International Human Rights Conference on Responsible Business Conduct – The Next Chapter

IOE, BDA and DPDHL held their annual in-person international conference to address key developments on human rights and responsible business conduct on 19 April 2023, in Bonn.

Organised by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) together with the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and hosted by Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), this high-level conference brought together global, regional and national leaders from the UN, business, governments, trade unions and CSOs. Participants learned about the latest developments and were invited to take part in peer learning and exchange experiences.

Featured speakers included:

Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General; Dr. Thomas Ogilvie, Corporate Board Member for Human Resources at Deutsche Post DHL Group; Ms. Renate Hornung-Draus, Managing Director at BDA; Mr Axel Voss, Member ofthe EU Parliament, and representatives from The Coca-Cola Company, Shell, Nestlé, Bayer and the UN Global Compact.

The Conference was be convened as practical discussion-based panels with topics covering issues at the forefront of the Business and Human Rights trend:

• Update on current legislative due diligence initiatives
• ESG: Getting ready for what is coming
• Access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as human right – what does it mean for business
• Environmental Due Diligence – key insights from practitioners
• Digital transformation and human rights