Responsible Business Conduct for the Recovery of Ukraine:
A Path to
Sustainable Investments and European Integration
International Conference
Date: 16 October 2025 · Format: in-person/online · Languages: Ukrainian/English (simultaneous UA/EN translation throughout the event)
Key details
- Date: 16 October 2025
- Time: 09:00–18:00 (GMT+3)
- Languages: Ukrainian/English (simultaneous interpretation).
- Format: hybrid (online and in person in Kyiv).
- Venue: Address will be shared with registered participants by email.
Registration
Participation is free of charge. Please register by 09 October 2025. The in-person venue details will be sent by email to registered participants.
About the conference
For Ukraine, attracting large-scale international and domestic investment is essential to a sustainable recovery and to building a resilient, innovative, and competitive post-war economy. In this context, the principles of Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) — particularly Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) — are no longer merely ethical aspirations. They are strategic imperatives for rebuilding trust, minimizing risks to people and the environment, and securing high-quality investments aligned with international expectations. Integrating RBC and HRDD into reconstruction and investment initiatives strengthens Ukraine’s position in the global economy, advances its path toward European Union membership, while creating a business landscape that reduces human rights and environmental risks.
The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine is actively working to create a favorable investment climate and to engage in values-based trade. This conference will highlight how the practical application of RBC principles can unlock sustainable investment, promote people-oriented recovery, and align Ukraine with global norms of responsible business conduct. It will provide a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue and capacity-building while advancing policy tools such as a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.
This conference is targeted at actors central to Ukraine’s reconstruction: government representatives, business leaders, civil society, and international partners. It is strategically important in continuing the discussion initiated at the 2023 International Conference on RBC, taking it to a new, more pragmatic level, clearly linking responsible business conduct, with a special emphasis on conflict-sensitive human rights due diligence, to the Ministry’s key priority – attracting investment for Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Conference objectives:
- Foster shared understanding of conflict-sensitive human rights due diligence (hHRDD) as a tool for sustainable reconstruction.
- Promote responsible business conduct as a pillar of Ukraine’s post-war economic strategy and responsible business environment to reduce risks to people and the environment and help business and investors meet expectations under international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles/OECD Guidelines but also emerging EU sustainability regulation.
- Facilitate dialogue between Ukrainian stakeholders and international investors on aligning practices with the UN, EU and OECD standards.
Agenda
Registration and Welcome Coffee
Opening
- Oleksii Sobolev, Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
- Shoko Noda, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Crisis Bureau Director
- Clare Ovey, Director of Human Rights, Council of Europe
Moderated by: Olena Riabtseva, Acting Director of the Department of Investment Attraction and Interaction with International Organizations, Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
Session 1: People-Oriented Recovery, Responsible Investment and EU Accession
- Alexandra Kuxova, Team leader – Corporate social responsibility and business sustainability, European Commission-DG GROW (online)
- Christine Kaufmann, Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (online)
- Tetiana Sakharuk, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Ukraine, Chair for the Regional Network Council for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, UN Global Compact (online)
- Stanislav Suprunenko, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (online)
Moderated by:Maryna Kupchuk, Secretary of the OECD National Contact Point in Ukraine, Deputy Head of the Department of International Investment Cooperation and Promotion of Responsible Business Conduct at the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
Objective: To set the strategic tone for the day, emphasizing the role of Responsible Business Conduct and Human Rights Due Diligence as the foundation for sustainable recovery, investment attraction, and EU integration and obtaining full membership in OECD. To outline the general policy framework and key future steps.
This session will also reflect on what these strategic developments mean for Ukrainian businesses in practical terms, highlighting their role in advancing responsible recovery, investment attractiveness, and integration objective.
Snapshot session: RBC infrastructure in Ukraine
ESG roadmap, corporate sustainability framework, human rights and environment due diligence in times of war and recovery
- Caroline Bright, Regional ESG Advisory Lead, International Finance Corporation (online)
- Oleksiy Yatsiuk, ESG Expert at the Green Transition Office, Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
- Olena Uvarova, Associate Professor, Chair of the International BHR Lab, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University; UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist
Coffee Break
Session 2: Responsible Investment for the Recovery of Ukraine
- Pavlo Kartashov, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
- Kristina Mikulova, Head of the Regional Hub for Eastern Europe, European Investment Bank
- Yevgeniya Afanasenko, Senior Environmental and Social Development Specialist, International Finance Corporation
- Mark Beaumont Taylor, Senior Advisor, Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine
- Sinisa Milatovic, UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist
Moderated by: Andrii Kitura, Development Director, DiXi Group; Head of the Green Transition Office, Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
Objective: To discuss the role of responsible investors in fostering a recovery/reconstruction grounded in responsible business conduct standards. The session will explore key expectations on responsible business conduct of investors financing projects in Ukraine, some of the key areas of RBC risk and the types of regulatory, policy and operational measures that might be needed to prevent and address such risks.
Opening to sign: the Declaration of Responsible Business Conduct for the Recovery of Ukraine: the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, partners and participants of the Conference.
Lunch
Session 3: Meaningful Stakeholders Engagement: Why Businesses Need It for Responsible Conduct and Risk Management
- Liudmyla Tsyganok, President, Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World (PAEW)
- Vera Savchenko, Executive Director, BDO; Co-Chair of the European Business Association’s Ukraine Recovery Committee
- Yevhenii Shakotko, Executive Director, Responsible Development Office
- Oleg Krykavsky, Director of Government Relations, ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih
- Olena Shtohryn, Managing Partner, Dictio, аttorney, mediator
Moderated by: Irene Fedorovych, Social Action Centre NGO
Objective: To examine why and how businesses engaged in Ukraine’s reconstruction need to establish meaningful engagement with rightsholders — including workers, local communities, internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities, veterans, and other vulnerable or marginalized groups — to collect critical data, map risks effectively, and meet broader stakeholder expectations for responsible business conduct in line with international human rights and sustainability standards.
Session 4: Green Finance for Responsible Recovery
- Pervin Dadashova , Director of Financial Stability Department, National Bank of Ukraine
- Andrii Hrys, Head of Social and Environmental Risk Management Department, Ukrgasbank
- Stanislav Suprunenko, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (online)
- Dmytro Sych, General manager on Green Finance, Green Transition Office
Moderated by: Yevhen Bublyk, Institute for Economics and Forecasting, NAS of Ukraine
Objective: To explore the role of green finance in supporting Ukraine’s responsible and sustainable recovery. This session will examine how integrating environmental sustainability and responsible business conduct standards into financing decisions can drive climate-resilient reconstruction, attract international capital, and align Ukraine’s recovery with EU accession and global decarbonisation goals.
Coffee Break
Session 5: From Principles to Practice: Operationalising HRDD and RBC
- UNDP Tools
- OECD NCP in Ukraine – Maryna Kupchuk, Secretary of the OECD NCP in Ukraine, Deputy Head of international investment cooperation and promotion of RBC division at the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine
- Sectoral Guidance on Responsible Business Conduct – Irene Fedorovych, Director, Social Action Centre NGO
- ESG Accelerator, Yuliya Holodkova, Project Lead, ESG Advisory Program, Ukraine, International Finance Corporation
- Business and human rights in the work of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights – Olena Kolobrodova, Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights on Social and Economic Rights
- Announcement of the follow up events
Moderated by: Olena Uvarova, UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist
Objective: To examine how HRDD and responsible business conduct can be operationalised. This discussion will highlight good practices in embedding HRDD into corporate governance and supply chains, including in high-risk and conflict-affected contexts. It will explore how companies can establish internal systems to identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse impacts.
Conference Closure
Organizers and partners
The main organizers of the Conference is the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
Co-organizers of the conference are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, the Green Transition Office of the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine and the Social Action Centre NGO.
Partners of the Conference are the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, Swedwatch, and Jean Monnet Center of Excellence on Corporate Sustainability and Human Rights at the Law Group Wageningen University.
Informational support is provided by the Responsible Development Office and the Professional Association of Environmentalists of the World (PAEW).
Following the Conference, the series of working meetings and webinars focused on specific topics will be conducted.
Steering Committee of the Conference:
- Maryna Kupchuk, OECD National Contact Point in Ukraine, Deputy head of international investment cooperation and promotion of RBC division at the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
- Sinisa Milatovic UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist.
- Оlena Mytnyk, Business and Human Rights Advocacy Analyst, UNDP in Ukraine.
- Oleksiy Yatsiuk, ESG Expert at the Green Transition Office under the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine.
- Iryna Fedorovych, Social Action Centre NGO.
- Olena Uvarova, Associate Professor, Chair of the International BHR Lab at the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, UNDP Business and Human Rights Specialist (Coordinator of the Steering Committee).
International Advisory Committee of the Conference:
- Richard Howitt, European Parliament Rapporteur on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in a distinguished 22-year political career, Strategic Advisor, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Business and Human Rights.
- Anita Ramasastry, the Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law and the Director of the Sustainable International Development Graduate Program at the University of Washington School of Law, the Special Representative to the Chair on Combatting Corruption at the OSCE. In 2016–2022 a member and also chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
- John Morrison, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Human Rights and Business, Commissioner for the Mining 2030 investor initiative.
- Radu Mares, Associate Professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights, the director of the Research and Education Department, and thematic leader for the Business and Human Rights area at RWI.
- Ioana Tuta, Senior Adviser, Human Rights, Tech and Business, Danish Institute for Human Rights.
- Jessica Johansson, Business, Human Rights and Environment (BHRE) Programme Officer, Project Manager at Swedwatch.
Venue
Kyiv (in-person) + online. Exact address will be sent to registered participants by email.
Downloads
Responsible Business for Recovery of Ukraine: International Conference – AGENDA
The outcome document of the 2023 Conference on Responsible Business for Ukraine’s Recovery, which has preceded this year’s Conference:
Contacts
E-mail: RBCconferenceUA@gmail.com