The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct set out Adherents’ recommendations to multinational companies operating in a global context. The Guidelines contain established principles of responsible business conduct in the areas of information policy, human rights (aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights), employment policy, environmental protection, anti-corruption, consumer interests, science and technology, competition and taxation. Their goal is to encourage the positive contribution which companies can make to economic, social and environmental progress and minimize negative impacts that may arise from their operations, products or services. The Guidelines, which form part of the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, are not legally binding, but reflect the Federal Government’s expectations towards the business conduct of German enterprises that operate globally. The Guidelines were updated in June 2023.

The OECD Guidelines recommend that multinational enterprises undertake risk-based due diligence and maintain appropriate internal procedures to prevent their own activities causing or contributing to adverse impacts on matters covered by the Guidelines and address such impacts when they occur. Further to their own activities, they should also seek to prevent or mitigate an adverse impact where they have not contributed to that impact, when the impact is nevertheless directly linked to their operations, products or services by a business relationship. This means that a multinational enterprise’s due diligence also extends to its business relationships, including its supply chain.

OECD Guidances

The OECD Guidelines are complemented by the more general OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (PDF, 2 MB) and sector-specific guidelines that focus on raw materials, textiles, agriculture and finance. The general OECD Guidance provides practical support to enterprises on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines, particularly the underlying risk-based due diligence concept – which consists of the following actions:

  1. Embedding responsible business conduct into policies and management systems
  2. Identifying and assessing actual and potential adverse impacts associated with the enterprise’s operations, products or services
  3. Ceasing, preventing and mitigating adverse impacts
  4. Tracking implementation and results
  5. Communicating how impacts are addressed
  6. Providing for or cooperating in remediation when appropriate

Adherents to the Guidelines have adopted specific recommendations on the practical implementation of due diligence in the raw materials, textile and agriculture sectors, focusing on the inherent risks and challenges of these sectors. The recommendations for the agricultural industry were drawn up in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:

In addition, the OECD has set out key considerations for the fulfilment of due diligence obligations as part of the project on the financial sector (Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors) (PDF, 2 MB).

The organisation also set out practical guidelines, e.g. on