00:01Dear fellow changemakers, it's a great privilege and an honor to be able to address you at this year's Icons
00:11of Change Awards.
00:15I'm Suna Skadegaard Thorsten, founder and CEO of Global CSR and C-Impacts, a platform to conduct sustainability due diligence
00:28for businesses.
00:32Since 1996, when I was 33 years of age, I shifted from a career as an attorney in law, working
00:46with setting up large telecom businesses in Russia,
00:51moving back to Denmark, where I originated from, and started up looking into business and human rights.
01:08The only reason that I could make that move was that I had made enough money to continue to support
01:25my family with three children while shifting into an area where my passion and my interest
01:40in changing the world towards a situation where my children and grandchildren can enjoy the same privileges that I experienced.
01:59And I do appreciate that I am very privileged also compared to most other people in the world
02:13coming from Europe and even the northern countries where the states have enabled welfare states
02:24where health, education and all basic social securities and social insurances are established for everyone.
02:40And on top of that, being white, and at that time middle-aged, now it's moving to the older age,
02:51and male, of course, put me in a position where it was possible for me to devote my time
03:02and my life to make change.
03:07I decided to do this in a professional capacity.
03:13That was a very deliberate choice but basically based on the mechanics of the market economy
03:26that if companies shouldn't or were not required to pay for my services, then they would not evaluate the services
03:43or appreciate the services to the same degree as if they paid for them.
03:50However, it has not been a gold mine and that has also not been the focus for my activity throughout
04:03the years.
04:04But I have survived well and I am doing well.
04:09Interestingly, I think when you are looking into volunteerism, you always have to ask yourself the question
04:21whether your volunteering activities become an excuse for the government to provide for basic freedoms and basic needs
04:36or to reduce their provision, their obligation to respect, protect and fulfill all internationally agreed human rights,
04:51including the right to health, the right to education and the right to social security and social insurance.
05:04So, of course, you always have to consider when you engage in volunteering actions whether you are part of becoming
05:16an excuse
05:17for governments to meet their obligations.
05:22I chose to focus on a different part of society.
05:30I chose to focus on businesses and participated in developing the now well-defined management system that is agreed globally,
05:46the UN guiding principles on business and human rights, setting out the bare minimum that we should expect from any
05:56business operating anywhere in the world.
06:00So, the social contract between states and businesses and civil society have now been clearly formulated.
06:14States should respect, protect and fulfill human rights.
06:20Businesses, businesses shall respect human rights.
06:24It is not defined the respect the same way as it is defined for states.
06:31Respect for human rights means that any business should have a management system, a governance system in place,
06:39consisting of a policy, regular due diligence or human rights impact assessments,
06:48and providing access to remedy whenever the company has actual adverse impacts on people's human rights.
06:58And they do all the time, no matter where they operate, what they do, or how big they are.
07:09As an example, any company are at risk of causing or contributing to adverse impacts on the right to rest,
07:21leisure and paid holidays.
07:33So, the management system requires the company to become transparent about what actions it has in place to prevent or
07:51mitigate
07:52the risk of such impacts becoming real.
07:58That has to be defined. The company has to measure whether it is effective.
08:03The actions it has in place has to dedicate a person to be responsible for managing those actions,
08:11and it has to put adequate resources aside to manage it.
08:16Hence, the management system is well defined, enabling both governments that, on their part,
08:29has an obligation to regulate businesses to implement the management system,
08:35but having implemented the management system enables then the companies to demonstrate to the governments
08:48that have the supervisory authority to make sure the companies implement the management system,
08:55to also look into the activities of the companies.
09:08So, of course, we would expect that civil society, the non-governmental organizations,
09:16are aware of the standard so that they can hold companies to account.
09:25It is equally important that civil society stays vigilant,
09:35points out actual impacts on human rights all over the world,
09:42and the responsibility for companies to act concerns both its own activities,
09:49where it may cause or contribute to adverse impacts,
09:52but it also has to act on severe impacts on human rights that happens throughout its value chains.
10:02And it has to require from its business relationships, i.e. its suppliers or its customers,
10:08that they also meet the minimum standard for responsible business conduct, i.e. the management system that is well defined
10:18by the UN Guiding Principles.
10:20So, I hope, at some point in your careers, you'll get a chance to dive in to what is now
10:29the basic minimum for any business conduct anywhere in the world,
10:37a responsibility that was clearly defined already in 2011,
10:45hence enabling us to assist companies to implement the management system,
10:51but which is now moving into laws, not only in the EU, but also all over the world.
11:00In India, it has already been implemented in corporate law.
11:06In Philippines, a bill has been proposed.
11:10In Japan, a bill has been proposed.
11:14So, even though we see large geopolitical challenges and climate change on top of that,
11:20there's also a firm development in terms of enabling one of the most important actors under global market economies,
11:36namely businesses, to ensure a just transition for all of our efforts
11:46while we are supporting the Sustainable Development Goals.
11:51And with this, I will wish you the greatest celebration and hope that you will enjoy the days.
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