Episode 14 - GBI Conversation - Phil Bloomer, Executive Director of BHRRC and Ron Popper, GBI CEO in discussion by The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights

In discussion with GBI Senior Advisor Anita Ramasastry, GBI Regional Advisor for South Asia, Rishi Sher Singh, and GBI Director Sophia Areias, we explore insights and practical examples of how companies can engage with suppliers to advance human rights.

This podcast accompanies GBI's latest guidance briefing in the “What ‘good’ looks like” series. GBI CEO, Ron Popper, and Director for External Engagement and Informing Policy, Sophia Areias, discuss insights and examples from practice of how businesses can truly and effectively integrate human rights into their core governance processes. It also provides practice-based recommendations to policymakers working on mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence.

GBI Advisors Anita Ramasastry, Jonathan Drimmer and Gerald Pachoud, and GBI Director Sophia Areias discuss the challenges posed by the shifting policy and political landscape, and how business can navigate these uncertainties through practice. This episode was recorded on 27 February 2025.

In this special extended podcast Heidi Hautala, Former Vice-President of the European Parliament and Gerald Pachoud, GBI Senior Advisor and former Special Advisor to Prof. John Ruggie, discuss the role of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in the age of corporate accountability, with a focus on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D).

Andrea Shemberg and Jo Reyes discuss why companies should be doubling down on their commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in the face of mandatory measures.

Sean Lees, GBI's Strategic Regional Partner for Southeast Asia, provides reactions to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) from his discussions with business practitioners across the region.

GBI's CEO Ron Popper provided his analysis to Jo Reyes of the latest CSDDD developments and the implications for business practitioners and their companies.

The approval of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) marks a significant milestone. Despite significant watering down, the Directive promises a uniform standard for corporate human rights and environmental due diligence across EU member states, with implications far beyond EU boundaries.

In our latest GBI Conversations podcast, GBI CEO Ron Popper shares his analysis – the disappointments but also signs of renewed hope for the future. Whilst subject to significant compromises, implementation of the Directive still signifies a crucial step forward in embedding core elements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into hard national law.

Ron emphasises the need for companies to pump more resources into due diligence, greater alignment between human rights and environmental departments, and better understanding of human rights implications at the board level as crucial to future progress and success.

In this episode, Yann Wyss, Global Head - Social Impact and Human Rights at Nestlé, and GBI Director Sophia Areias provide insights into the practicalities and realities of incorporating human rights risks into a company’s climate action.

The risks to people caused by mining the minerals and metals needed to fuel the transition are immense. As part of our discussions to better understand the risks to people in companies’ climate action, we spoke with Norman Mukwakwami, Social Performance Manager for the Africa Region for Trafigura. In this episode, Norman discusses the company's approach to engaging suppliers to identify and mitigate human rights risks associated with the transition.