Workshop on Business and Human Rights

Speakers

• Anna Triponel (Business and Human Rights Advisor)
• Dr. Hans Christoph Hirt (Executive Director. Co-Head of Hermes EOS Engagement Hermes Equity Ownership Services Ltd)
• Robin Brooks (Partner Norton Rose Fulbright)

Chair

• Dr Iris Chiu (University College London – Faculty of Laws)

About the workshop

There is increasing pressure on businesses to take steps to ascertain, manage and account for their human rights impacts and explain how they are doing this. At national level, legislation has been enacted in several jurisdictions aimed at increased transparency through reporting on human rights issues. Examples include the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and the UK Modern Slavery Act. Besides, the EU Directive on non-financial reporting has brought mandatory human rights reporting to large companies in the EU. Commercial practice is showing that not all commercial organisations are aware of their obligations to report and those which are aware are not sure about the areas in their business and their supply chains which should be covered and the extent to which they should consider making disclosures.

The UCL Centre for Ethics and the Law has assembled an expert panel to discuss these topical issues. We hope to provide an opportunity for companies, lawyers, investors and academics to engage with the issues and challenges regarding the reporting requirements on business and human rights

About the Speakers

Anna Triponel is an international lawyer specialized in advising companies, their in-house legal departments, law firms and investors on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. She advises and trains leading companies from a range of sectors on best practices for embedding responsible business practices, including human rights risk management, throughout their operations, and law firms on integrating corporate responsibility into legal practice. Anna is a director at Triponel Consulting Ltd and a project associate at Shift. She played a leading role in the development of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework. Anna previously served as legal consultant with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, providing input into the work of Professor John Ruggie to develop the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Dr Hans-Christoph Hirt is Co-Head and a board member at Hermes EOS, and responsible for the sustainable success of the business. As Co-Head he leads and oversees the global engagement programme and the quality of the services Hermes EOS provides to its clients around the world. Hans also leads some high profile stewardship activities, including priority engagements with major companies in Asia and Germany, as well as interactions with key regulators and organisations. Prior to joining Hermes EOS, Hans worked with the international law firm Ashurst. He is the author of numerous publications on corporate governance and law, responsible investment and stewardship. Currently, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the UN PRI Investor Engagement Clearinghouse and the Shareholder Responsibilities Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network. In 2015, he joined the Institutional Investor Council in Malaysia. Hans is a UK-qualified lawyer, holds degrees in Business Administration from universities in Germany and the UK, the ACCA qualification and a PhD from the London School of Economics (LSE). He continues to be involved in academia as a Corporate Governance Fellow at the LSE’s Financial Markets Group and a Teaching Fellow at University College London. Hans speaks French, German and Mandarin.

Robin Brooks is a corporate finance lawyer based in London with over 35 years’ experience of international transactions and advisory work. In recent years he has focused on governance and ethical issues and has participated in a number of significant investigations and risk assessments around the world, including Norton Rose Fulbright’s advice to the Board of TeliaSonera AB in relation to certain of its Eurasian investments. He has advised on ethical implications of a number of M&A transactions. Robin is a member of the Law Society of England and Wales and the City of London Solicitors’ Company. Recently he has been involved in the development of Norton Rose Fulbright’s training in relation to M&A and in particular training for transactions involving difficult jurisdictions with a particular focus on human rights related issues. He regularly talks on ethical issues relating to international transactions and is a keen supporter of organisations dedicated to the support for Human Rights.