00:00:00:00 - 00:00:38:05 Unknown Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to the Classic VHB Series Environmental, Social, Governance, Risk and Compliance - Organization and Management System Requirements. Hopefully you have read the course description and know what to expect. If not, feel free to catch up as well. ESGRC that's going to be with us, that acronym and before I start with episode one on gender I make an effort to gender in the script. 00:00:38:07 - 00:01:17:21 Unknown Again, in these episodes. And if it doesn't work sometimes? All possible genders are always addressed. Slide 2 Episode one What does sustainable leadership (ESGRC) actually mean? and why does it concern everyone? Slide 3 Learning Objectives. For each episode, they should try to achieve these learning objectives, and that is to know, understand and be able to explain in their own words what sustainable leadership means and what impact that has on their work area or on the process flows in their work area, in their professional environment. 00:01:17:23 - 00:01:53:22 Unknown We're also going to keep going back to media reports. For example, here's a media report. Slide 4 Brussels is planning the next sustainability label. If the company is good, the company is bad. And there is talk about social taxonomy, analogous to the green variant and should be signaled to investors what. Social standards are being addressed. In these media reports, there are so many unknown or new formulations appearing, so we try to bring some light into the darkness with our story. Slide 5 00:01:54:00 - 00:02:30:10 Unknown In the same way, when we read that Austria is taking taxonomy to the European Court of Justice. What is actually going on there? The background is relatively easy. The European Union has issued a regulation for a taxonomy regulation. This is about classifying organizations, i.e. assessing whether they are sustainable or not. And this has to be reported on so that someone who has something to do with this organization, who wants to invest in this organization, knows whether it is a sustainable organization. 00:02:30:12 - 00:03:07:01 Unknown And Austria says but to be sustainable, even if you deal with natural gas or with nuclear energy or use the whole thing, that can't be. And that's why Austria but also some environmental associations at the European Court of Justice at the very top so sued. Slide 6 Yes, you will also always see in each episode and in the script many more test questions that you have to answer please. What does sustainability have to do with education and compliance? 00:03:07:03 - 00:03:49:01 Unknown Answer one relatively little. The important thing in the future is primarily to write a lot to environmental protection, to communicate, to show how good we are or answer B Compliance is in the mandatory framework, in the economic, social and environmental area. To meet these requirements, that is mandatory, the rest then is freestyle. Answer three. Without education of all employees in the subject area of economic, social and ecological development, the specifications or processes to meet these sustainability requirements will not be lived, will not be effective. 00:03:49:03 - 00:04:36:06 Unknown So, which of these is right? Slide 7 First of all, definitions. What does sustainable leadership of organizations actually mean, so this acronym ESGRC, that is Ecological E for (Environmental), Social (Social) and Economic (Governance), risk-based, compliance-based leadership. ESGRC, in other words, environmental, social, economic, risk-based, compliance-based governance means that we base our management and monitoring of organizations on this: Is what we're doing environmentally sound and socially and economically sustainable? 00:04:36:08 - 00:04:59:01 Unknown Do we always consider opportunities and risks in what we do, and do we follow the mandatory requirements. Compliance, so in the area of leadership. And we have a separate chapter, a separate episode on definitions yet, but in advance just that you get a sense of what's coming up. Slide 8 It's about taxonomy, for example, as mentioned before. 00:04:59:01 - 00:05:35:21 Unknown But it's also about decarbonization. All of this, you might think, is just about ecology. No, sustainability is also social and economic. And we'll get to many more definitions in another episode, without these conceptualizations we can't get through the course and we can't get through the organization, we can't get through life. Slide 9 What does sustainability compliance mean? Well, it means that we identify and adhere to all the compelling commitments related to sustainability. 00:05:35:23 - 00:06:07:23 Unknown What a sustainability or (ESGRC) management system is, Slide 10 You can read about this in my commentary on DIN ISO 37.301. I am in this working group of the German Institute for Standardization and we have developed a global standard for a compliance system via ISO. That in turn, of course, also includes a sustainability compliance system. Slide 11 The regulatory activities, we have a separate episode on that as well. 00:06:07:23 - 00:06:38:13 Unknown But first of all the regulatory activities on sustainability we find globally, spanning the entire globe, we find especially also very much in Europe, on the part of the EU and the European Parliament a lot is being done there right now and also of course on the national, German level there are many regulations. Slide 12 Quite prominently, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations for which we also again spend a separate episode to bring them closer. 00:06:38:15 - 00:07:13:00 Unknown And then this European sustainability regulation just as an example, there's lots to learn about in this course as well. An example that is affecting very, very many organizations right now, Slide 13 the Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive, so the Sustainability Reporting Directive from 2023 and the corresponding standards for that, so specifications on how to report and what to report on, the ESRS from 2022. 00:07:13:02 - 00:07:50:12 Unknown It is interesting to note that in the future, medium-sized companies will also have to prepare their sustainability reports. And therefore the tip please start with it immediately if you have not taken care of it yet. Slide 14 In Germany, there are regulations galore all the German laws and case law, all standards, including what deals with ecology, social issues and economics. That is a lot of labor law, environmental law, anti-corruption laws or quite prominently also since 2023 supply chain due diligence law. 00:07:50:13 - 00:08:17:05 Unknown Yes every topic from sustainability. Many have not even seen it that way yet, contains slide 15 primarily first of all legal requirements. It rarely comes out a law with the content: Hey, you can do what you want. Then you wouldn't need a law. A law is always a regulation that says you have to do something. It's the same with guidelines. It's the same with jurisprudence. 00:08:17:05 - 00:08:41:04 Unknown That's where it's made clear what you're allowed to do, what you have to do, and what you're not allowed to do. And that's why we ask ourselves in everything that concerns sustainability: what is compulsory and what is freestyle? The duty comes first. The freestyle, we should perhaps actually neglect at the beginning, is nice to have but we have enough to do to comply with the duties. Slide 16 For example, what do I need to pay attention to in my work environment? 00:08:41:06 - 00:09:10:07 Unknown That may be why you took this course. Does the whole thing impact my area of work? The sustainability issue? Absolutely and the organization needs to report on that as well. For example, this reporting standards is brand new: ESRS S1 for example, deals exclusively with the working conditions of its own employees "Own workforce" - a whole standard dealing with them. 00:09:10:08 - 00:09:38:22 Unknown In the organization. Yeah, now how do we get it right? I think you've been sufficiently confused by the first few sentences from me. Slide 17 Do you have spaghetti in your head yet? What we need, we realize very quickly, is that we need appropriate smart goals in sustainability as well. But also the knowledge and not just knowledge, but also understanding or also being able to apply; is part of it and wanting to apply. 00:09:39:00 - 00:10:08:09 Unknown The inner pig sits just with us on the shoulder and says always on sustainability is important and great, but everything else is much more comfortable. Let's continue as before. Let's not leave our patterns and there you will still have to lead a proper fight with your inner pig dog to tread new paths. But that's why we definitely need leading processes in the organization that support us in achieving this goal. 00:10:08:11 - 00:10:45:23 Unknown And it always has to be a controlling, a steering, a monitoring whether we are on the right track or whether we are deviating from our sustainability course. It's also important to get an overview. So that is my objective for this course, also to give you an overview of these many new topics. And of course, that you realize that everybody wants the same thing, that everybody is just boiling water, and that if you have an overview, it's often very, very easy to meet these requirements. 00:10:46:01 - 00:11:13:16 Unknown So again this generalist, interdisciplinary approach says first of all let's overview the whole thing: What does everybody want from us? And isn't there a lot of overlap there? And it's like this: I'll prove it. There is an incredible amount of overlap in these many new topics and requirements and that is why I am coming to this thesis: Slide 18 ESG - environmental social governance or corporate social responsibility. 00:11:13:18 - 00:11:44:03 Unknown These sustainability topics, they're almost identical to what we've already covered earlier under Governance, Risk and Compliance. So again, ESGRC, with this formula we also get over these bureaucratic hurdles quite well. Slide 19 ESGRC compliance now means that we first identify the compelling sustainability compliance goals and then try to meet them, to achieve them. And we manage to do that 00:11:44:03 - 00:12:26:09 Unknown but that's where I'll put my hand in the fire that the only way we're going to do that is with risk literacy, having true risk literacy, knowing what opportunities and risks really are, and education. Without education, we will never in the organization manage to meet these sustainability requirements. Slide 20 A request also with each episode yes topics are called and I ask you to discuss with your colleagues or acquaintances and here is the topic: can you understand and explain the many terms from the field of sustainable management of organizations, ESGRC? 00:12:26:11 - 00:12:56:09 Unknown Probably not yet. But I can reassure you, after the course. Slide 21 or even after some time of dealing with sustainability, you can. And then, what is your mindset - Is ESGRC mandatory as sustainability and does it have an impact on your area of work? So are you also already affected by sustainability issues in your organization or does the whole thing pass you, your organization by without a trace? 00:12:56:11 - 00:13:33:20 Unknown Homework is also after each episode. Namely, there are so many sustainability reports on the Internet now, they're getting more and more and better. And there, please always read if you can find the topic just addressed in the respective episode. Ideally in a sustainability report of the organization in which you work. And then take a look and I'm happy about this sustainability report because these are exactly our topics that are very prominently audited by these organizations, communicated and published by auditors. 00:13:33:22 - 00:14:13:13 Unknown So I think we've actually uncovered an important issue there. Slide 22 Answer to test question: what does sustainability have to do with education and compliance? A lot, of course. The first answer would have been wrong. Compliance. In this respect, answers two and three are correct, the mandatory framework is also set, which is compulsory and we can gladly do without freestyle. And this education of the employees, the employees, starting from the Board of Management, from the Supervisory Board to the intern, that is very important to achieve these economic, social and ecological goals. Slide 23 00:14:13:15 - 00:14:48:03 Unknown Yes, that was once a very powerful introduction, I think. And I hope they're even more interested and more motivated to get through the course and I'm glad and thank you for your attention. First of all, still the summary. Slide 24 We always remember this, very important: Please keep in long-term memory something like this. There are a lot of regulatory activities regarding sustainability and sustainable business management and that's on a global level, on a European level and on a national level. 00:14:48:05 - 00:15:22:07 Unknown And there are, if you have the overview, very many overlaps, which you can then resolve efficiently. But, of course, there are also many open questions. Some have already been clarified, many not yet. Scio Nescio the Latin says, "I only know that I know nothing." That will continue to be the case here for a long time. And that is why it is indispensable to first teach the basics to the employees in the organization and to acquire the sustainability key qualifications in order to enable the whole thing to be lived afterwards. 00:15:22:09 - 00:15:41:00 Unknown Sustainability, and in the economic environmental and social sense and sustainable business governance has implications for every area of work. In case you haven't noticed, it won't be long now. Slide 25 Thank you very much for your attention.