the company boards, to talk about company law. Beate heads the research group on Sustainability Law at the University of Oslo, is a member of the European Commission’s Informal Group of Company Law Experts and founded an international network of women business scholars Daughters of Themis: International Network of Women Business Scholars. Listen in to a conversation about: 

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Frankly Speaking welcomes Dimitri Vergne, team leader for sustainability at the European Consumer Organisation BEUC to discuss the newly published EU anti-greenwashing law, the draft Directive on green claims. Dimitri has been a principal advocate for this law and explains what it means for consumers and for business.

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Frankly Speaking has invited Isabelle Schömann, elected Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, representing 45 million members in 39 countries. Isabelle has been playing a leading role in proposals around corporate transparency and due diligence in Europe and is a member of the standard setting board at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. Previously, she was principal advisor to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board of the European Commission and senior researcher at the European Trade Union Institute.

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