The report gives an overview of the NCP’s efforts in 2019 to promote the OECD Guidelines, the handling of specific instances and international cooperation. The report also serves as an informational tool on the OECD Guidelines for responsible business conduct (RBC) and the work of the Norwegian National Contact Point in general. In the preface, Frode Elgesem, chair of the Norwegian NCP, provides a status report of the work on responsible business conduct so far and his visions for the way forward:
The year 2020 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the National Contact Point system. The system has brought about impressive results in important cases. In the years to come, the NCPs will be able to contribute more and more to responsible business conduct. They will therefore constitute an important mechanism for preventing harm to people, nature and the climate, and thereby to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.Frode Elgesem, Chair, Norwegian NCP
The annual report covers, among others, the following topics:
- Launch of a Norwegian introduction to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance
- Collaboration with the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution in organising a seminar in Karasjok on indigenous people’s rights in extractive projects, including launch of Sami and Norwegian translation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Meaningful Stakeholder Engagement in the Extractive Sector
- Course in responsible business conduct and due diligence for Norwegian enterprises
- Topical seminar on RBC for state-owned enterprises in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries
- Collaboration between Nordic-Baltic National Contact Points
- Handling of specific instances.
The annual report also includes interviews with our stakeholders in the field of responsible business conduct, representing both the international and national perspective, as well as a representative from the business sector. They are invited to give input on their perspective of RBC issues, and feedback to the work of the Norwegian NCP.
The annual report has interviews with:
- Christine Kaufmann, chair, OECD Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct
- Beate Ekeløve-Slydal, Amnesty International Norway, and member of the Norwegian National Contact Point
- Roar Haugland, Executive Vice President Sustainable Business & HSSE of the solar power company Scatec Solar.