home
news

AGENDA: Conference "Frankly Speaking on Sustainability & Competitiveness"

share this article

Join us for our upcoming conference to engage in meaningful dialogue on shaping a sustainable and competitive future for the EU.

The EU Commission is set to unveil its proposals for changing the CSRD, CSDDD and Taxonomy in February as part of an Omnibus package. However, negotiations remain secretive and shrouded in speculation. While Germany is aggressively lobbying to unravel the CSRD, and subsequently challenging the entire EU ESG agenda, tens of thousands of EU companies have already invested in implementation and do not know what to expect.

Sustainability leaders are warning against the loss of trust and pointing out the critical role that these legislation have for sustainability, capital markets and EU businesses success.

Is the EU ESG framework a scapegoat or the culprit of the European and German economic slowdown? What has the sudden 180˚ turn on sustainability, and the economic problems, have to do with betting on cheap Russian gas and the Chinese market in the past decades? And why do the BRICS call EU ESG laws ‘discriminatory protectionist measures under pretext of environmental concerns’ that distort competition?

When? 30.01.2025, 2pm - 6pm CET

Where? Residence Palace (Brussels) and online

Save your spot: Register now

At our conference, key experts and business representatives will tackle the above pressing questions with leading experts and businesses, as well as:

  • What to expect from the Omnibus and what it means for companies’ efforts on CSRD, Taxonomy and CSDDD implementation
  • How we can sensibly streamline EU ESG reporting legislation so it helps European business and it is not perceived as a burden
  • What is the role of the EU sustainability framework for fostering a level playing field, sovereignty and EU resilience

See the full agenda linked below.

Speakers include:

  • Lara Wolters, Member of the European Parliament (S&D, NL)
  • Diane Mievis, Director EU Public Policy at CISCO
  • Heather Grabbe, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, Visiting Professor at UCL
  • Eric de Deckere, Director Sustainability at Cefic
  • Niels Strange Peulicke-Andersen, Head of ESG Accounting at Ørsted
  • Iva Prošková, Sustainability & System Quality Manager at Severotisk
  • Kristian Koktvedgaard, Head of VAT at the Confederation of Danish Industries
  • Filip Gregor, Head of Responsible Companies at Frank Bold
  • Rachel Davis, Vice President and Co-Founder of Shift
  • Richard Howitt, Senior Advisor and Podcast Host at Frank Bold

Please note: If you cannot join us in person, we encourage you to register as an online participant to receive access to the live stream.

Confirmation emails for all attendees will be sent closer to the conference date.

We look forward to welcoming you to this important discussion. If you have any question, please get in touch with Sarah Chenoun, Communications Officer, at sarah.chenoun@frankbold.org.

Frankly Speaking on Sustainability & Competitiveness: Programme
    (
1.01 MB
)

You may also like these news

Big shift in case of Turów mine. The European Commission has proved Czechia right

In mid-December, the European Commission acknowledged a large part of the arguments put forward by the Czechia in an effort to prevent the expansion and continuation of illegal mining at the Turów mine in Poland, that endangers the sources of drinking water for thousands of people in the Liberec region and, according to new studies, has serious impacts on groundwater in Germany as well. Frank Bold's lawyers, who defend the interests of Czech citizens, have long been involved in the case.

Mining in Turów: Seven demands for an agreement with Poland to protect the Czech communities

The Frank Bold Society and the Neighbourhood Association Uhelná called on the Czech government today to be more consistent in its negotiations with Poland over mining at the Turów brown coal mine. According to both organisations, the government did not have enough information or time to prepare an agreement that would truly protect Czech interests. Moreover, the government has acted in a non-transparent manner by failing to inform the public in advance of the terms of the agreement being prepared, which should lead to the withdrawal of the action against Poland at the EU Court of Justice. The organisations have therefore drawn up a document with seven basic demands on which the Czech side should insist.

Frank Bold points out non-transparent handling of ETS revenues and potential violation of EU law

The European Commission recently introduced a draft of the revised EU ETS Directive which, among other things, proposes that 100 % of ETS revenues should be used for environmental measures. We welcome this idea but we’re also sceptical about how the ETS revenues are used in the Czech Republic. Therefore, we have prepared an analysis mapping the use of ETS revenues in Czech Republic and sent it to the European Commission as an input for the recent public consultation. The main conclusions are presented below.