This public consultation was held to gather comments on the draft FAO-OECD guidance for responsible agricultural supply chains which is designed to help enterprises observe standards of responsible business conduct along their agricultural supply chains. The deadline for comment was 20 February 2015.

Today the discourse on “conflict minerals” has changed. It’s not just about conflict-free, it's about promoting responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict areas, despite the challenges. This blog discusses the urgent need to create responsible supply chains of artisanal gold, and support the livelihoods of miners in the informal gold industry, and how OECD guidance can help companies do this.

The promotion of responsible business conduct has taken an important step forward with the launch of a new reporting framework. Businesses now have no excuse for not explaining how they’re meeting their human rights obligations.

This article by Roel Nieuwenkamp talks about the trend of hardening of soft law in the domain of responsible business conduct. It argues that legislative proposals related to existing international instruments should not seek to reinvent the wheel, but to reinforce it. Existing instruments that are widely recognised and proven to be effective and reasonable should represent a foundation for their legally-binding counterparts.

With a focus on the Asia-Pacific region, this conference addressed what the Sustainable Development Goals will mean for business and how business sustainability strategies can be aligned to support their implementation.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

In a historic visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to the OECD in Paris, the People’s Republic of China today decided to enhance longstanding collaboration with the OECD and to join the OECD Development Centre.

Most businesses are good. They pay their taxes, they create employment, they abide by the laws, and they generally contribute to the societies in which they operate. But what can be done when businesses behave badly? This blog discusses the National Contact Points, the unique grievance mechanism of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and how could be improved to better fulfill their potential.

The private sector plays an important role in economic development. However to be beneficial to local populations, business must act responsibly. Part 1 of this blog discusses how business can do this, as laid out in the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and make a positive contribution to economic, environmental and social progress with a view to achieving sustainable development.

The private sector plays an important role in economic development. However to be beneficial to local populations, business must act responsibly. Part 2 of this blog focuses on how community engagement can help business achieve this, in harmony with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and reinforce the link between responsible business and inclusive growth.

The purpose of this workshop was to share information with the Ukrainian authorities about the obligations of governments under the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises related to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, one of four instruments of the Declaration.

This public consultation is being held to gather comments on the draft Chinese Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. They are intended to align Chinese company due diligence with international standards and allow for mutual recognition with existing international initiatives and legislations.

As part of continuing efforts to support market confidence and business integrity, the OECD has launched in Asia a new set of corporate governance principles that were endorsed at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in September 2015.

29-30 October, Bangkok - The 2015 Roundtable will focus on family-businesses in Asia, institutional investors, disclosure of beneficial ownership and control. It will also discuss the progress made so far in implementing the Roundtable's recommendations.

This report takes stock of corporate practices tying business integrity considerations into corporate governance frameworks, strategy and operations. It also assesses what factors influence business decisions to implement business integrity measures in practice. This report is a timely response to a succession of disturbing corporate scandals to which no industry or country appears to be immune.

This meeting will provide the opportunity to discuss the role of governments, international partners and businesses in promoting responsible mineral supply chains from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. Participants will learn first hand about international standards and approaches, and be able to ask questions to experts in supply chain due diligence implementation.

Corporate climate change disclosure is crucial for providing decision-makers with information that will enable them to integrate climate considerations into their analyses. This side event to the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties will focus on ways to strengthen corporate climate disclosure frameworks, and to scale up the use of corporate climate change-related information.

Corporate climate change disclosure is crucial for providing decision-makers with information that will enable them to integrate climate considerations into their analyses. This side event to the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties will focus on ways to strengthen corporate climate disclosure frameworks, and to scale up the use of corporate climate change-related information.

Is there a role for trade liberalisation and facilitation in zeroing in on corruption and supporting integrity in trade? Yes – and a greater one than you might think.

From the early 2000s, sustainability has emerged as a central policy-making consideration as climate change and population growth have heightened concerns about already-stretched natural resources.

10-12 May, Paris: The 2016 forum focused on compliance and implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, including how to maximise the positive impacts on livelihoods through due diligence; viable options for trade in artisanal and small-scale mined gold; and identifying and preventing the worst forms of child labour in the mineral supply chain.

This brochure looks at the corruption, labour, human rights and environmental risks associated with the organisation of large sporting events. It describes how OECD instruments and expertise in implementation of complex projects can help host governments, event organisers and their business partners ensure that the world of sport remains associated with the traditional values of excellence and fair play.

21/05/2016 - It is seven years since the global crisis and despite easy monetary policy, financial regulatory reform, and G20 resolutions favouring structural measures, the world economy is not making a lot of progress. Adrian Blundell-Wignall gives a preview of what’s in the 2016 edition of the OECD Business and Finance Outlook.

27/05/2016 - The real economy will always seem to be disconnected from the financial economy during periods when the need for structural change is so overwhelming that it can hardly be otherwise. We have had the easiest monetary policy of any historical era outside of hyperinflations, and productivity fails to grow, economic activity is weak...

Forum 2016, entitled Productive economies, Inclusive societies will be organised around the 3 cross-cutting themes of the OECD Week: inclusive growth and productivity, innovation and the digital economy, and international collaboration for implementing international agreements (COP21 and the Sustainable Development Goals) and standards (BEPS and automatic exchange of information).

This note describes work undertaken by the OECD to support the implementation of the 2015 G7 Leaders’ Declaration in the area of responsible business conduct. Four areas of action are covered: outreach on responsible business conduct (RBC) standards to other countries; development of guidance for supply chain due diligence; monitoring of multi-stakeholder initiatives; and strengthening National Contact Points.

This report reviews structural changes in the stock exchange industry and provides data on M&A changes in the aggregate revenue structure of major stock exchanges. It describes the fragmentation of the stock market resulting from an increase in stock exchange-like trading venues, such as alternative trading systems (ATSs) and multilateral trading facilities (MTFs), and a split between dark (non-displayed) and lit (displayed) trading.

This report provides an overview of national practices towards performance evaluation and management of state-owned enterprises in 11 Asian economies: Bhutan, People’s Republic of China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore and Viet Nam.

Investment can help raise standards of living through job creation, skills and technology development, and distribution of wealth. Achieving these impacts, however, depends on the quality of the investment as much as the quantity. This chapter from the 2016 Development Co-operation Report discusses how responsible business conduct can directly contribute to achieving the SDGs, while also being good for business.

Responsible business conduct (RBC) is recognised as an important part of the investment climate and is increasingly integrated within public policies aimed at attracting better investment and enhancing sustainable development.

The 9th meeting of the Asia network on corporate governance of state-owned enterprises took place in Seoul, Korea, on 6-7 December 2016. Participants discussed measures to strengthen transparency and disclosure in the state-owned enterprise sector.

This Survey provides a unique consolidated snapshot of the legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the corporate governance of listed companies across 14 Asian economies: Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Viet Nam.

Paris, 8 March 2017: Taking place on International Women's Day, this OECD-hosted conference considered questions such as gender differences in financial literacy and inclusion; women working in the informal economy and the role of business: gender differences in the changing pensions landscape; empowering women to fight back against corruption and engaging men to support gender equality in the workplace.

27/03/2017 - Ukraine has become the 47th country to adhere to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. The Declaration commits Ukraine to provide an open and transparent environment for international investment and to encourage the positive contribution foreign investment can make to economic and social progress.

Promoting responsible business conduct in the financial sector is vital to building a sustainable global economy. Although the Guidelines’ due diligence recommendations can help financial institutions, the inherent complexities in the sector create challenges. This paper highlights key considerations for institutional investors in carrying out due diligence that will help to identify and respond to environmental and social risks.

Promoting responsible business conduct in the financial sector is vital to building a sustainable global economy. This paper will help institutional investors implement the due diligence recommendations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in order to prevent or address adverse impacts related to human and labour rights, the environment, and corruption in their investment portfolios.

Brazil is steadily investing in the creation of rules and regulations to converge to governance standards already consolidated in developed countries. Complying with these international standards is indispensable if Brazilian companies intend to operate on a global scale.

Surprised looks with colleagues or students are commonplace when I observe that the OECD plays an important part in the promotion of responsible business conduct (RBC), not just in OECD countries, but also globally. RBC is OECD “speak” for corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability and other terms indicating an expectation that businesses take responsibility for their impact on society.

The OECD Business and Finance Scoreboard accompanies the OECD Business and Finance Outlook by providing a commented overview of selected indicators and data related to corporate performance, banking, capital markets, pensions and investments.

This report describes the economic landscape of publicly listed family firms in Asia and looks at the importance of these entities to the region and beyond. It highlights how an effective corporate governance system can improve performance and create value by reducing the cost of equity and reducing capital waste.

21 July 2017 - Recent noteworthy developments have created a new momentum on responsible business conduct worldwide, confirming the prominence of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and their in-built implementation mechanism, the National Contact Points. This article by Roel Nieuwenkamp looks at the expectations that come with this heightened recognition.

This report provides an overview of national approaches to disclosure and transparency in the state-owned enterprise (SOE) sector in nine Asian economies: Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Tokyo, Japan - 19-20 October 2017: The 2017 roundtable took place on 19-20 October in Toyko, Japan. This event provides a unique platform to analyse progress and address remaining challenges with respect to the corporate governance framework in Asian economies.

19/10/2017 - Stock exchanges in Asia have emerged as the world's fastest growing trading venues for listed stocks and several domestic investment banks in the region are becoming global actors. This new annual review follows and analyses trends in Asian public equity markets.

7 December 2017, Paris - This workshop addressed the growing demand for transparency and information on how companies deal with human rights, environmental, social and other "non-financial" issues with a particular focus on how companies are identifying and addressing impacts in their supply chains.

Significant corruption, labour, human rights and environmental risks are associated with the organisation of large sporting events. The OECD has instruments and expertise in implementation of complex projects can help host governments, event organisers and their business partners ensure that the world of sport remains associated with the traditional values of excellence and fair play.

This report presents the results of an OECD survey aimed at outlining the key roles of stock exchanges in promoting sound corporate governance in Asia. It focuses on standard-Setting, supervision and enforcement of disclosure obligations and corporate governance rules.

In the wake of the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh in 2013, initiatives to strengthen regulation of global supply chains in the textile and garment sector have multiplied. Tackling the issues involved requires sustained collaboration among industry, government, worker organisations and civil society. This project promotes such collaboration as well as the harmonisation of existing standards in the sector.

30/01/2018 - The China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and the OECD today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that sets out their commitment to intensify co-operation to promote responsible business in global textile and apparel supply chains.

16 February 2018 - OECD and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a pilot project in Paris today to kick-start the practical application of the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains with 30 leading enterprises.