Presentation by Prof. Ola Mestad

The OECD guidelines for
responsible business conduct
Ola Mestad, Chair
Norway’s National Contact Point.
Focus of my talk
• The OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises
• Norway’s OECD National Contact Point
• The Norwegian Government’s Action Plan on
Business and Human rights
• What is human rights due diligence?
• Examples of complaints Norway’s NCP has handled
OECD Guidelines for
Multinational Enterprises
• Government-backed
recommendations for responsible
business conduct.
• Recommendations from 46
countries
• Applicable worldwide
• Grievance mechanism through
National Contact Points
Norway’s National Contact Point
Independent panel of experts
Separate secretariat
Three main tasks for the NCP:
• Promote the OECD Guidelines to Norwegian
businesses and other stakeholders
• Handle cases through dialogue and mediation
• Cooperate with OECD and other NCPs
According to the OECD Guidelines,
enterprises shall:
Goal of the Guidelines:
• Encourage positive impact that the business sector can
make to sustainable development
• Help enterprises avoid causing harm where they operate
Other expectations in the
guidelines regarding:
• Transparency
• Reporting
• Consumer interests
• Science and technology
• Competion and taxation
46 National Contact Points – apply
worldwide
The OECD guidelines and the UN
Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights - UNGP
Revision of the OECD
guidelines in 2011 Aligned with UNGP
Companies should carry out
risk-based human rights due
diligence
Norway’s National Action Plan for
the implementation of the UN
Guiding Principles
• Norwegian authorities expect that
companies:
• Make themselves familiar with the
UNGP and the OECD guidelines
• Have a policy commitment
• Carry out human rights due diligence
• Avoid causing or contributing to
adverse human rights impacts and
address such impacts when they
occur.
• Seek ways to prevent or mitigate
adverse human rights impacts
Identification - Risks in the supply chain
Raw
materials
Where?
Who can be
impacted?
Stakeholders
How?
What rights?
Severity?
Scope?
Scale?
Irremediability?
Leverage
What can you do
about it?
Transport
Processi
ng
Producti
on
Sale
Use
End use
The NCP’s handling of complaints
• Who may file a complaint?
• Any interested party
• What is the nature of the complaint?
• Must relate to issues covered in the Guidelines
• My experiences with handling cases
The complaint procedure:
FIVAS vs Norconsult (2015)
Why did FIVAS file a complaint
against the engineering firm
Norconsult?
• Norconsult not in line with OECD Guidelines?
• Hydropower dams construction in Malaysia, forced eviction
of indigenous people
• What are the OECD requirements?
• Role of Norconsult ?
Successful mediation
Jijnevaerie Sami village vs Statkraft
Energy needs vs indigenous
peoples’ rights
• Jijnevaerie village vs Statkraft ; construction of windmill
power stations in reindeer herding area in Sweden
• Do the wind mills destroy/limit traditional livelihoods and
indigenous peoples’ rights?
• The Swedish courts had ruled in favour of Statkraft
• Mediation by Swedish and Norwegian Contact Points
• Final Statement (February 2016)
Final Statement – main questions
• Had Statkraft carried out risk-based human rights due
diligence?
• Had they remedied any adverse impacts when they became
aware of them?
• What kind of consultations had Statkraft carried out with
the Sami village?
• What do the Guidelines say regarding indigenous rights ?
OECDs sector specific guidances
• Agricultural supply chain
• Garment and footwear
supply chains
• Financial sector due
diligence
• Extractives sector –
stakeholder engagement
• Conflict minerals and
supply chain
Documents on website
Contact us!
• www.responsiblebusiness.no/eng
• OECDNCP@mfa.no