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#4 Lara Wolters: Towards an Ambitious EU Due Diligence Legislation

Listen to Lara Wolters, Dutch member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on the CSDDD.

The European proposal for a due diligence legislation is currently being discussed by the EU Parliament and the Council. Frankly Speaking has invited its foremost advocate in the EU institutions Lara Wolters, Dutch member of the European Parliament, who is its parliamentary rapporteur and is steering the legislation through the Parliament and the other EU institutions. Lara shares her view on the key elements, what responsibility means and why she will be fighting for an ambitious outcome. Listen in and share our conversation!

Topics:

  • What problems the due diligence legislation addresses
  • The difference between transparency and behavioural rules
  • Avoiding a tick-box exercise: what to do with contractual clauses
  • Difference between companies' responsibility and liability 
  • Importance of engaging with stakeholders and directors’ being involved
  • Application of CSDDD to non-EU companies, international trends
  • About finding political compromises
  • Lara’s personal motivation

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“And there's quite some criticism from big players saying, well, we've already been asked to do so much on this topic, on ESG and environment and social governance and on sustainability. And why is it that you want us to do more? And I think that's quite simple, because it's not only about being transparent, it's also about actually doing the right thing.”

Lara Wolters in Frankly Speaking

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