Event summary: The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

On 19 June the Business and Human Rights Lawyers Association convened an expert panel to discuss the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct, including the very recent targeted update to the Guidelines, the process for resolution of complaints against enterprises via National Contact Points and the relevance of the Guidelines in the context of the EU’s mandatory sustainability due diligence initiatives.

 Among other things, the panel discussed:

• due diligence expectations relating to adverse environmental impacts, including climate change;

• expectations as to the type of complaints which may be submitted to National Contact Points in view of the updates to the Guidelines; and

• the way in which the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights have influenced both the Guidelines’  human rights chapter and also the new guidance re: environmental due diligence.

The panellists discussed the implications of revisions to the Guidelines directing NCPs to coordinate when a case concerns several NCPs. While acknowledging that NCPs have always engaged in dialogue with each other, it was not clear whether NCPs will divide responsibility based on relative institutional competence and the procedural stages in the specific instance process. 

The panellists noted that approximately one third of accepted complaints reach a final stage and agreement, but this statistic does not necessarily accurately reflect the extent of corporate engagement with the process prior to that stage. The panelists noted that engagement with the process will itself often be beneficial to the company. 

The panellists noted the significance of the Guidelines’ update in influencing the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, citing as an example climate change, collaboration between international organisations on responsible business conduct, and the potential for novel NCP complaints based on the revised Environment chapter.