The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights

GBI Senior Advisors Gerald Pachoud, Anita Ramasastry and Jonathan Drimmer discuss how companies can tackle the complexities of direct linkage, why they should, and how policymakers can approach direct linkage in mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation.

On the day of the final adoption of Omnibus I by the Council of the EU, our GBI Conversations podcast features Heidi Hautala, GBI Special Advisor and former Vice-President of the European Parliament, in conversation with GBI Director, Sophia Areias. Heidi and Sophia mark this moment, looking at back to how we got here and what here looks like now, considering implications for company preparation for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and also considers how due diligence-related expectations are appearing in several other pieces of EU Regulation.

In partnership with the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), GBI recorded this podcast exploring what meaningful stakeholder engagement looks like in practice when companies address climate change in Brazil. The episode brings together Sophia Areias (GBI Director), Clara Serva (Partner, TozziniFreire Advogados and GBI Regional Advisor for Latin America), and Maria Rufino (Technical Analyst, CEBDS) to share insights from GBI’s ongoing webinar series ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

In discussion with GBI Senior Advisor Anita Ramasastry, GBI Regional Advisor for South Asia, Rishi Sher Singh, and GBI Director Sophia Areias, we explore insights and practical examples of how companies can engage with suppliers to advance human rights.

GBI Advisors Anita Ramasastry, Jonathan Drimmer and Gerald Pachoud, and GBI Director Sophia Areias discuss the challenges posed by the shifting policy and political landscape, and how business can navigate these uncertainties through practice. This episode was recorded on 27 February 2025.

Andrea Shemberg and Jo Reyes discuss why companies should be doubling down on their commitment to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in the face of mandatory measures.

GBI's CEO Ron Popper provided his analysis to Jo Reyes of the latest CSDDD developments and the implications for business practitioners and their companies. The approval of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) marks a significant milestone. Despite significant watering down, the Directive promises a uniform standard for corporate human rights and environmental due diligence across EU member states, with implications far beyond EU boundaries. In our latest GBI Conversations podcast, GBI CEO Ron Popper shares his analysis – the disappointments but also signs of renewed hope for the future. Whilst subject to significant compromises, implementation of the Directive still signifies a crucial step forward in embedding core elements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into hard national law. Ron emphasises the need for companies to pump more resources into due diligence, greater alignment between human rights and environmental departments, and better understanding of human rights implications at the board level as crucial to future progress and success.

The risks to people caused by mining the minerals and metals needed to fuel the transition are immense. As part of our discussions to better understand the risks to people in companies’ climate action, we spoke with Norman Mukwakwami, Social Performance Manager for the Africa Region for Trafigura. In this episode, Norman discusses the company's approach to engaging suppliers to identify and mitigate human rights risks associated with the transition.

Anita Ramasastry, Senior Advisor to the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights, speaks with Catie. They discuss how the role of commercial lawyers in supporting companies to implement HRDD is changing, what commercial lawyers can do to support their companies navigate mandatory human rights due diligence requirements in a meaningful and effective way, and opportunities to overcome key challenges.

In this episode, Gerald Pachoud, Senior Advisor to the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights speaks to Catie Shavin, GBI Legal & Climate Advisor, about what mandatory human rights due diligence requirement mean for responsible exit and divestment.

Benn Hogan discusses why it’s time for companies to get serious about downstream human rights due diligence and how they can get started, drawing on examples and insights from emerging business practices.