We have launched ‘Frankly Speaking’ - a new podcast discussing the latest political, legal, and business developments in the field of ESG, business and human rights, and corporate reporting.
Frankly Speaking builds on our standing in the field of ESG research and engagement with policy makers as well as businesses. Our host Richard Howitt speaks frankly and personally about what moves policy makers, businesses, and activists to make responsible business the norm and - last but not least - redefine business! Richard is a pioneer in the field of corporate disclosure and a former member of the European Parliament.
“All who want to see purposeful companies actually make a difference to the social and environmental challenges which we all face, recognise that we will only be able to do so through dialogue, cooperation, ideas and innovation, better understanding of the challenges and by achieving an accountability for all of us, for the contribution we need to make. ‘Frankly Speaking’ hopes to be a forum for all of these. We hope you will join us,” says Richard.
You can look forward to a number of deep and personal conversations with leading experts from different fields.
When and where can you listen to us?
A new episode is published every Wednesday and available on:
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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.
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.
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.
