Post on 26-Jul-2020
transcript
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Report from the Nordic-Baltic Internal Peer-Learning Seminar for
National Contact Points
20-21 May 2019, Oslo, Norway
Photo: Per Kristian Lie Løwe/Konsis
About the Nordic-Baltic cooperation
The annual report of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises encourages peer–learning activities between NCPs, and highlights as an example the collaboration between the NCPs i the Nordic Baltic region.
The Nordic and Baltic National Contact Points (NCPs) started its cooperation in 2018 with the purpose of creating a platform for sharing knowledge and experiences between the NCPs. The participants have included representatives from the NCPs in Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Norway, Lithuania and Denmark, as well as the OECD Secretariat in Paris.
Following the successful and well-attended NCP seminar in Lithuania in September 2018, the Norwegian NCP hosted this year’s seminar in Oslo. Continuing from last year’s focus on how NCPs best can fulfil the core criteria of the OECD Guidelines, the objective of this year’s seminar
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was sharing experiences between NCPs in handling specific instances and tools for promoting due diligence for responsible business conduct. Experts from business in the field of finance and the garment sector participated, and shared best practices from business’ work on responsible business conduct (RBC).
The Danish NCP has offered to host the next seminar.
Key focus areas
DAY 1: Key issues was peer learning for NCPs: promoting due diligence for RBC, handling specific instances and labour rights in Nordic Baltic countries
The Norwegian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Marianne Hagen, gave an opening speech1, where she encouraged collaboration between Nordic Baltic NCPs to promote responsible business conduct. She referred to the recent progress report on NCPs 2from the OECD Council meeting stating that there is an uneven level of functioning among NCPs. She stressed the need for member countries to ensure functioning and adequately resourced NCPs. New chair for Norway’s NCP, Mr. Frode Elgesem, thereafter thanked the State Secretary for the Government’s strong support and welcomed the participants to Norway. He highlighted the seminar as a tool for NCPs to learn and draw on each other’s experiences while discussing best practice in promoting RBC. This contributes to coordinated efforts as well as a more even playing field for business in the Nordic-Baltic region.
DAY 2: On the second day, business experts from the finance and textile sectors shared their
experiences with RBC by giving concrete examples on how risk-based due diligence can look
like in practice. Moreover, Linda Nielsen from the Danish NCP and the Danish Task Force on
money laundering introduced the money-laundering scandal that has shaken the financial
sector in the Baltics. Nielsen highlighted i.a. the similarities between anti-money laundering
and RBC while emphasizing that there are opportunities for the two fields to learn from each
other's framework of regulation, tools and methods of enforcement. Lastly, Barbara Bijelic from
the OECD Secretariat presented initiatives for a continuous improvement of the financial sector
while also stressing the need for continuous funding.
1 State Secretary Hagens speech: https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/nordisk-baltisk-seminar/id2645824/ 2 http://www.oecd.org/mcm/documents/NCPs%20-%20CMIN(2019)7%20-%20EN.pdf
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NCPs work to promote the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for RBC
Kathryn Dovey from the OECD Secretariat presented the OECD due diligence guidance, which was followed by a workshop on promotion of due diligence for RBC led by Barbara Bijelic. One of the key takeaways from the session was the importance of communicating how risk-based due diligence from an RBC perspective differs from the traditional understanding of risks in the business community. Risk is to be understood as risk for adverse impacts towards people and planet – an outward-looking approach - rather than assessing the risks for the company itself. This is still, for many companies, a new way of understanding risks and will continue to be an important factor to communicate when NCPs are promoting RBC.
Since RBC is a new way of thinking business, communicating the business case can sometimes
be a good way to spark motivation for implementing due diligence processes. Katherine Dovey
highlighted how a proactive approach to RBC will help sustain the business in the long run,
which is one of the pull-factors for businesses in adjusting to RBC. Most specific instances from
NCPs concludes with either an agreement between the parties in the complaint or a final
statement from the NCP, that gives recommendations to the company on how to comply with
the OECD Guidelines. Very often the NCP gives recommendation to the company to conduct or
improve their risk-based due diligence for RBC. Some specific instances, although they are rare,
companies have been under scrutiny for negative impacts that might happen as a consequence
of planned activities. However, most specific instances show that the reactive approach is still
dominant among the responding companies, which only underlines the imperative of NCPs
work on promoting due diligence for RBC.
The OECD Secretariat’s workshop on promoting due diligence for RBC. Photo: Per Kristian Lie Løwe/Konsis
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Another aspect of promoting RBC is training of NCPs to better give advice and answer questions
from businesses on e.g. due diligence or the international guidelines. The workshop presented
typical questions from stakeholders and provided answers to how NCPs best can make sure
that the same information is communicated regardless of which NCP receives the question.
RBC in Nordic-Baltic employment and labour relations
RBC in the labour market is highly relevant in the Nordic-Baltic cooperation as a result of the
large flow of Baltic workers in the Nordic countries. The Confederation of Trade Unions (LO)
works for securing labour rights in Norway and have treated several cases of social dumping in
relation to temporarily employees from the Baltic countries. LO’s examples of grave breaches
of labour rights is a manifestation of how adverse impacts also occur in “low-risk countries.”
Overview over Nordic Baltic NCPs
Cathrine Halsaa from Norway’s NCP presented a paper with an overview of the status of
functioning of the Nordic Baltic NPCs, with numbers taken from the Annual report of the OECD
Guidelines. She also gave and overview of cases handled by Nordic and Baltic NCPs from 2000-
2017, and how the Nordic Baltic NCPs deal with issues on specific instance coordination,
recommendations and determinations, and whether it is included in their Rules of Procedures.
Group exercise discussing best practices in handling specific instances
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Handling Specific Instances
The afternoon session of day 1 was a closed session where the NCPs were given the opportunity
to speak freely about experiences with handling former or ongoing cases (specific instances).
Kathryn Dovey introduced the objective of this session by presenting how rules of procedure
(RoP) for handling specific instances can work as a proxy for trust, and a way to ensure
compliance with the key principle of predictability as well as the core criteria of visibility and
transparency. A trustful environment can be crucial for a successful case, which was
exemplified by the Danish NCP with the presentation of a specific instance where i.a. the lack
of trust between the two parties resulted in unsuccessful mediation.
Fruitful discussions and experience sharing between the Norwegian and the Lithuanian NCP. Photo: Per Kristian
Lie Løwe/Konsis
The Norwegian NCP facilitated a workshop that went through the process of handling specific
instances step by step. The NCPs received a matrix with questions sent out in advance of the
seminar concerning their procedures for deadlines and communication with the parties,
coordination between NCPs, and the steps NCPs take to inform parties in a complaint about
the OECD Guidelines and the complaint handling procedure.
Most of the seminar’s NCPs have an RoP for handling specific instances however, not all have
had the chance to test their feasibility in practice. Thus, the level of practical experience differs.
Nonetheless, everyone agreed that regardless of experience, being able to share challenges or
dilemmas is beneficial for all NCPs, as it creates a basis for future handling of specific instances.
From some of the NCPs that have operationalised their RoP, an experience is that the RoP is a
dynamic document that should be revised based on new discoveries after handling a specific
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instance. Also, the RoP’s level of detail can ease the process by assuring the right steps are
taken at the right time, which in turn will help with keeping momentum during the process.
The question of balancing impartiality and providing guidance was also discussed during the
workshop. Impartiality is an important principle for a successful procedure and for the
legitimacy of the NCP. However, it was concluded that this should not be a barrier for providing
general support to the complainant e.g. by assisting them in identifying which chapters in the
guidelines the specific instance could be related to.
RBC in the financial sector
The OECD Secretariat opened the second day by presenting the increasing expectations for RBC
in the financial sector. The growing focus has also been evident on specific instances filed in the
past years where 20%+ of all cases involved the financial sector.
The OECD paper on RBC for institutional investors and the upcoming paper on RBC for General
Corporate Lending and Securities Underwriting feeds into this agenda. These OECD guidance
documents were actively used by the invited experts from the financial sector, and proved to
be an important tool in their everyday work on ensuring RBC. The Norwegian bank DNB
presented the steps they have taken to ensure RBC in their client relationships in the shipping
sector, while the Danish pension fund MP Pension emphasized how transparency is an
important tool when the financial responsibility to their beneficiaries influences the possibility
to comply with their own RBC policies. Furthermore, Norsif (the Norwegian initiative for
responsible finance) presented how they promote responsible investments to their members
and the big potential to develop the field.
The focus on RBC in the Nordic-Baltic financial sector was especially heightened after the
money-laundering scandals and the topic was also present on the seminar’s agenda. The
Lithuanian NCP gave an insight into expectations, regulation and realization of RBC in the
banking sector in Lithuania, while Linda Nielsen presented measures taken in Denmark on anti-
money laundering. The scandal uncovered how there is still a need for turning principles into
practice, which the promotional activities for RBC that the NCP’s undertakes can play an
important role to achieve.
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From the left: Troels Børrild (MP Pension), Linda Nielsen (Denmark NCP/Task Force on anti-money laundering),
Øistein Akselberg (DNB), Barbara Bijelic (OECD Secretariat), Monica Mee (Norsif), Andrius Bambalas (Lithuania
NCP).
The session on RBC in the financial sector was finalized with a panel debate between the
presenters moderated by former chair of the Norwegian NCP, Ola Mestad. The debate
concluded that there is still a need for more knowledge and training for the financial sector in
risk-based due diligence to mitigate the risk for adverse impact on people and planet.
NCP’s cooperation with NGO’s The OECD Guidelines stresses how stakeholder engagement is an important part of the due
diligence process, but it is also a significant part of the NCPs work. The Norwegian NGO Forum
for Development and Environment (ForUM) was invited to the seminar to share their
experience with cooperating with the NCPs. ForUM expressed how they appreciate the
opportunity to be invited to events hosted by the NCPs and called for establishment of more
NCPs around the world.
ForUM also touched upon some of the challenges they face with the NCP’s complaint
mechanism. The complaint procedure’s social and financial cost, and the potential
complainant’s lack of competences and resources can become barriers to submit a complaint.
There is a constant evaluation of where the NGO will experience the best outcome, which
sometimes boils down to weighing whether to gain media attention or choosing to involve an
NCP.
This is an important message that the NCPs should reflect upon – easing the process to ensure
specific instances are submitted. A place to start might be by producing or revising its RoP, and
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having an open dialogue and contact with stakeholders, both from the business sector, trade
unions and NGOs.
RBC in the textile sector
The textile sector continues to be a focus area for many NCPs as a result of the challenges that
are present in the industry. The Danish NCP exemplified this with a specific instance handled
by the contact point in relation to the collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh. The
NCP’s final statement with recommendations was taken into account by the company that now
works actively with implementing processes of risk-based due diligence in accordance with the
OECD Guidelines.
The Norwegian underwear company Pierre Robert Group ended the session with a
presentation of their RBC efforts. The company has a long tradition for working with RBC and
gave a detailed introduction to the different steps in their due diligence processes, showing
that this is a continuous process that should be repeated over time.
A continuous relationship based on trust and cooperation
The NCPs agreed that the seminar provided useful tools and methods to the work of promoting
RBC and handling specific instances. The workshops were particularly appreciated as it created
a space for sharing experiences and facilitated interesting discussions between the NCPs.
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation has developed into a trustful group where the participants
engage in professional and social conversations. The Norwegian NCP had arranged a dinner at
a restaurant in the Norwegian skerries where these conversations continued over delicious
food and wine. The seminar’s social aspect is an important activity as the group gets to know
each other better and therefore lowers the threshold for reaching out with questions or other
requests in our daily work.
We are looking forward to the next seminar in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Programme Nordic-Baltic Internal Peer-Learning seminar 20-21 May, Oslo, Norway
Venue: Hotel Opera, Dronning Eufemias gate 4 DAY 1 – Internal peer learning for NCPs Focus issues: promoting due diligence for RBC, handling specific instances, labour rights in Nordic Baltic countries
08.30 – 09.00 Coffee, tea
09.00-09.10 Welcoming speech
State Secretary Marianne Hagen
09.10 - 9.20 Overview of workshop, aims, agenda and format
Frode Elgesem , Norway NCP
09.20-9.40 Introduction of the OECD due diligence guidance for RBC and tools for NCPs’ work to promote the guidance
Kathryn Dovey, OECD
09.40-11.30 Workshop: NCPs’ work to promote due diligence for responsible business conduct RBC
Barbara Bijelic, Kathryn Dovey, OECD
11.30-12.30 Lunch
12.30-13.10 Ensuring RBC in employment and labor relations in the Nordic - Baltic region.
Examples of breaches of labor rights for temporary employees from Baltic countries in Norway
The role of contracting companies and efforts from trade unions
Jonas Bals, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions – LO
13.10 – 15:00 Afternoon: Handling specific instances
Norway and Denmark NCP
13:10 – 13:20 How to increase the chance for a successful case – predictability and creating trust with the parties - experiences
Kathryn Dovey
13:20 – 13:30 Overview of Nordic Baltic NCPs on handling specific instances – see paper
Norway NCP
13:30 – 13:55
Introduction to the Danish NCP’s handling of specific instances – case: PWT
Denmark NCP
13:55 – 15:00
Workshop: Step by step – handling specific instances – see questionnaire
Norway NCP
15.00 - 15.15 Sum up – key takeaways. Norway NCP
18:00
Dinner at Lille Herbern, Bygdøy (Approximate time for departure hotel: 17:00)
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DAY 2 – Internal seminar with invited experts from business. Focus issues: RBC in the finance sector and textile sector.
09:00 – 09:10 Wrap up from day 1 + today’s agenda Cathrine Halsaa and Ola Mestad Norway NCP
09:10 – 09:30 OECD finance sector project
OECD due diligence guidance on responsible business conduct for institutional investors
OECD due diligence guidance on responsible business conduct for corporate lending and securities underwriting
Barbara Bijelic
09:30 – 09:50 Due diligence on RBC for corporate - in practice Øistein Akselberg, DnB
09:50 – 10:10 Due diligence guidance on RBC for institutional investors – in practice
Monica Mee, Nordea
10:10 – 10:30 Responsible investment in practice
Troels Børrild, Danish pension fund
10:30 – 10:50 Money laundering scandals in Nordic-Baltic banking system
Finance Denmark’s Task Force on Money laundering
Linda Nielsen, Denmark NCP
10:50 – 11:00 Responsible business conduct in the banking sector of Lithuania: expectation, regulation and realization
Andrius Bambalas, Lithuania NCP
11:00 – 11:30
Responsibility in the finance sector - Q&A Panel discussion
Linda Nielsen, Barbara Bijelic, Monica Mee, Øistein Akselberg, Troels Børrild, Andrius Bambalas Moderator: Ola Mestad
11:30 – 12:30 Lunch
12:30 – 12:50 Civil society – how does civil society work with the NCPs
Ingrid Rostad, The Norwegian Forum for Development and Environment (ForUM)
12:50 - 13:20
Responsible business conduct in the textile sector
Brief presentation to the Danish guidance on due diligence in the textile sector
o The actual process o Reflections during the process
Example of an NCP statement, recommendations and follow up on complaint in the textile industry
o Case: Complaint against PWT Group
Denmark NCP
13.20 – 14.00
Responsible Business Conduct in Pierre Robert Group
Margrethe Vikanes, CSR Manager Pierre Robert Group
14.00 – 14.30 Wrap up and next steps Norway NCP