Due Diligence for Responsible Corporate Lending and Securities Underwriting

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Date of publication

29 October 2019

About the report

Financial institutions have a key role to play in driving global sustainability through directing financing towards measures to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement and through seeking to avoid and address environmental and social risks associated with their activities.

Broadly recognised environmental and social standards have previously not existed for corporate lending and underwriting transactions, although they represent the vast majority of banking finance activity. Due Diligence for Responsible Corporate Lending and Securities Underwriting provides a common global framework for financial institutions to identify, respond to and publicly communicate on environmental and social risks associated with their clients.

Developed in close consultation with leading global banks, civil society and trade unions, and approved by 48 governments, the report helps banks and other financial institutions implement the due diligence recommendations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in the context of their corporate lending and underwriting activities.

The report was released on 29 October 2019 during the sixth OECD Forum on Green Finance and Investment in Paris.

Download the report: English | Spanish | German | Polish

Read the media release

About the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises operating in or from adhering countries. The Guidelines are the only multilaterally agreed and comprehensive code of responsible business conduct that governments have committed to promoting.

They recommend that enterprises conduct due diligence in order to identify, prevent or mitigate and account for how actual and potential adverse impacts are addressed.

The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct provides practical support to enterprises on the implementation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by providing plain language explanations of its due diligence recommendations and associated provisions. Implementing these recommendations can help enterprises avoid and address adverse impacts related to workers, human rights, the environment, bribery, consumers and corporate governance that may be associated with their operations, supply chains and other business relationships.

Find out more about the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

Sectoral Due Diligence Guidance:Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors