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.

10 April 2015 - Istanbul, Turkey. Participants debated the content and the direction of the ongoing review of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. It also addressed issues of systemic importance to sustainable private sector growth, including the institutionalisation of growth companies and SMEs and capital market development in emerging market economies.

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.

This public consultation is being held to gather comments on the draft OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractives Sector which provides practical guidance to mining, oil and gas enterprises in addressing the challenges related to stakeholder engagement. The deadline for comment is 5 June 2015.

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.

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.

This report evaluates the corporate governance framework for the Colombian state-owned enterprise sector relative to the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. The report was prepared at the request of the Republic of Colombia. It is based on a review involving all OECD countries.

OECD Corporate Governance Working Paper No.17. This report examines the influence of institutional shareholders and their activities towards good corporate governance, the historical changes to practices within shareholder meetings and the role that institutional shareholders have played in the improvement of corporate governance within Japanese listed companies.

In 2014, many countries implemented the latest international guidelines for compiling FDI statistics. The new standards have resulted in significant changes in FDI statistics, including new measures of FDI at the global level.

The G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance provide recommendations for national policymakers on shareholder rights, executive remuneration, financial disclosure, the behaviour of institutional investors and how stock markets should function.

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.

16 November 2015, Antalya - G20 Leaders today endorsed the new global standards on corporate governance that will help policy makers to evaluate and improve their national corporate governance frameworks with a view to promote market-based financing and to boost long-term investment.

This report on climate change disclosure in G20 countries takes stock of mandatory climate change reporting schemes in G20 countries and identifies commonalities and divergences between the various schemes.

Conventional wisdom holds that countries with lower taxes attract higher levels of foreign direct investment (FDI). At first glance, this intuitive assumption seems to be supported by the evidence but is this true?. Pierre Poret, Deputy Director of the OECD Financial and Enterprise Affairs Directorate takes a closer look.

Focused mainly on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this report takes stock of 5 years of implementation of national and international programmes and initiatives designed to operationalise the recommendations of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.

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.

Milan, Italy - 4 December 2015: Last month in Antalya, G20 Leaders endorsed the new G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. This speech by OECD Deputy Secretary-General Rintaro Tamaki presents the objectives and the scope of corporate governance and an overview of the revised Principles.

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.

This report evaluates the corporate governance framework for the Lithuanian state-owned enterprise sector relative to the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. The report was prepared at the request of the Republic of Lithuania, reviewed by the OECD Working Party on State Ownership and Privatisation Practices and is based on discussions involving all OECD countries.

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.

Paris, 8 March 2016: Organised on International Women's Day, the OECD hosted a conference to consider policy approaches to closing leadership gender gaps in the public and corporate sectors.

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.

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.

7-8 June 2016: This meeting of the Global Knowledge Sharing Network on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises provides an opportunity for policy makers from around the world to discuss priorities for SOE reform and to support implementation through knowledge sharing.

Investment treaties are intended to offer foreign investors protection for their investments from host government conduct in violation of the treaty. This report examines how many investment treaties, as interpreted, have generated rules that can disrupt fundamental principles of corporate governance and corporate finance.

14-16 June 2016, Paris: The OECD hosted an International Anti-Corruption Conference organised by the French Ministry of Justice, and with the support of the World Bank and the United Kingdom. This conference brought together representatives from anti-corruption authorities worldwide responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption.

Fifteen years after the creation of National Contact Points as a means to improve the implementation of the Guidelines, the OECD has conducted an analysis of the functioning and performance of the National Contact Points.

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.

Companies today, in particular banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions, increasingly operate their businesses in a group structure. This working paper examines the corporate governance of these groups, paying particular attention to financial groups, and includes an international perspective on corporate and financial laws. It identifies good practices and regulatory considerations for group governance.

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.

This policy dialogue aims to deepen policy discussions between the OECD and key decision-makers in India. The first phase of the programme provides policy options on improving monitoring and prevention of abusive related party transactions.

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.

9 December 2016, Paris: Held on International Anti-Corruption Day, this roundtable provided an opportunity for governments, the private sector, civil society, and the media, to reflect on the liability of legal persons following more than 15 years of work by the OECD Working Group on Bribery to promote its application for foreign bribery.

Corruption undermines economic and social progress and steals the future of young generations. Parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention are required to criminalise bribery of foreign public officials but does this make a difference on the ground? This paper estimates a dynamic foreign direct investment (FDI) gravity model to explore the impact of corruption in general and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in particular.

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.

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.

The 2017 OECD Global Anti-Corruption and Integrity Forum will tackle issues related to fair competition and economic growth, the inequality gap, a level playing field for business, the public interest in policy making and trust in government and politics

The 2017 edition of the Factbook describes corporate governance practices in 47 countries by providing an easily accessible and up-to-date, factual underpinning for understanding countries’ institutional, legal and regulatory frameworks. It complements the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance by tracking how countries are actually implementing them.

“I am deeply saddened to learn about the tragic deaths of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, members of the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On behalf of my Organisation, I wish to convey our condolences to their families and colleagues from the UN and beyond, who had the pleasure of working with them."

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 truth is that human rights are not sustainable, or in some places even possible, in today’s networked society unless public and private actors take responsibility. Governments and corporations alike must commit to design, manage, and govern technologies in a manner that is consistent with international human rights standards.

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.