Annual Conference of The NOVA BHRE - The Draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Opportunities And Challenges

The focus of the second annual conference of the NOVA Business, Human Rights and the Environment will be on the «Draft Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive: Opportunities and Challenges».

The conference will take place at NOVA School of Law, in an hybrid format, on the 28th and 29th of September 2022.

This year’s edition is organised in partnership with the Portuguese Government, the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PLMJ and the FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology).

It will count with the participation of the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, the Secretary-General of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, João Pedro Guimarães, as well as members of the UN Working Group of Business and Human Rights, members of the Portuguese government, scholars, civil society organisations and businesses.

The conference is coordinated by Claire Bright, Laura Íñigo Álvarez and Inês Crispim.

Programme

28th September

Colegio Almada Negreiros, Anfiteatro A.13

13h15 | Opening

 

  • Margarida Lima Rego, Vice-Dean – NOVA School of Law
  • Claire Bright, Director of the NOVA BHRE
  • Bernardo Ivo Cruz, Portuguese Secretary of State for Internationalization (videomessage)
  • Bruno Ferreira, Managing Partner at PLMJ
  • Robert McCorquodale, Member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

14h00 | Panel 1: «The Implications of the Draft CSDD for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains»


Chair: Tomislav Ivancic, FAO

Panel:

  • Stephanie Bratnick, Institute for Human Rights and Business
  • António Serrano, Jerónimo Martins
  • Sofia del Valle, World Benchmark Alliance
  • Nasir Mansoor, NTUF Pakistan trade union
  • Isabelle Schömann, European Trade Union Confederation

15h15 | Coffee Break

15h45 | Panel 2: The Draft CSDD, Climate Change and the Just Transition


Keynote speech
: Erika George, Tanner Humanities Center

Chair: Alison Holm, NOVA SBE

Panel:

  • Lucila de Almeida, NOVA School of Law/ Wageningen
  • Eduardo Moura, EDP
  • Aurelie Skrobik, Global Witness
  • Max Mangold, Mercedes-Benz Group

17h00 | Panel 3: The Enforcement of the Draft CSDD (online)


Keynote speech
: Lara Wolters, European Parliament
Chair: Lise Smit, BIICL

Panel:

  • Sarah Dadush, Rutgers University
  • Gabrielle Holly, Danish Institute for Human Rights
  • Chris Patz, ECCJ
  • Daniel Schönfelder, BHR lawyer, Germany

29th September 2022

09h30 | Opening

  • Manuela Doutel Haghighi, Microsoft
  • Marta Lima Basto, Deputy Director-General, Directorate General for Economic Activities
  • João Pedro Guimarães, Secretary-General of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce
  • Damiola Sunday Olawuyi, UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights
  • Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice (online)

10h30 | Panel 4: The interconnections between the Draft CSDD and the Draft Treaty on BHR


Keynote speech
: Surya Deva, Macquarie Law School
Chair: Inês Crispim, PLMJ

Panel:

  • Humberto Cantu-Rivera, University of Monterrey
  • Laura Iñigo Álvarez, NOVA School of Law
  • Axel Marx, KU Leuven
  • Claire Metven O’Brien, University of Dundee
  • Ben Van Peperstraete (ECCHR)

12h00 | Lunch Break

14h00 | Panel 5: The Draft CSDD and its Implications for Children’s Rights


Keynote speech
: Ines Kaempfer, CEO, The Centre for Child Rights and Business (online)
Chair: Teresa Anjinho, Deputy Ombudsman

Panel:

  • Francisca Magano, Advocacy Director, UNICEF Portugal
  • Virginie Mahin, Mondelez (online)
  • Emilio Puccio, Secretary General of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights
  • Benjamin Smith,  Senior Officer, ILO (online)

15h30 | Coffee Break

16h00 | Panel 6: The Draft CSDD and Business Conduct in Conflicts-Affected Areas


Keynote speech
: Anita Ramasastry, University of Washington School of Law
Chair: Laura Iñígo Álvarez, NOVA School of Law

Panel:

  • Céline da Graça Pires, BSR & NOVA School of Law
  • Olena Uvarova, Yaroslav the Wise National Law University & Wageningen University
  • Ron Popper, GBI
  • Tara Van Ho, University of Essex

17h30 | Closing

  • Benedita Sequeira, NOVA School of Law