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
To support our advocacy work on concrete legislative proposals and recommendations, we collaborate with partners from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia to prepare and publish reports, case studies, data analyses, and examples of international best practices.
To start the New Year with an interesting and thought-provoking event, Frank Bold and ClientEarth organised a screening of This Changes Everything, a documentary based on Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller.
In his political guidelines for the new EU Commission, President Juncker pledged to create a European Capital Markets Union (CMU) to increase non-bank financing of the European economy and further integrate capital markets. In this context, the EU Commission launched a public consultation in February 2015.
