Frankly Speaking - A Podcast on Responsible Business Frank Bold

To celebrate the first anniversary of the podcast, Richard Howitt welcomes back three of our special guests to bring you up to date on some of those issues and also to look forward to what's going to happen next: Rachel Davis, vice-president and co-founder of Shift, Lene Serpa, director and head of corporate sustainability at A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Filip Gregor, head of Frank Bold’s Responsible Companies Section.

In this episode, you’ll hear more of the debate between our guests:

02:44 Latest state of progress Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D)

06:00 Do the debates on the CS3D and CSRD get lost in the details?

08:44 What is “risk” all about in the corporate sustainability field?

16:54 What's new in terms of technology and the R&D in the transport sector?

22:11 Companies’ technological journey and sustainability reporting

26:33 Is the debate around ESG shifting? What is the state of play in the US?

30:53 Geopolitical situation with China and impact on business and human rights 

37:10 Looking ahead: insights in current priorities for corporate sustainability

43:13 Rachel D. on the upsides of sports and human rights (Women's World Cup)

45:26 Filip G. positive's perspective on addressing global crises related to climate change, biodiversity, and human rights abuses

48:30 Lene S. on the need to contribute to a better world for the next generations



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After a short summer break, the Frankly Speaking podcast is excited to be back. Over this summer, we've reached a significant milestone as the European Commission officially released the long-awaited European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) through a delegated act.

In this episode, we welcome Filip Gregor, member of EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Board, researcher, advisor and advocate for corporate sustainability reporting and head of Frank Bold’s Responsible Companies section. We take a closer look at what has changed after last July’s public consultation on the ESRS, what businesses need to know and what to do next.

You’ll hear more about:


The game changing aspects of the ESRSs


The loopholes that the text still presents


How the ESRSs differ from the ISSB standards


EFRAG’s upcoming guidance for businesses 


Advice on how companies can prepare to implement the new EU reporting standards



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Frankly Speaking discusses this week the recent update of the OECD Guidelines on multinational enterprises with Allan Jorgensen, Head of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct since 2021. He was previously Head of Sustainable Trade for Danish logistics company A.P. Moller-Maersk. Prior to that, Allan served in the public sector as Director of Human Rights and Business at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The guidelines are the world's principal soft law instrument on responsible business. The OECD describes them as the "most comprehensive international standard on responsible business conduct". They are the only one which is multilaterally negotiated, endorsed by governments and having the unique system to hear complaints known as specific instances, The National Contact Points or NCPs.

You will hear more about: 


What differentiates the OECD Guidelines from other global tools and instruments.
The major changes on environment and climate change introduced in the guidelines since their last review in 2011.
How the guidelines are a comprehensive tool for businesses to take ownership of their value chain and potential and actual adverse impacts.
How responsible business conduct policy transitions from pioneer to mainstream.

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This week on Frankly Speaking, we welcome David Vermijs and discuss the final draft of the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The draft Delegated Act from the European Commission is currently subject to a feedback period until the 7th of July. David is the Director of Business Engagement at one of the leading organizations on business and human rights in the world, Shift. He is also a member of EFRAG's Sustainability Reporting Board, the body which undertakes the technical work to recommend the new sustainability reporting standards.

You will hear more about: 


the draft proposed by the European Commission and how it differs from EFRAG's recommendations
how the first set of ESRS needs to look like to be effective
the opinion coming from the business and investement community
the role of the EU in the development of robust sustainability reporting standards worldwide

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For this episode, we invited Giulia Bondi to discuss the new EU Deforestation Regulation recently adopted and the role of businesses in saving the world's forests. Giulia is a Senior EU Campaigner on Forests at the investigatory organisation Global Witness. Giulia has been part of the European Union policy community for over ten years and is a leading voice on the matter.

We take a deep dive on: 


the role and responsibility of global supply chains in the destruction of our forests, 


how companies can go deforestation-free, 


what the EU is doing about it,


how the rest of the world can step up their efforts to protect biodiversity and local communities.



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This week, we welcome Sonja Haut to discuss ‘impact’ - the idea that companies can calculate and use valuations of how the business affects society and the environment, and investors can put their money into supporting it. Sonja is a true pioneer and has published a book called ‘The Case for Impact’. She is Head of Impact Valuation at the pharmaceuticals company Novartis and a member of the World Economic Forum Futures Council. 

Find out more about impact economy, the role of transparency, corporate purpose, and more!

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