OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are annex to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. They are recommendations providing principles and standards for responsible business conduct for multinational corporations operating in or from countries adhered to the Declaration. The Guidelines are legally non-binding. Originally the Declaration and the Guidelines were adopted by the OECD in 1976 and revised in 1979, 1982, 1984, 1991, 2000 and 2011.^[1]

Basic elements

The Guidelines cover business ethics on:

employment
human rights
environment
information disclosure
combating bribery
consumer interests
science and technology
competition
taxation

Institutions

National Contact Points

According to the OECD Council decision each adhering country has to set up a National Contact Point (NCP). The National Contact Point is an entity responsible for the promotion of the Guidelines on a national level. An NCP handles all enquiries and matters related to the Guidelines in that specific country, including investigating complaints about a company operating in, or headquartered in that country. Some NCPs are based in a relevant government department; some are independent structures comprising government officials, trade unions, employers unions and sometimes NGOs.

OECD Investment Committee

OECD Investment Committee is the OECD body responsible for overseeing the functioning of the Guidelines and implementation of all OECD investment instruments. The Committee consists member states' senior officials from treasuries, economics, trade and industry, and foreign affairs ministries and central banks. All OECD member states are members of the Investment Committee. Argentina and Brazil are observers while Estonia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia participate in the work of the Committee on issues related to the Guidelines.