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> View this email in your browser > <https://mailchi.mp/law/perspective-318?e=4c4de50aea> > > 哥伦比亚大学国际直接投资展望中文版都可以在我们的网站查看: > https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/columbia-fdi-perspectives > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=5b9f7a8152&e=4c4de50aea> > . > *Columbia FDI Perspectives* > Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues > Editor-in-Chief: Karl P. Sauvant ([log in to unmask]) > Managing Editor: Riccardo Loschi ([log in to unmask]) > > *The Columbia FDI Perspectives are a forum for public debate. The views > expressed by the authors do not reflect the opinions of CCSI or our > partners and supporters.* > > No. 318 November 15, 2021 > *The OECD MNE Guidelines: Recent complaints on emerging issues show the > need to revise standards on responsible business conduct* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=7f4490740a&e=4c4de50aea> > by > Marian Ingrams, Thomas Mason and Joseph Wilde-Ramsing* > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__edn1> > > The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=1b759e45e8&e=4c4de50aea> > (Guidelines) should set the most comprehensive and up-to-date standards on > responsible business conduct (RBC) for MNEs, but they have not been revised > since 2011. New substantive issues appearing in complaints filed over the > past decade before the Guidelines’ system of National Contact Point (NCP) > grievance mechanisms—discussed in another recent *Perspective* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=d50a2226d7&e=4c4de50aea>—reflect > topics absent from, or incompletely described in, the current standards. > These gaps make RBC norms for MNEs inadequate and limit the victims’ > chances of remedy. The following gaps—among others—are the primary reason > the Guidelines should be revised in 2022. > > *Accountability for climate impacts. *Despite the global focus on climate > change, the OECD Guidelines do not use the term “climate change”, nor > highlight steps that MNEs should take to address their climate impacts, > such as incorporating climate assessments into their due diligence, > committing to and disclosing emissions targets compatible with the Paris > Agreement, avoiding greenwashing, and moving toward climate adaptation. Yet > complaints addressing corporate climate impacts have sharply increased > since 2017: out of nine climate complaints > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=76de7e093f&e=4c4de50aea> > since 2001, six have been filed since 2017. Among these, five target > financial institutions, showing particular focus on seeking the financial > sector’s accountability for its relationship to climate change. > > *Accountability of the financial sector.* The growing focus on financial > institutions’ climate impacts echoes the steady increase, since 2001, in financial > sector complaints > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=0ba1cad4b1&e=4c4de50aea>, > from eight filed between 2001-2005, to 18 between 2016-2020. A critical > question is whether financial institutions are merely *directly linked* > to the impacts of their clients or are *contributing* to them, a > relationship closer to causation that creates higher responsibility for > companies to address those impacts. The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for > Responsible Business Conduct > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=c2bf09e225&e=4c4de50aea> > explains that a company’s relationship to impacts is not “static” and that > a heightened level of responsibility can “depend upon the degree to which > due diligence and steps taken to address identified risks and impacts > decrease the risk of the impacts occurring” (p. 71). The question of when a > company can be found to be contributing to impacts is currently being > debated > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=084e2b3dbd&e=4c4de50aea> > in a complaint against ING Bank > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=34dc625635&e=4c4de50aea>. > Debate can occur because the Guidelines do not adequately explain how > companies—including financial institutions—can evolve from being merely > directly linked to a business partner’s known impacts, to contributing to > those impacts by failing themselves to take steps to reduce or prevent them. > > *Accountability for gender-specific impacts*. Gender-based discrimination > in the workplace particularly threatens women’s and LGBTQ+ people’s safety. > Resettlements prompted by extractive and infrastructure projects > disproportionately impact women’s land rights. Retaliation against human > rights defenders by businesses and official institutions targets women and > LGBTQ+ activists differently. Despite this, the Guidelines do not contain > the word “gender” nor prioritize gender-sensitive due diligence to address > such impacts. In 2020 and 2021, five complaints highlighted impacts on > women, out of 15 gender-related complaints > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=b0e28e9a63&e=4c4de50aea> > since 2001. These complaints underscore the growing need for standards to > guide corporate respect for gender rights. > > *Accountability for impacts in the digital sphere*. The Guidelines are > out-of-date on technological issues. They should highlight how the > increasing digitalization of business activities can exacerbate the > potential of all companies to cause human rights and environmental impacts, > prompting a need for digitalization-specific due diligence. The Guidelines > do not address such major concerns as the commodification and > commercialization of people’s private data, the monopolistic market share > of digital platforms and the labor rights and environmental impacts of > digital companies and technology hardware supply chains. Complainants are > starting to address them: 19 digitalization complaints > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=514fc2f56c&e=4c4de50aea> > have been filed since 2011, 13 relating to actual or potential corporate > involvement in mass surveillance > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a8d87d208b&e=4c4de50aea> > by repressive regimes. Varied outcomes[1] > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__edn2> > in complaint-handling by OECD governments sometimes show governments’ own > misunderstandings, such as regarding the due diligence for dual use > technologies.[2] > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__edn3> > > *Accountability for tax avoidance*. Despite the OECD’s own work > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=b272f2c497&e=4c4de50aea> > to end corporate tax avoidance, the Guidelines are vague in setting > expectations for MNEs’ responsible tax policy. Between 2001 and 2021, 19 > complaints > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=e39f345634&e=4c4de50aea> > have involved tax issues, while two recently accepted by the Dutch NCP > specifically suggest oil companies Chevron > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=e0a3aada3f&e=4c4de50aea> > and Pluspetrol > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=5ee838645f&e=4c4de50aea> > engaged in tax avoidance in breach of the Guidelines’ standards. However, > complainants are constrained in their argumentation to using only the > Guidelines’ vague and inconclusive expectation that companies obey the > “spirit” of tax law, revealing the need for a standard more obviously and > plainly discouraging tax avoidance. > > For now, the Guidelines remain an influential international guide for RBC. > It is worth ensuring they remain so. The OECD Investment Committee is > currently studying gaps > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=dfd4ed1d96&e=4c4de50aea> > in the Guidelines, including through an inclusive public consultation > process on its draft gap analysis report. Its final report should identify > the gaps these complaints show, as well as others identified by civil > society > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=f0cc7169bc&e=4c4de50aea>, > and propose procedural improvements > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=79d9800ff5&e=4c4de50aea> > for NCPs as well. Following the conclusion of the study, the Committee > should commit to revise the Guidelines to update the RBC standards for MNEs > and better facilitate access to remedy for victims. > > ------------------------------ > * > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__ednref1> > Marian Ingrams ([log in to unmask]), Thomas Mason ([log in to unmask]) and > Joseph Wilde-Ramsing are, respectively, Coordinator, Research Intern and > Senior Advisor for the OECD Watch, the official representative of civil > society to the OECD Investment Committee. This *Perspective* draws on OECD > Watch, *Get Fit: Closing Gaps in the OECD Guidelines to Make Them Fit for > Purpose *(Amsterdam: OECD Watch, 2021) > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=059e14b10f&e=4c4de50aea>. > The authors wish to thank Peter Muchlinski, Federico Ortino and Katia > Yannaca-Small for their helpful peer reviews. > [1] > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__ednref2> > For a different analysis of the same issue, compare *Privacy Int’l et al. > vs. **Trovicor* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=180d080bc1&e=4c4de50aea> > with *Privacy Int’l et al. vs. **Gamma* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=ae5c187064&e=4c4de50aea> > . > [2] > <#m_-2473722042047403623_m_3906902776642407926_m_5046864447184335400__ednref3> > See, e.g., *FIDH, JFI and Redress vs. Italtel* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=89f341c4c2&e=4c4de50aea> > *.* > *The material in this Perspective may be reprinted if accompanied by the > following acknowledgment: “Marian Ingrams, Thomas Mason and Joseph > Wilde-Ramsing, ‘The OECD MNE Guidelines: Recent complaints on emerging > issues show the need to revise standards on responsible business conduct,’ > Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 318, November 15, 2021. Reprinted with > permission from the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (* > *http://ccsi.columbia.edu* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=f6e483a164&e=4c4de50aea>*).” > A copy should kindly be sent to the Columbia Center on Sustainable > Investment at **[log in to unmask]* <[log in to unmask]>*.* > > For further information, including information regarding submission to the > *Perspectives*, please contact: Columbia Center on Sustainable > Investment, Riccardo Loschi, [log in to unmask] > > *Most recent Columbia FDI Perspectives* > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=b71df834c8&e=4c4de50aea> > > > - No. 317, Nicolas Hachez and Allan Jorgensen, ‘National Contact > Points for responsible business conduct and access to remedy: Achievements > and challenges after 20 years,’ Columbia FDI Perspectives, November 1, 2021 > - No. 316, Karl P. Sauvant, Matthew Stephenson and Yardenne Kagan, > “Green FDI: Encouraging carbon-neutral investment,” Columbia FDI > Perspectives, October 18, 2021 > - No. 315, Craig S. Miles, “In defense of quantum,” Columbia FDI > Perspectives, October 4, 2021 > > *All previous FDI Perspectives are available at > https://ccsi.columbia.edu/content/columbia-fdi-perspectives > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=e2e84754b3&e=4c4de50aea>* > . > > *Other relevant CCSI news and announcements* > > - *CCSI’s 16th annual International Investment Law and Policy Speaker > Series' > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=78cc4918db&e=4c4de50aea> next > panel is on November 16! *The virtual series, focusing on the > perspective of policy makers on central topics in investment law and > policy, includes panels on AfCFTA, Investment Facilitation, and Investment > Law and Human Rights. Each session will allow for Q&A and discussion with > the panelists. The series is sponsored by Arnold & Porter. *Please > visit our website > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=ffb568f2e0&e=4c4de50aea> > for the schedule and to register, as well as to view the video of the > November 8th panel.* > - *On November 19*, CCSI, Columbia Law School, the Sabin Center for > Climate Change Law, and the International Institute for Sustainable > Development (IISD) will co-host "Carbon Border Adjustments in the EU, > the U.S., and Beyond: Economic, Legal, Political, and GHG Accounting Aspects > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=57684db9f8&e=4c4de50aea>," > an online/in-person 90-min-long interactive expert panel on economic, > legal, political, and GHG accounting aspects of the EU CBAM and similar > mechanisms that may be created elsewhere to combat the climate emergency. *Visit > our website > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=35a54d29d1&e=4c4de50aea> > for details and to register*. > > Karl P. Sauvant, Ph.D. > Resident Senior Fellow > Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment > Columbia Law School - Earth Institute > Ph: (212) 854-0689 > Fax: (212) 854-7946 > *Copyright © 2021 Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), All > rights reserved.* > [log in to unmask] > > *Our mailing address is:* > Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) > Columbia Law School - Earth Institute, Columbia University > 435 West 116th Street > New York, NY 10027 > > Add us to your address book > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/vcard?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a> > > > unsubscribe from this list > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a&e=4c4de50aea&c=4001e232dd> > update subscription preferences > <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/profile?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a&e=4c4de50aea&c=4001e232dd> > > > [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] > <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=referral_marketing&aid=ab15cc1d53&afl=1> > -- *Karl P. Sauvant, PhD* *Resident Senior Fellow* *Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment* Columbia Law School - The Earth Institute, Columbia University 435 West 116th St., Rm. JGH 825, New York, NY 10027 | p: (212) 854 0689 | cell: (646) 724 5600 e: [log in to unmask] | w: www.ccsi.columbia.edu | t: @CCSI_Columbia <https://twitter.com/CCSI_Columbia> "Leveraging Digital FDI for Capacity and Competitiveness", "Green FDI: Encouraging carbon-neutral investment", "Facilitating Sustainable Investment to Build Back Better", "Extending International Legal Aid from Trade to Investment: An Advisory Centre on International Investment Law", "Increasing Transparency in Investment Facilitation: Focussed Support is Needed", *Investment Facilitation for Development: A Toolkit for Policymakers*, "More Attention to Policies! Improving the Distribution of FDI Benefits. The Need for Policy-oriented Research, Advice and Advocacy", "More and Better Investment Now!", "Facilitating Sustainable FDI in a WTO Investment Facilitation Framework: Four Concrete Proposals", "Multinational Enterprises and the Global Investment Regime: Toward Balancing Rights and Responsibilities”, "An Inventory of Concrete Measures to Facilitate the Flow of Sustainable FDI: What? Why? How?", are available at https://ssrn.com/author=2461782 . ____ AIB-L is brought to you by the Academy of International Business. For information: http://aib.msu.edu/community/aib-l.asp To post message: [log in to unmask] For assistance: [log in to unmask] AIB-L is a moderated list.