Promoting Responsible Supply Chains in Japan

About the project

The OECD has worked with key Asian partners for a number of years to promote responsible investment and RBC. Under this new programme, implemented together with the International Labour Organisation and the European Union, the OECD will contribute its extensive expertise on trade and investment and on risk-based RBC due diligence to support in-country policy developments and action to create an enabling environment for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC), to boost industry capacity and to raise awareness of the importance of RBC.

The programme will be undertaken over 3 years (2018-2020) in partnership with China and five other partner economies, namely Japan, Thailand, Viet Nam, Philippines, and Myanmar.

Responsible supply chains in Japan

The Japan activities under the Programme involve close co-operation with the National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct to support continued Japanese leadership in the region on promoting responsible supply chains and implementing OECD RBC standards. The OECD will also be working with Japanese businesses - in particular in the electronics and vehicle parts sectors – to support RBC due diligence and explore innovative and concrete ways to address environmental, social and human rights issues related to the global supply chains in these sectors.

Programme activities in Japan will focus on:

raising awareness and building capacity on international corporate responsibility standards and practices;
conducting research and disseminating good practice with the government, businesses, trade unions and NGOs;
fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships; and
coordinating with existing policy initiatives and activities to maximise effectiveness.

The Programme will be implemented in partnership with governments as well as businesses operating in or having suppliers in Japan and Europe.

The ultimate beneficiaries are people working in global supply chains, consumers benefiting from products made in a responsible manner, citizens benefiting from environmental protection and respect for human rights, and companies benefiting from increased productivity, new competitive advantage, and sustainable growth.

Find out more about country specific programme objectives ENG | JAP

Consult all programme activities and event materials linked to Japan

Articles & events: awareness raising & capacity building

Press release published on 4 August 2020 by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment: Launch of the introductory guide on environmental due diligence along the value chains.

This guide was developed by the Ministry of the Environment to support companies in the implementation of environmental due diligence, with input from the OECD. The guide refers to the OECD Guidelines for MNEs and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct.

Read press release in Japanese

Article by the Senken Shimbu: "Increasing expectations on Responsible Business Conduct in the garment and footwear sector." (20 July 2020)

The article highlights the outcome of the Roundtable on Advancing international collaboration on RBC for sustainable supply chains in Asia held in Tokyo in November 2019 by the OECD and the ILO, under the Responsible Supply Chains in Asia programme. It presents the OECD tools on RBC and due diligence as relevant to the garment and footwear sector in particular. It also draws attention to OECD policy note on COVID-19 and RBC as well as the Global Forum on RBC partner side session on Building environmental resilience and responding to global crises through supply chain due diligence, which was held in June 2020, where the Japanese Ministry of the Environment participated as speaker (Watch recordings in ENG and JAP).

Read article in Japanese

Article published in ESG magazine, which celebrates the launch of the Japanese translation of the Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct

Read article in Japanese

Article published in the Japan Journal of International Development about promoting Responsible Suppy Chains in the Asia Programme

Mr. Junpei Sunahara, Advisor at the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD, published an article in the Journal of International Development regarding Responsible Business Conduct and OECD’s outreach activities in Asia. The article explains growing interest in RBC both in Japan and China and highlights the role of OECD RBC Unit in raising awareness on RBC issues. The article emphasises the importance of Japanese leadership in disseminating best practices to other Asian countries and facilitating the implementation of RBC in the region through international co-operation.

Read article in Japanese

Article published in the Japanese publication Nikkei about the OECD's Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct and how Japanese companies are responding to changing expectations in supply chain management.

Read article published in Japanese

OECD Due Diligence Guidance in Japanese

The launch of the Guidance, to support Japanese leadership in implementing due diligence for responsible supply chains & Responsible Business Conduct, took place as part of the EU-OECD-METI event 'Implementing Responsible Business and Human Rights expectations and standards in Japan'.

Read the guidance in Japanese

OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector

Read the guidance in Japanese

Japan-EU-OECD Seminar on supporting international collaboration on Responsible Business Conduct

The session raised awareness and fostered collaboration on RBC/CSR practices by businesses operating out of the EU and Japan. (Side Event at the Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum)

Key questions discussed:

What are some of the most pressing supply chain risks your business, or businesses in your region (or sector) are currently facing?
What do you see as the shared supply chain risks across European and Japanese businesses, either within a specific sector or more broadly?
How are businesses across the two regions currently collaborating to address some of these risks and implementing internationally recognized standards on Responsible Business Conduct and supply chain due diligence?
How can platforms for collaboration be built or enhanced across the two regions

Read summary report

Documents & Links

OECD Due Diligence Guidance in the Electronics Sector ENG | JAP | CHI

Overview of OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct JAP

Brochure on how OECD, ILO and UN instruments provide aligned and complementary guidance on responsible business ENG |JAP

Consult the events page for all published materials linked to Japan outreach and events

CONTACT

Stephanie.VENUTI@oecd.org

With funding by the European Union