Making Sense of AI in 2026: Implications for Business and Sustainability

BSR Members Only

Webinar

January 29, 2026

11 am - 12 pm EST

The growth in AI technologies in recent years is having increasingly pervasive impacts on business products, services, and operations. As the use and capabilities of AI expand, so do the environmental and social impacts — creating new sustainability considerations across value chains.

The question for business is no longer whether AI will have sustainability implications, but whether their existing governance and risk approaches are equipped to address them.

BSR experts from our Responsible Technology team will help you understand the key AI-driven changes shaping the business and policy environment as we approach 2026, and why getting ahead of these shifts is critical for credible sustainability strategies.

This is the first webinar of a three-part series on making sense of artificial intelligence and its implications for business. We encourage members to also register for the other two webinars in this series:

Scheduled Speakers

Hannah Darnton, Director, Responsible Technology, BSR

Director, Responsible Technology, BSR

San Francisco

Hannah works with companies that develop and deploy technology to integrate human rights-based approaches into their policies, products, and strategies. She specializes in conducting human rights due diligence on emerging technologies, such as generative AI, affective tech, facial recognition, and surveillance, and in identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks to children in digital environments.

She has worked extensively with companies to prepare for and comply with human rights-related regulatory requirements in alignment with the OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This includes conducting and reviewing risk assessments under the EU Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act, as well as preparing for forthcoming obligations under the EU AI Act, CSDDD, and CSRD.

Prior to joining BSR, Hannah worked at the Skoll Foundation and spent several years working in anti-human trafficking.

Hannah holds a Master’s in NGOs and Development with a specialization in Human Rights from the London School of Economics and a B.A. in Political Science and French from the University of Michigan.

Recent Insights From Hannah Darnton

Full Bio

Richard Wingfield, Director, Technology Sectors, BSR

Director, Technology Sectors, BSR

London

Richard works with tech companies—particularly those based in or with operations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa—to build human rights considerations and practices into their products, services, and policies. He brings a strong understanding of international human rights law and standards and how to translate the corporate responsibility to respect human rights into practice for companies of different sizes and sectors.

Prior to joining BSR, Richard led the legal and policy team at Global Partners Digital, an international human rights organization focused on the impacts of digital technologies on human rights. He is also a trustee of the Kaleidoscope Trust, a UK-based charity that campaigns for the human rights of LGBTIQ+ people in countries where they are discriminated.

Richard holds a LLB in Law and European Law from the University of Nottingham and is a qualified lawyer in England and Wales.