Engaging Business Forum 2024
COMPANIES
[Atlanta, 15-16 October 2024]
In October 2024, the Coca-Cola Company hosted the 16th edition of the Engaging Business Forum at their Headquarters in Atlanta. Every year the Forum brings together leaders from business, civil society, trade unions and government to explore solutions to the most pressing human rights challenges companies face today. The 16th edition of the Forum featured a wide range of panels and discussions on pressing issues relating to the environment, circularity, SME perspectives, heightened human rights due diligence (hHRDD), upcoming regulations, including the EU CSDDD, as well the future of audits and certifications, and much more.
The event saw a record attendance with over 300 human rights leaders attending from more than 40 countries. Participants especially appreciated the relevance and resonance of the topics and conversations around risk prioritization under CS3D, circularity and human rights and heightened human rights due diligence (hHRDD).
TrustWorks CEO and Founder Josie Lianna Kaye PhD and TrustWorks Senior Advisor, Claude Voillat, were invited as speakers on the panel: ‘What’s heightened about hHRDD?’ The were joined by esteemed colleagues, President and Co-Founder of the Heartland Initiative, Sam Jones, Director of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB), Vicky Bowman, and Programme Manager at UNDP, Siniša Milatović, who moderated the session. hHRDD is critical to respect human rights in conflict-affected and post-conflict contexts. The panel discussed the meaning of hHRDD; specific elements of hHRDD; how the process differs to traditional human rights due diligence approaches; and the practical implications for businesses seeking to integrate conflict-related issues into their policies and programs.
Read more about what is (what is not) ‘heightened about’ about hHRDD in our second blog in our Responsible Business in Conflict series or check out our technical brief for companies on how to conduct hHRDD based on our experience performing hHRDD and, in particular, applying TrustWorks’ integrated framework for responsible business (the Responsible Business in Conflict Assessment methodology).
