RBA 2025 Annual Conference Highlights

More than 600 attendees came to the RBA's annual conference, Responsible Business 2025, in National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., November 11-14. Many thanks to all the speakers, panelists and participants who joined us from all over the world to take part in the conference.

Members Day took place on November 11 and the morning featured a Town Hall where RBA staff discussed the next 5-year strategic plan with members. 

In the afternoon, staff shared details on the RBA Code of Conduct.

Later, members participated in roundtables on topics of their choosing, to learn more about the RBA's Initiatives, emerging public policy priorities, Code of Conduct, Zero Waste Program, and supply chain mapping, as well as the RMI's Responsible Minerals Assurance Process, Facility Standard, tools and platforms, and more.

RBA CEO Rob Lederer and Board Chair Joel Eurich kicked off the first day of the conference portion of Responsible Business 2025, on November 12, with opening remarks.  

Gilbert F. Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization then addressed the conference with an engaging speech. 

During the “Responsible is Resilient” session that followed, senior executives explored how supply chain responsibility interacts with business understanding of risk management, and operational or supply chain resilience.

Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, addressed the crowd, prior to the next session.

The “Accelerating Responsible Business Conduct: Public Policies to the Rescue?” session focused on the latest macro developments in the regulatory landscape in the area of responsible business conduct. 

The second day of the conference began with compelling remarks by Liberia’s Former President and Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The afternoons of both conference days featured breakout sessions on numerous salient topics, including forced labor prevention, responsible sourcing of materials, critical minerals, human rights due diligence, decarbonization and circularity, global manufacturing trends and sustainability, artificial intelligence for site assessments, renewable energy access, public procurement, supply chain transparency and UNTP, living wage, remedy, double materiality, supplier relationships, and more.

View more photos from the annual conference here and from the members-only meeting here.

Save the Date!
In 2026, the annual conference will be back in San Jose California, from November 16-19, at the San Jose Convention Center. More details will be announced in 2026.