Filip Gregor
Head of the Responsible Companies Team
Due diligence is a precondition for the sustainable activities as defined by the EU Taxonomy and green financing under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, including green bonds. Particular ESG due diligence requirements will be regulated by the forthcoming Sustainable Corporate Governance Directive. To help companies better understand its scope and to clarify its requirements, Frank Bold is hosting a webinar. It will feature international experts from companies such as Ericsson and outdoor clothing manufacturer Vaude. We invite you to join us on 26 January at 10 am CET.
The webinar aims to clarify the content of due diligence standards and, based on good practice examples, explain how companies can effectively implement them. The event will be of particular interest to public administration, the business sector, banks, and investors. And mainly for the stakeholders from the Central and Eastern Europe.
1. Principles of due diligence, 10:00 - 11:00 AM
→ Legislation and expectations, Lucie Slavíková, Ministry of Justice, Czech Republic
→ UN and OECD due diligence standards and their application in practice, Rachel Davis, Shift
→ Implementation of the new German legislation and good practice, Susanne Gasde, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Germany
→ Case studies: what is considered as good and bad practice, Filip Gregor, Frank Bold
2. Experience of companies with practical application; Q&A 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
→ Théo Jaekel, Corporate Responsibility Expert, Ericsson
→ Bettina Roth, Head of Quality Management & CSR Supply Chain, Vaude
→ Julien Lavarini, Responsible Supply Chain Manager, Lorenz
The European Commission is planning to publish its Sustainable Corporate Governance proposal and submit it to Parliament and Council in February 2022. A key element of this proposal should be rules on sustainability due diligence, based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and OECD standards. In the context of the EU's sustainable finance strategy, due diligence is one of the pre-conditions for the sustainable activities as defined by the EU Taxonomy Regulation and green financing under the SFDR, including green bonds.
The proposal should clarify how companies should approach the identification and management of significant negative impacts on people and the planet related to their business model and value chains. Due diligence is a risk-oriented process. Its requirements are based on the company's position, its involvement in adverse impacts, and its ability to influence these impacts.
During this webinar, we will explain due diligence standards and companies will share their experience with the practical implementation of the German legislation and of the UN and OECD standards , including how their meaningful implementation supports better business governance.
After three months of rushed decision-making, the European Commission presented its Omnibus Simplification Package and proposed major rollbacks to the EU’s corporate sustainability legislation, threatening to undermine Europe's leadership in sustainable business practices and ESG reporting.
With the latest leaks, it is becoming clearer and clearer that President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis are willing to sacrifice the very foundations of the EU’s ESG legislation all whilst bypassing the due legislative process.
The expert group Frank Bold, along with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, has submitted a complaint to the European Commission regarding the actions of Czech authorities in setting emission limits for the Počerady coal power plant. In August 2024, a court revoked the plant's extensive emission limits derogation, and authorities were required to immediately reflect this decision in its operating permit. However, this has not yet happened. As a result, the power plant is currently violating the legal limit for mercury emissions. The complainants are calling on the Commission to investigate whether the Czech Republic’s approach to Počerady is in breach of the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED).
