Global Compact and OECD intensify collaboration

The UN Global Compact and the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have recently begun to enhance their collaborative efforts, particularly in countries that have both Global Compact Local Networks and National Contact Points (NCPs) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Following its participation in the 2009 Annual Meeting of the National Contact Points, the UN Global Compact asked its Local Network Focal Points in countries that adhere to the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to actively explore collaborative opportunities with NCPs. Additionally, Focal Points were encouraged to seek advice and guidance from NCPs, particularly regarding follow-up procedures for OECD Guidelines implementation.

In an exchange of letters between Georg Kell, executive director of the UN Global Compact, and Manfred Schekulin, chair of the OECD Investment Committee, a mutual interest in closer cooperation was indicated. Following a letter from Mr. Kell in September 2009, Mr. Schekulin agreed that intensifying linkages between Global Compact Local Networks and NCPs was a desirable goal and suggested that "possibilities for achieving this should be further explored". Mr. Schekulin additionally invited the UN Global Compact to consult in the ongoing process of updating the OECD Guidelines.

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises embody what OECD governments have agreed are the basic components of responsible corporate conduct. They cover a range of issues such as labor and human rights, the environment, bribery and corruption and information disclosure. Though voluntary for companies, governments that have endorsed the Guidelines are essentially conveying that they expect multinational corporations to follow these principles and standards of good conduct in their operations worldwide. Thirty OECD member states have adhered to the Guidelines, along with 12 non-member countries. Civil society organizations can submit a "specific instance" (complaint) about alleged breaches of the Guidelines to a government's NCP.

In the first week of November further collaboration between the OECD and the Global Compact will occur through the First Asia Pacific Trade and Investment Week in Bangkok, hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). This will include a meeting of Global Compact Local Networks led by Marinus Sikkel, in charge of UNESCAP's regional support hub for the UN Global Compact and former OECD Investment Committee Chair. Also that week, the OECD-UNESCAP Conference on Corporate Responsibility will be held, with discussion focused on synergies between these two international corporate responsibility instruments and the upcoming updating of the OECD Guidelines.

© Photo by hastingsgraham.