Meeting the goal of the European Green Deal to achieve no net GHG emissions by 2050 requires at least half trillion euros of additional investments in the EU every year and will involve significant market and regulatory changes targeting every sector of the economy. This will profoundly change how companies and their directors need to integrate sustainability concerns in their strategies and business decisions.
Participate in the webinar co-organised by Frank Bold and Climate Disclosure Standards Board on February 9th (9.30-11h CET) to hear from important business, academic, policy-making and civil society representatives (programme below)
Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice stressed the relevance of the Sustainable Corporate Governance agenda “for the sustainability, competitiveness and resilience of the businesses in the long run as well as for human rights protection and our international commitments, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate.”
The magnitude of risks and opportunities is unprecedented, as summarised by EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness for Financial services “when addressing the major challenges that lay ahead, we are faced with some tough choices, especially about where we direct future financing and investment (...) If we get this right, we’ll embrace enormous transformation opportunities by making sure we channel investment into companies that can deliver on our green and sustainable objectives.”
The reform of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the new Sustainable Corporate Governance initiative are two main tools that will be presented in 2021 by the European Commission to smooth the transition for companies and financial market actors, increase market stability, and ensure that impacts in value chains are accounted for.
Critically, the positive impact of each initiative is closely connected and depends on that of the other. However, the broad examination of corporate governance conducted by DG Justice has recently opened a heated debate unlike any other element of the European Sustainable Finance Strategy.
This event aims to take a sober look at the connection between the non-financial reporting and the corporate governance reforms. Speakers will discuss how the EU sustainable corporate governance initiative can be focused on helping directors and financial markets to develop and connect sustainability strategies, target setting, transition plans and reporting obligations.
Date: 9 February 2021, 9.30 - 11h CET
Organisers: Climate Disclosure Standards Board and Frank Bold (coordinator of the Alliance for Corporate Transparency)
Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1616124386050/WN_mqjng3xoSe-U1jPY78Vg_w
09:30h Welcome & Introductory remarks
09:35h Opening keynote: What does the European Commission want to achieve with the Sustainable Corporate Governance initiative?
09:45 Academic perspective: What is needed to clarify directors’ duty of care vis-a-vis due diligence, materiality determination and sustainability targets
09:55 Experience from practitioners: How can corporate governance and non-financial reporting frameworks help
10:45 Closing notes: the future of sustainable corporate governance in the EU and beyond
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.
