In this episode Frankly Speaking is focusing on the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission is about to issue binding rules for US companies to report on climate. But where there's been the so-called ESG backlash, with 17 states having passed legislation banning ESG investment and where President Biden's first veto was against an attempt to block this at the federal level. We welcome Bennett Freeman, former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights an...
May 10, 2023•35 min
Frankly Speaking welcomes Antje von Dewitz , Chief Executive Officer of the outdoor brand Vaude, based in rural southern Germany. Vaude has won awards as Germany's greenest company and Antje is an ambassador for the Economy for the Common Good, served as vice president of her industry body, the European Outdoor Group, and she is a past winner of Vanity Fair's Changing Your Mind award. Listen in and share our conversation about: Why transforming Vaude to a sustainable company How to convince supp...
Apr 26, 2023•31 min
Frankly Speaking welcomes Professor Beate Sjåfjell , who publishes extensively on corporate governance and the integration of sustainability in the role of the company boards, to talk about company law. Beate heads the research group on Sustainability Law at the University of Oslo, is a member of the European Commission’s Informal Group of Company Law Experts and founded an international network of women business scholars Daughters of Themis: International Network of Women Business Scholars . Li...
Apr 12, 2023•33 min•Ep. 21
Frankly Speaking welcomes Dimitri Vergne , team leader for sustainability at the European Consumer Organisation BEUC to discuss the newly published EU anti-greenwashing law, the draft Directive on green claims. Dimitri has been a principal advocate for this law and explains what it means for consumers and for business. He shares his insights on: The greenwashing problem and claims of carbon neutrality Key elements of the draft law and its enforcement Benefits for companies Product environmental ...
Mar 29, 2023•34 min•Ep. 20
Frankly Speaking has invited Isabelle Schömann , elected Confederal Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, representing 45 million members in 39 countries. Isabelle has been playing a leading role in proposals around corporate transparency and due diligence in Europe and is a member of the standard setting board at the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. Previously, she was principal advisor to the Regulatory Scrutiny Board of the European Commission and senior researcher ...
Mar 15, 2023•30 min•Ep. 19
The New Climate Institute has just released its Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor 2023 , ranking the Danish transport logistics company A.P. Moller - Maersk, which operates the largest container shipping fleet in the world, as the highest in terms of the integrity of its net zero pledge. Frankly Speaking has invited Lene Serpa, who has led the company's sustainability efforts for the past twelve years and is Chair of the Global Compact Network Denmark. She is also co-author of a book on i...
Mar 01, 2023•30 min•Ep. 19
After a little more than one year since he was appointed new CEO of the Principles for Responsible Investment, PRI , founded by the United Nations, David is sharing insights into new directions on Frankly Speaking. The PRI’s six Principles of Responsible Investment have more than 5000 signatories worldwide and since David’s arrival, the PRI has finished a worldwide consultation which will lead to some important decisions by its board later this month. David is a pensions industry leader who has ...
Feb 15, 2023•31 min
Frankly Speaking has invited the founder and CEO of Mirova, a 30 billion Euros sustainability focused asset manager based in Paris. Philippe Zaouati has proven that it is possible to scale up ESG investing. Mirova has grown fourfold in just the last five years. Philippe was a member of the High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance , which led to the establishment of the EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan . He describes himself as a sustainable finance activist and shares his take on: The IS...
Feb 01, 2023•36 min
Happy New Year! In our first Frankly Speaking podcast for 2023, we welcome Sebastien Godinot, chief economist and head of the sustainable finance unit at WWF’s EU Office. We reflect on upcoming developments in 2023, amongst them: Closing gaps in corporate sustainability reporting Spurt in energy efficiency and renewable energy Moving beyond disclosure to corporate due diligence Biodiversity and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure Extending the EU Taxonomy Geopolitics affecting t...
Jan 18, 2023•29 min
Frankly speaking welcomes Filip Gregor who guides our listeners through the draft EU sustainability reporting standards that have recently been submitted to the European Commission. Filip was closely involved in the development of those standards as a member of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards Board of EFRAG. He is the head of the Responsible Companies at Frank Bold, a board member at the European Coalition for Corporate Justice and of the OECD National Contact Point in the Czech ...
Dec 14, 2022•23 min•Ep. 14
The new Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights, Fernanda Hopenhaym, joins Frankly Speaking to reflect on the key insights from last week’s global gathering of 1000 businesses, government and civil society representatives. A Uruguayan Mexican researcher and advocate who has been active in civil society organisations and social movements for over 20 years, Fernanda is currently the executive director of PODER, which promotes corporate transparency and accountability...
Dec 07, 2022•27 min•Ep. 13
Frankly Speaking has invited one of the leading advocates on responsible business and modern slavery for the non-governmental organisation Anti-Slavery International . Chloe and ASI have led efforts to address the 1 million mostly Muslim Uyghur population whom human rights groups and journalists report have been imprisoned in so-called re-education camps in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang. We are discussing what business from the textile or solar sector, financial institutions, policymak...
Nov 30, 2022•30 min•Ep. 12
The Football World Cup in Qatar has just started and Frankly Speaking welcomes Rachel Davis , Co-founder of Shift, the leading center of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. We reflect on Rachel's role in the development of the Guiding Principles, discuss the EU Council negotiations on the upcoming due diligence legislation, the crucial role of the risk-based approach as well as human rights issues in Qatar and how vital it is for the international community to st...
Nov 23, 2022•26 min•Ep. 11
It’s week two of the 27th UN Climate Conference and Frankly Speaking welcomes Germany's leading expert on business sustainability and climate reporting, Christoph Töpfer from the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) , to talk about draft climate reporting standards in Europe and globally, transition plans (and what must be in it), environmental due diligence and how companies can assess their environmental risks. Listen in and share our conversation! Please note that this conversation ref...
Nov 16, 2022•26 min•Ep. 10
In the week of the 27th UN Climate Conference, Frankly Speaking, welcomes Richard Gardiner , EU Public Policy Lead of the World Benchmarking Alliance which has launched its new financial system benchmark , assessing 400 of the world's major banks, asset owners, asset managers and insurers on their sustainability performance. We talk about the role of finance in Europe's proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the need for concrete pathways to achieve 2050 climate targets, the ...
Nov 09, 2022•24 min•Ep. 9
What does a risk-based approach of a snack company look like in practice? Frankly Speaking has invited Julien Lavarini , Manager of Finance and Responsible Supply Chain at the family owned Lorenz Snack-World, to share experiences with risk management tools, audits and sector-wide approaches in the cashew supply chain. But Julien also has some comments on the legislative developments. Listen in! Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn !...
Nov 02, 2022•24 min
Freedom of speech, right to privacy, state interference and misuse of surveillance equipment are just some of the major human rights impacts a telecom company such as Ericsson has to address. Frankly Speaking has invited Théo Jaekel , Ericsson’s Business and Human Rights Director, to share lessons learnt and his expectations for a new EU law on due diligence that is currently in the making. He claims that every company will become a tech company in the future facing some of these challenges. Lis...
Oct 26, 2022•26 min•Ep. 7
ESG standards and green investments are globally on the rise. Frankly Speaking has invited one of the world’s leading advocates, Marilyn Waite , Managing Director of the Climate Finance Fund, and member of EFRAG´s administrative board to discuss the developments in the EU, US and China. Hear more about the role of public and private finance, consumer action and fintech innovations and discover: What it means to call for alignment with the Paris agreement How banks measure and disclose their fina...
Oct 19, 2022•23 min
This week on Frankly Speaking, we’ll be talking sports goods, value chains and sustainability standards. Rahel Damamme , ESG and Sustainability Reporting Leader at Decathlon, one of the world's largest sports good retailer with over 2000 stores in 60 countries, shares her experiences on how reporting and due diligence legislation has helped the company move ahead, how to change things from within a company, and about her efforts in Long Covid Association France . Listen in! Follow us on Twitter ...
Oct 12, 2022•24 min•Ep. 5
The European proposal for a due diligence legislation is currently being discussed by the EU Parliament and the Council. Frankly Speaking has invited its foremost advocate in the EU institutions Lara Wolters , Dutch member of the European Parliament, who is its parliamentary rapporteur and is steering the legislation through the Parliament and the other EU institutions. Lara shares her view on the key elements, what responsibility means and why she will be fighting for an ambitious outcome. List...
Oct 05, 2022•27 min•Ep. 4
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has been one of the pioneers in the field of impact reporting - celebrating its 25th birthday! Frankly Speaking has invited its CEO, Eelco van der Enden , to speak about GRI’s relationship with other reporting standards, questions of alignment and why ESG should be tackled as a whole. He has something to tell about tax reporting as well! Tune in! Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn !...
Sep 28, 2022•25 min•Ep. 3
Since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine, many European companies have struggled with the challenges of conducting business in the region responsibly. Frankly Speaking has invited Olena Uvarova , Associate Professor at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, and Anita Ramasastry , Professor at the University of Washington School of Law and former member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. The two leading experts share insights on the role of business in armed conflict, su...
Sep 21, 2022•34 min•Ep. 2
There has been a critical debate around the first publication of the Draft EU Reporting Standards for companies. Frankly Speaking has asked Wim Bartels , a member of the Sustainability Reporting Board , for his views on the timeline, key concepts and the relationship of EU and emerging international standards - and about the role of accountants in all of this! Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn !...
Sep 08, 2022•25 min
