The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released an update to their guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the Guidelines) in June. Last week, Ropes & Gray published a memo discussing the updated guidelines – a set of voluntary principles spanning nine topic areas including disclosure, human rights, employment, the environment, bribery, consumer interests, science, competition, and taxation. Originally adopted in 1976, June’s changes constitute the first revision to the Guidelines in over a decade.
The authors discuss the motivations behind the updates:
“In developing the updates, the [Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct, a subcommittee of the OECD Investment Committee] focused on the following: (1) ensuring coherence with OECD priorities and standards; (2) enhancing the OECD’s leadership on responsible business conduct; (3) building on prior achievements and strengths; and (4) ensuring focus and proportionality. The revision process involved two public consultations that were open to interested stakeholders in all countries.
At a high level, the revisions do not change the broad topic categories covered by the Guidelines but rather seek to evolve the recommendations to better reflect the risks facing enterprises.”
While the Guidelines are voluntary, the memo lists several jurisdictions that have incorporated or referenced the Guidelines in national regulations, including Norway, the EU, and Germany. This is often the case with voluntary standards which ultimately get adopted by various jurisdictions whose regulatory requirements align with those voluntary standards.
