AIM-Progress organised an in-person supplier event on Human Rights Due Diligence in EU Road Transport on 24 September, co-sponsored by Danone, Mondelez, Nestlé, Tetra Pak and Unilever.
The objective of the meeting was to
- Understand challenges of working conditions for drivers in cross-border EU road transport
- Impress need for companies to comply with EU Mobility and Human Rights Due Diligence legislation
- Communicate brands’ expectations for responsible business conduct and their requirements of the road transport industry and why
- Discuss challenges & solutions
- Share guidance & tools
Participants included representatives from 45 road transport companies, 12 brands & retailers and 11 organisations working on road transport.
This event is is part of a collaborative effort among AIM-Progress members to ensure that transport companies respect prevailing EU transport legislation and implement HRDD.
Event details
Address
Brussels Sheraton Airport Hotel
Date:
24 Sep 2026
Time:
10:00
Hosts:
AIM-Progress, Danone, Mondelez, Nestlé, Tetra Pak, Unilever
Agenda and summary
Presentations
Welcome & Introduction
Speakers:
Louise Herring, AIM-Progress Andrew Davenport, Nestlé Sylvain Lobry,, Danone
The meeting was opened by Louise Herring, Executive Director of AIM-Progress, and two representatives from the co-sponsoring companies – Andrew Davenport, Global Head of Logistics, Nestlé and Sylvain Lobry, VP Social Dialogue & Social Fundamentals, Danone.
Downloads:
Overview of the current human rights challenges in the transport industry
Speakers:
Edwin Atema, RTDD Foundation Jan Hein Mastenbroeck, Bout Advocaten
Driving conditions in cross-border EU road transport are, at best, sub-optimal, with drivers not finding adequate parking space, confronted with unhealthy sanitory equipments, not being able to take their rest periods or returning home at regular intervals, or even not receiving their promised wages.
Edwin Atema, Director of RTDD Foundation, provided participants with an insight into drivers’ day to day working reality, while Jan Hein Mastenbroek, lawyer at Bout Advocaten illustrated which legal routes are open to drivers to claim their rights in the Netherlands.
Introducing the EU regulatory framework
Speakers:
Ann-Kathrin Schewe, UN Global Compact Germany network, Senior Manager German Sector Dialogue Automotive Industry
Ann-Kathrin Schewe, UN Global Compact Germany network and Senior Manager German Sector Dialogue Automotive Industry provided a high-level overview of the EU legislation affecting human rights of drivers in EU road transport, covering due diligence and transport-specific legislation.
Downloads:
Enforcement of the EU Mobility Package
Speakers:
Stijn Ackaerts, Coordinator, SIOD
Stijn Ackaert provided an overview of the Belgian road transport safety and labour conditions inspection services, including the type of findings they need to address.
Downloads:
Implementing Human Rights Due Diligence in Road Transport
Speakers:
Carolina Singer, Global Head of Social Sustainability & Responsible Business, Unilever; Alain Nguyen, Responsible Sourcing Lead, Nestlé; Edwin Atema, Director, RTDD Foundation; Frédérique Desroches, Human Rights Director, Danone; Clare Blyth, Global Technical & Operations Manager, DNV; Rebecca Nguyen, Global Social Sustainability & Stakeholder Engagement Manager, Mondelez International
Together with Edwin Atema, RTDD Foundation, and Clare Blyth, DNV, AIM-Progress even co-sponsors, introduced a number of tools which are being developed to tackle human rights abuses in EU road transport.
This includes:
RTDD Foundation guidance to support shippers in fulfilling their human rights due diligence obligations in European road transport by guiding their suppliers towards pragmatic and measurable steps to ensure compliance (publication imminent).
Verification approaches by shippers to complement existing assessments and audits. This work, undertaken by the AIM-Progress road transport project consists of 2 deliverables: 1) an audit module for carrier HQ; 2) a driver interview module to test findings of the audit. These are currently being piloted with an open-source release planned for early 2027.
Wrap-up and closing
Speakers:
Louise Herring, AIM-Progress Andrew Davenport, Nestlé Sylvain Lobry,, Danone
The meeting closed with a reminder of the main messages:
- Shippers are serious about respect for human rights in road transport
- Compliance with legislation is mandatory; RTDD guidelines will help carriers navigate and implement regulatory requirements
- Shippers’ expectations for responsible business conduct in road transport will be verified through assessment approaches è drivers will be the witnesses of positive change
- Carriers and shippers need to remedy negative human rights impacts before they become “news”
- Collaboration between shippers and carriers is key