The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises create an expectation that companies subject to the Guidelines will conduct due diligence to meet the Guidelines as a whole. The Guidelines include chapters on Human Rights (IV) and Environment (VI).
Recent National Contact Point (NCP) decisions demonstrate that the Guidelines provide another avenue for holding companies to account for their impact on ESG issues. Any interested party can file a complaint.
Although OECD complaints may not involve the scale of penalties that litigation and investigations do, they can nonetheless have serious ramifications for a defendant's reputation.
Key contacts
If you have any questions, contact a member of the OECD complaints team for assistance:
