Francesco Brugnatelli at the welcome Gala Dinner for Jia Guide

On 23 May, our senior partner Francesco Brugnatelli took part in the welcome Gala Dinner set up for the new Chinese ambassador Jia Guide, an event that fosters a special dialogue with the members of the Italy-China ICCF Foundation. The focus is on bilateral dialogue and the development opportunities for companies in the current geopolitical scenario.

The Ambassador’s greetings

“China’s continuous expansion and openness offer opportunities to companies from all over the world,” said Ambassador Jia Guide, in his opening speech, “For the 14th consecutive year, the country was the second largest import market and the second largest consumer market in the world. China wants to open its market to the world and welcome companies from all countries that wish to establish themselves there. The fact that a record amount of foreign capital of over US$189 billion was invested in China last year also shows that the vast majority of foreign enterprises are optimistic about the country’s development prospects. China will continue to build a stable, fair and reliable business environment, offering a wide market space and cooperation opportunities for companies from all over the world, including Italy’.

‘Today more than ever it is necessary to re-establish an objective dialogue that can lead to constructive cooperation to ensure a fair balance in economic and trade relations between our two markets,’ said Mario Boselli, President of the Italy China Council Foundation in his greeting. ‘I am increasingly convinced that China is not only an essential reality for Italian companies but also a strategic base for internationalisation in other Asian markets. Italy must also be increasingly understood for Chinese companies as a direct economic partner and gateway to the European continent’.

 

 

Guglielmo Burragato interviewed on Corporate Sustainability Reporting

Il Sole 24 Ore of Monday 22 May interviews legal counsel whose company clients will need to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive [CSRD].

As the journalist Serena Uccello points out, ‘the most important novelty comes in the future, when the number of companies that will have to draw up a sustainability report will be extended: from 1 January 2026, the obligation will apply to all companies with more than 250 employees, a turnover of more than EUR 50 million and an annual budget of at least EUR 43 million’.

The information in it concerns how natural resources are used, the environmental impact of the activity carried out, how the wealth produced is distributed and important information on employment, workers’ rights and gender equality.  As regards HR management, the report is usually framed around the human rights issues​ that a Company holds as most salient, which may span the full value chain.

Employment aspects

Atty Guglielmo Burragato emphasises that the governance and social aspects, of which the
protection of gender equality and diversity are important components’, fall within the area of labour law: from regulations against undeclared or underpaid work to safety measures that become
relevant to Corporate Sustainability Reporting .

The need for training programmes

It will also be up to companies to control the risk that their suppliers do not observe good sustainability practices in their production processes and in measuring their environmental, social and governance impact. This will require an investment in terms of training: ‘The prospects,’ Mr Burragato continues, ‘are important. But I must say that younger people show considerable sensitivity to these issues’.

The newspaper page with the full report is available here.

[Photo by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay].