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, the 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 | JPN
Consult all programme activities and event materials linked to Japan
Case Studies on Environmental Due Diligence: Examples From Japanese Businesses
The six case studies enclosed in this series provide examples of corporate efforts to conduct environmental due diligence, drawing on the experience of Japanese companies. They aim to support business in the practical implementation of environmental due diligence across supply chains.
Japanese language version available here.
Awareness-raising & capacity building
High-Level Event: The role of Responsible Business Conduct in building resilience - Perspectives from Japan, 21 January 2021
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 the 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 a speaker (Watch recordings in ENG and JPN).
Read the 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 the article in Japanese
Article published in the Japan Journal of International Development about promoting Responsible Supply 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 the 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 emphasizes 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 the 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 the 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?
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Read summary report
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