Responsible business conduct and climate change

What does it mean for business to act responsibly in the face of a climate emergency?

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires collective action from governments and non-state actors, in particular, the private sector. For business, this means ambitious mitigation action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and thereby the adverse climate related risks and impacts of their operations on people and the planet. It also means strengthening the climate resilience of companies in order to address and adapt to the physical and transition risks of climate change on their direct operations and supply chains - including impacts on workers, local communities and the natural environment.

Companies which are able to increase mitigation and adaptation responses to climate change risks and impacts, are better able to meet investor and consumer expectations, maintain social licence to operate, mitigate reputational damage, increase competitiveness and protect their bottom line. These expectations are captured by the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (the OECD Guidelines) on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC).

A number of the expectations within the OECD Guidelines extend to business action on climate change . These expectations include setting science based targets that are consistent with international commitments, disclosure of social and environmental risk reporting with a particular focus on GHG emissions, providing access to information and informing consumers of the environmental and social impact of their decisions, and fostering diffusion of science and technology.

OECD-UN Climate Change session: Global Climate Action and Responsible Business Conduct: What does it mean for business to act responsibly in the face of a climate crisis?

• Watch live stream
• Concept note
• Session note
• Flyer
• Read press release

OECD-OHCHR session: The business and human rights dimension of climate change: addressing access to remedy  Concept note Flyer Watch the speech by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría

Quote : Dante Pesce - member of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, discuss the session : "the OECD Guidelines for MNEs provides the how to business to help them identify their impacts in a 360 degree way and avoid silos"

For more information about RBC and climate change :

The role of business in addressing climate change and human rights : translating global agendas into practical action and scaling ambition - read session note

 - read blog  How can business meet its responsibility to address climate change?

Addressing Climate Change in the Fashion Sector: a collaborative approach

 - read  session note from 2019 OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear sector

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises	National Contact Points for RBC
OECD Due Diligence Guidance for RBC	OECD sectoral Due Diligence Guidance

To find out more about how to participate in this work, please contact Stephanie Venuti Stephanie.VENUTI@oecd.org