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Introduction

29 June to 2 July 2026

50th Anniversary Week on Responsible Business Conduct

From 29 June to 2 July 2026, policy makers, businesses and stakeholders from around the world will gather at OECD Headquarters in Paris to mark the 50th anniversary of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct.

To mark this milestone, the OECD is organising the 50th Anniversary Week on Responsible Business Conduct,  which will feature a series of high-level events:

  • Symposium and report launch: What’s Next for National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct (29 June)
  • High-level OECD Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct (30 June)
  • Report launch: OECD Responsible Business Outlook, Inaugural Edition (30 June)
  • 3rd Meeting of the Inclusive Platform on Due Diligence Policy Cooperation (1 July, by invitation only)
  • Meeting of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (2 July, by invitation only )

Together, these exchanges will explore how responsible business conduct can respond to today’s geopolitical and economic challenges and help shape the next 50 years ahead.

We invite you to register for the public events at: Register here

15 January 2026

Conflict of Interest Policy of the German National Contact Point

Following the update of its Procedural Guidance in 2023, the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises developed a Conflict of Interest Policy in close consultation with the Working Group on the OECD Guidelines last year, which is now available on the NCP's website. Among other things, the policy outlines the German NCP's commitment to impartiality and fairness in Specific Instances and defines a binding procedure for situations such as cases where NCP case managers have a close personal relationship with the parties to a complaint. View the Conflict of Interest Policy (PDF, 440 KB) now or download it from the ‘Relevant documents for download’ section.

22-23 May 2025

Annual DACH NCP dialogue meeting held in Berlin

This year’s dialogue meeting of the National Contact Points (NCPs) of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (known collectively as the DACH NCPs, D standing for Germany, A for Austria and CH for Switzerland) took place at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) in Berlin on 22-23 May 2025. The exchange focused on several key topics, including the role of NCPs in light of ongoing regulatory developments, the promotion of coherent policies in the field of corporate due diligence, and measures to raise awareness of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (OECD Guidelines).

The DACH NCPs agreed to continue their successful collaboration and to further intensify joint efforts. Their regular in-person dialogue has proven to be a valuable source of ideas and knowledge, enhancing both the effectiveness and creativity of their work.

The DACH NCPs agree that implementing corporate due diligence can be a positive factor for competitiveness. However, they also emphasise that the market opportunities it creates must not be undermined by excessive bureaucracy. The DACH NCPs, therefore, want to work at national, EU and international level in particular to improve support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in implementing due diligence processes, as well as to protect SMEs from disproportionate information requests. They also want to advocate for the use of consistent terminology relating to corporate due diligence in national and EU legal texts to improve efficiency, and to encourage practical, hands-on implementation of due diligence obligations. Their public outreach activities in 2026 will include topics related to SMEs.

To further raise awareness of the OECD Guidelines, the DACH NCPs have decided to continue their successful DACH webinar series, which began in 2024. The next webinar will take place on 9 October 2025 and will address the topic of ‘Deforestation and corporate due diligence in agricultural supply chains’. The DACH NCPs also plan to host joint events next year to mark the 50th anniversary of the OECD Guidelines.

Group picture DACH NCP

Members of the DACH NCPs in Berlin on 23 May 2025

© BMWE, Andreas Mertens

3 April 2025

DHL project “Dialogue with international trade unions on the basis of the OECD protocol” nominated for Federal Government’s CSR prize

In the process of this year’s CSR prize that was awarded by the Federal Government on 3 April 2025, DHL has been selected into the group of 15 nominees out of 150 applications. DHL applied with the project “Dialogue with international trade unions on the basis of the OECD protocol” in the category “Constructive stakeholder engagement“. With the nomination, the project is acknowledged as an excellent example of social responsibility also along the supply and value chain.

The project refers to the cooperation protocol agreed between DHL Group and the Global Union Federations, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and UNI Global Union (UNI), under the patronage of the German National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. The protocol is the result of a successful NCP-facilitated mediation procedure. It has been renewed several times, most recently on 2 December 2024 (see the article “Cooperation protocol between DHL Group, ITF and UNI renewed” below).

The Federal Government‘s CSR prize honored companies for their exemplary societal, social and ecological engagement already in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2020. Additionally, two network meetings on the CSR prize in 2018 and 2021 offered a platform for the open exchange on current topics of responsible business conduct.

29/12/2025 - PDF -

Publication: Promotional Concept of the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises

(Document is accessible)

PDF, 306 KB

Opens PDF "Promotional Concept of the German National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises" in a new window.

Archive

Call for candidates for Chair of the OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (WPRBC)

The OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (WPRBC) is seeking its next Chair to take office in January 2026. The deadline for the application is 27 April 2025.

The WPRBC chair is also the head of the network of National Contact Points.

The call for candidates can also be found on the OECD homepage.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: germanncp@bmwk.bund.de

2 December 2024

Cooperation protocol between DHL Group, ITF and UNI renewed

German National Contact Point continues its patronage

On 2 December 2024, Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer, Head of the German National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct, signed a revised cooperation protocol agreed between DHL Group and the Global Union Federations, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and UNI Global Union (UNI). The protocol is the result of a successful NCP-facilitated mediation procedure and was first signed in 2016. It had already been renewed in 2019 and 2022. Under the current revision, the parties renew their commitment to a continuous, constructive dialogue on employment and working relationships. Furthermore, for the first time, they agree to hold annual regional dialogue meetings. The German NCP welcomes the progress made between all three parties since the signature of the first protocol in 2016.

The press release by DHL Group, ITF and UNI can be found here: Link DHL, Link UNI, Link ITF

Group photo of the participants

From left to right: Oliver Roethig (UNI), Dr. Mathias Kaufmann (DHL Group), Lillian Ueng (DHL Group), Andreas Hoffmann (DHL Group), Dimitris Theodorakis (UNI), Heike Ausprung (DHL Group), Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer (German National Contact Point), Matt Draper (Unite), Stefan Thyroke (ver.di), Stephen Cotton (ITF), Noel Coard (ITF), Inga-Lena Heinisch (ITF).

© BMWK, Steffen Goldacker

Group photo of the signatories

From left to right: First row: Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer (German National Contact Point). Second row: Lillian Ueng (DHL Group), Oliver Roethig (UNI), Stephen Cotton (ITF).

© BMWK, Steffen Goldacker

1 January 2024

The NCP updates its Procedural Guidance

On 1 January 2024, the German National Contact Point for the OECD-Guidelines updated its Procedural Guidance. These Procedural Guidelines will apply to all complaints submitted to the NCP after the Procedural Guidelines have been published on the NCP website (i.e. 29 February 2024). For pending complaints, the NCP will discuss with the parties to what extent the ongoing procedure can be aligned with the new procedure.

You can download the updated Procedural Guidance here (PDF, 643 KB).

8 June 2023

OECD launches updated guidelines for multinational enterprises on responsible business conduct

On 8 June, the OECD Council adopted the updated OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, now called OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct. The Guidelines cover all key areas of responsible business conduct, including human rights, labour rights, environment, bribery, consumer interests, disclosure, science and technology, competition, and taxation.

With the update, the 51 Adherents (which include non-OECD members) react to developments over the past decade. The 2023 edition of the Guidelines provides updated recommendations for responsible business conduct across key areas, such as climate change, biodiversity, technology and business integrity, as well as updated implementation procedures for the National Contact Points for Responsible Business Conduct. A summary of the main changes is available here (PDF, 519 KB).

The updated Guidelines are available here: https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/mneguidelines/  

More information is available here: https://mneguidelines.oecd.org/

In two events in September, the BMWK, BMUV and the OECD Berlin Centre discussed the updated Guidelines with stakeholders from business, trade unions, civil society, academia and the OECD. More information on these events is available here.

Additional events on the updated Guidelines are planned as follows:

  • 5 October 2023: OECD webinar on the updated chapter of science, technology and innovation
  • Register here.
  • 19 October 2023: OECD-webinar on the updated environment chapter
  • Register here.

Update on NCP processes:

The final report in the NCP-process GfbV against TÜV SÜD AG is now available in the NCP database.

Update on NCP processes:

The final report in the NCP-process Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation against Siemens AG is now available in the NCP database.

14-15 February 2023

OECD Ministerial on RBC

On 14-15 February 2023, representatives from over 60 States, international organizations and stakeholders met in Paris to discuss the contribution of companies to a resilient, sustainable and inclusive world economy. They adopted a Ministerial Declaration (here); and launched the OECD Recommendation on the role of government in RBC is available here. Germany was represented by Parliamentary State-Secretary Franziska Brantner. The press release is available here (in German).

February 2023

Recommendation on the Role of Government in Promoting Responsible Business Conduct

In February 2023, the OECD publicly launched the Recommendation on the Role of Government in Promoting Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) at the occasion of the OECD Ministerial Meeting on RBC, after being adopted by the OECD Council in 2022 on the proposal of the Investment Committee.

The Recommendation lays out a single comprehensive set of principles and policy recommendations to assist governments and other public authorities in their efforts to design and implement policies that enable and promote RBC, bringing together guidance on government policies and policy coherence for RBC from existing OECD standards on RBC or RBC-related areas.

You can download the Recommendation here (PDF, 1 MB).

You can download a German translation here (PDF, 1 MB).

25 July 2022

Cooperation protocol signed

On 25 July 2022 Anne-Kathrin Röthemeyer, Head of the German National Contact Point for OECD Guidelines for multinational enterprises (NCP), signed a revised cooperation protocol agreed between Deutsche Post DHL Group and global union federations International Transport Workers Federation and UNI Global Union. The protocol is the result of a successful NCP-facilitated mediation procedure in 2016. Under the revised protocol, the parties commit to continuous, constructive dialogue on employment and working relationships. The parties further agree on a joint work plan focusing on issues of common interest, such as the implementation of the German supply chain due diligence law.

The Coronavirus pandemic and responsible business conduct

The coronavirus pandemic had severe implications for both people and business. Responsible business conduct in response to the crisis can lead to short and long-term benefits, such as increased resilience and a stronger contribution of companies to sustainable development. The OECD provides further information on its website.