Sustainable Edge: Human rights as a competitive advantage with Marcos Neto, United Nations Development Programme.

<h3><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In this episode of Sustainable Edge</strong></h3><h3><br></h3><h3><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">Host </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">Joachim Nahem</strong><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder at Position Green, sits down with </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">Marcos Neto</strong><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director at UNDP, to examine one of the most persistent dilemmas in corporate sustainability: </span><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">does respecting human rights hurt or help business performance</strong><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(67, 67, 67);">?</span></h3><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As geopolitical tensions rise and regulatory frameworks become more fragmented, many executives are questioning how far their responsibility should extend across global value chains. This conversation explores where accountability really sits today and why the debate around human rights, competitiveness, and transparency is reaching an inflection point for global business.</span></p><p><br></p><h3><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In this episode</strong></h3><p><span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Marcos Neto unpacks new research from UNDP that directly challenges the assumption that human rights due diligence comes at the expense of financial performance. Drawing on a multi year analysis of more than 200 global companies across sectors including apparel, extractives, automotive, ICT, and agriculture, he shares what the data actually shows and why ignoring human rights can pose a real risk to long term value creation.</span></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Learn about:</strong></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Human rights and financial performance</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> Why companies with stronger human rights practices see higher returns on assets and why declining performance carries measurable financial risk</span></li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">The myth of lost competitiveness</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> What the evidence says about investor reactions, cost concerns, and profitability</span></li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">From policy to decision making</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> Why human rights only matter when embedded into core business processes rather than treated as a reporting exercise</span></li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Regulation, investors, and accountability</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> How responsibility is shaped not only by law but by stakeholder expectations and risk management</span></li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Emerging human rights risks</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> What leaders should watch as business models evolve across areas like AI, data centres, critical raw materials, and reshoring</span></li></ul><p><br></p><ul><li><strong style="background-color: transparent;">Materiality in practice</strong><span style="background-color: transparent;"> How executives can focus on what truly matters without trying to solve every problem in the world</span></li></ul><p><br></p><h3><strong style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">About Marcos Neto</strong></h3><p><str