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METHODOLOGYFOROECD

ALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES

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METHODOLOGYFOROECDALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES?OECD2024

?OECD2024.

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METHODOLOGYFOROECDALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES?OECD2024

Foreword

ThispaperpresentsaconsolidatedassessmentmethodologyforhowtocarryoutOECDalignmentassessmentsofmulti-stakeholder,governmentandindustryinitiatives(“sustainabilityinitiatives”);thisassessmentmethodologyshouldbeusedtogetherwithalignmentassessmenttoolsthatsetoutwhattoassess,iethespecificindicatorstoassessagainst.CurrentlytheOECDhasassessmenttoolsbasedontheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleSupplyChainsofMineralsfromConflict-AffectedandHigh-RiskAreas(OECD,2016[1])andtheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleSupplyChainsintheGarmentandFootwearSector(OECD,2018[2])butfuturetoolsforothersectorsoracross-sectoraltoolmightbedeveloped.

ThispaperispartoftheworktheOECDcarriesoutwithrespecttoevaluatingtheextenttowhichsustainabilityinitiativesarealignedwiththerecommendationsof“OECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleBusinessConduct”(OECD,2018[3])andassociatedcredibilitycriteria,consistentwithprioritiesidentifiedinthe2023“DeclarationonPromotingandEnablingResponsibleBusinessConductintheGlobalEconomy”(OECD,2023[4]).

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METHODOLOGYFOROECDALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES?OECD2024

Tableofcontents

Foreword3

Introduction6

1Purpose,focusandprocessofOECDalignmentassessments8

1.1.PurposeofOECDalignmentassessments8

1.2.Selectionofinitiatives9

1.3.Assessmentcomponents10

1.4.Assessmentprocess10

1.5.Assessmenttoolsandcriteria11

1.6.Thirdpartyassessments11

2Assessmentmethodology13

2.1.Scopingandplanning13

2.2.Standardsassessment15

2.3.Implementationassessment16

2.4.Credibilityassessment20

2.5.Cross-recognitionandthird-partyinitiatives20

3Interpretationandratings22

3.1.Interpretingassessmentcriteria22

3.2.Documentinganalysisandconclusions22

3.3.EvaluatingandRating23

3.4.Feedbackloop25

3.5.Overallresult25

3.6.Re-assessment26

4Stakeholderconsultationandpublishingassessmentresults27

4.1.Stakeholderconsultation27

4.2.Reportandpublication27

5TermsandconditionsgoverningOECDalignmentassessments29

5.1.Generaltermsandconditions29

5.2.Assessmentresultvalidityandrecords29

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METHODOLOGYFOROECDALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES?OECD2024

References30

Notes31

Tables

Table1.Documentationrelevanttothestandardsassessment16

Table2.Documentationrelevanttotheimplementationassessment17

Table3.Ratingduediligencecriteria(examples)24

Table4.Calculationofoverallresultsacrosssectors26

Figures

Figure1.DuediligenceprocessandsupportingmeasuresunderOECDRBCinstruments9

Figure2.StepsofatypicalfullOECDalignmentassessment10

Boxes

Box1.AboutOECDRBCduediligenceguidance7

Box2.Verificationinitiatives:assessingmandatoryandaspirationalcriteriaandvaryingperformancelevels24

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METHODOLOGYFOROECDALIGNMENTASSESSMENTSOFSUSTAINABILITYINITIATIVES?OECD2024

Introduction

ThispaperpresentsaconsolidatedassessmentmethodologyforhowtocarryoutOECDalignmentassessmentsofmulti-stakeholder,governmentandindustryinitiatives(“sustainabilityinitiatives”);thisassessmentmethodologyshouldbeusedtogetherwithalignmentassessmenttoolsthatsetoutwhattoassess,iethespecificindicatorstoassessagainst.CurrentlytheOECDhasassessmenttoolsbasedontheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleSupplyChainsofMineralsfromConflict-AffectedandHigh-RiskAreas(OECD,2016[1])andtheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleSupplyChainsintheGarmentandFootwearSector(OECD,2018[2])butfuturetoolsforothersectorsoracross-sectoraltoolmightbedeveloped.1

OECDalignmentassessmentsweredevelopedin2017toevaluatetheextenttowhichmulti-stakeholder,governmentandindustryinitiatives(“sustainabilityinitiatives”)arealignedwiththerecommendationsofOECDduediligenceguidanceonresponsiblebusinessconduct(RBC)andassociatedcredibilitycriteria(see

Box1)

.2Theassessmentsaimtostrengtheninitiatives’alignmentwithinternationalhumanrightsandenvironmentalduediligencestandards,consistentwiththe2023OECDRBCMinisterial“DeclarationonPromotingandEnablingResponsibleBusinessConductintheGlobalEconomy”(OECD,2023[4]),andprovidestakeholderswithgreaterclarityonscopeandcredibilityofinitiatives.

Sustainabilityinitiativeshavesteadilyproliferatedoverthelasttwodecades,asenterprisesandgovernmentsseektogiveconsumersandinvestorsgreatercertaintyaboutthesustainablenatureofproducts,enterprises,supplychainsandinvestments.Sustainabilityinitiativesareonlyonetoolthatcompaniescanuseforsupplychainduediligence;manycompaniessuccessfullycarryoutduediligenceontheirownandtheOECDsupportsthisthroughamultitudeofimplementationactivities.However,well-designedinitiativescanplayacriticalroleinpromotingcollectiveactionandbestpracticestoaddressadverseenvironmentalandhumanrightsimpactsandreduceduplicativeeffortsforcompaniesandtheirsuppliers.Theresultinglandscapeisvastandcomplex,withinitiativesvaryingsignificantlyintheircoreactivitiesandscope,approachestoduediligence,governancesystemsandlevelsoftransparency.Whilethisdiversitycanbeastrengthasinitiativesfocustheirresourcesandexpertise,enterprises,governmentsandotherstakeholderscanlackclarityaboutwhatparticularinitiativesaddress,howfartheyalignwithpolicyobjectivesandhowcredibletheyareinpractice.

Asdiscussedinthepolicypaper,“OECDalignmentassessmentsofsustainabilityinitiativesinanevolvingregulatorycontext”(OECD,2024[5]),trendstowardsmandatoryhumanrightsandenvironmentalduediligencehaveincreasedpressureonsustainabilityinitiativestoalignwithinternationalduediligencestandards,demonstratetheirownroleinthecontextoflegislation,andaddresslongstandingstakeholderconcernsaboutcredibility.Thismethodologyisnotdesignedtoevaluateinitiativesagainstnationalorregionallegislation,butmaybeusefulforpolicymakersorotherstakeholdersseekingtoevaluatesustainabilityinitiativesagainstsimilarorrelatedduediligenceandcredibilitycriteriatothosesetoutintheassessmenttools.Importantly,themethodologyisflexibleandallowsforinitiativestofocustheirresourcesandexpertiseonspecifichumanrightsandenvironmentalissues,supplychainsegmentsorduediligencesteps,ratherthanevaluatingallinitiativesagainstverybroadscopeandcoverage.

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Box1.AboutOECDRBCduediligenceguidance

TheOECDGuidelinesforMultinationalEnterprisesonResponsibleBusinessConduct(“OECDGuidelines”)(OECD,2023[6])arethemostcomprehensiveinternationalgovernment-backedinstrumentonRBCandhavebeenadoptedby51governmentsandtheEuropeanUnion(EU).Theysetoutrecommendationsaddressedbygovernmentstomultinationalenterprisesonallkeyareasofbusinessresponsibility,includinghumanrights,labourrights,environment,briberyandcorruption,consumerinterests,disclosure,scienceandtechnology,competition,andtaxation.Theyalsosetouttheexpectationthatenterprisesconductduediligencetoidentify,preventormitigateandaccountforhowactualandpotentialadverseimpactsareaddressed.

TheOECD’sduediligenceguidancesprovidegovernment-backedrecommendationsandapracticalframeworkforimplementingRBCduediligenceasforeseenintheOECDGuidelines.TheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleBusinessConduct(OECD,2018[3]),whichwaslaunchedin2018,isadoptedby51governmentsandwasnegotiatedwithbusiness,tradeunionsandcivilsociety.TheDueDiligenceGuidanceforRBCappliestoallsectorsandindustriesandbuildsonexistingsector-specificduediligenceguidance.TheOECDhasdevelopedsector-specificduediligenceguidancefortheminerals(OECD,2016[1]),agriculture(OECD/FAO,2016[7]),garmentandfootwear(OECD,2018[2])sectors,andgoodpracticepapersfortheextractives(OECD,2017[8])andfinancial(OECD,2017[9])sectors.

TheOECDGuidelinesandduediligenceguidancesaretogetherreferredtointhispaperas“OECDRBCinstruments”.

Thismethodologydocumentsetsoutthefollowing:

1.purpose,focusandprocessofOECDalignmentassessments

2.assessmentmethodologythatshouldbefollowedtoobtaintheinformationnecessarytoevaluateasustainabilityinitiativeagainsttheassessmentcriteria

3.interpretationandratingsofassessmentcriteria

4.stakeholderconsultationandpublishingtheresultsofacompletedalignmentassessment

5.termsandconditionsgoverningOECDalignmentassessments

TheaimofthisdocumentistohelpexternalstakeholdersunderstandhowtheOECDapproachesthealignmentassessmentsandinterpretpubliclyavailablealignmentassessmentreports3.ItcanalsobeusedasabasisforalignmentassessmentsthatareundertakenindependentlyoftheOECD(seeSection

1.6)

.ThisdocumentshouldbereadtogetherwithandinterpretedonthebasisofrelevantOECDduediligenceguidance,includinganysupplementsandannexesandshouldbeusedtogetherwiththealignmentassessmenttoolsthatsetouttheindicatorstoassessagainst,basedonOECDduediligencestandards.

ThealignmentassessmentcriteriaarenotintendedtomodifyoralterinanywaytherecommendationscontainedinOECDRBCduediligenceguidance.

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1

Purpose,focusandprocessof

OECDalignmentassessments

1.1.PurposeofOECDalignmentassessments

OECDalignmentassessmentsaimtoevaluatesustainabilityinitiatives’alignmentwiththerecommendationsofrelevantOECDduediligenceguidanceandrelatedcredibilitycriteriausingassessmenttools.Theyseektostrengthenandharmoniseinitiatives’approachestoduediligenceandprovideimportantclaritytostakeholdersonthescopeandcredibilityofindividualinitiatives.Importantly,theygobeyonddesk-basedreviewandincludeanevaluationofhowinitiativesoperateinpractice.

WhiletherecommendationssetoutintheOECD’sduediligenceguidancesareaddressedtoenterprises,alignmentassessmentsfocusonthestandards,activities,processesandsystemsofsustainabilityinitiatives.Assuch,alignmentassessmentsdonotevaluateordrawconclusionsabouttheadequacyofduediligenceconductedbyindividualenterprisesthatparticipateinoraremembersoftheinitiativeunderassessment.Inaddition,whileassessmentsevaluatetheadequacyofatinitiative’sinternalmanagement,oversightandmonitoringandevaluationsystemsandprocesses,amongotherelements,theydonotmeasureordrawconclusionsabouttheoverallimpactofaninitiative.

Althoughalignmentassessmentsweredevelopedprimarilytoassessinitiativesthatsetrequirementsforandevaluateenterprises’duediligence,themethodologyisflexibleandcanbeadaptedtoassessavarietyofinitiatives.Thisincludesinitiativesthatcarryoutduediligenceactivitiesonbehalfofcompanies,forexamplebycarryingoutcomplaintshandlingorsite-levelriskmonitoring,orprovidingtraceabilityorchainofcustodymechanisms.Themethodologycanalsobeadaptedtoassessinitiativeswithanarrowscope,forexample,aspecificsupplychainfocus,issuecoverageorgeographicalremit,orwhichaddressspecificduediligencesteps(e.g.publicdisclosuresunderStep5oftheduediligenceframework,orgrievancemechanismsunderStep6)(see

Figure1)

.Assessmentsthereforedonotaimtoevaluateonlythoseinitiativeswithbroadorcomprehensivescope;manyinitiativesareeffectivepreciselybecausetheyspecialiseandfocustheirresourcesandexpertise.

OECDalignmentassessmentsarenotdesignedas“audits”andthismethodologydocumentisnotanauditprotocolorstandard.Rather,theassessmentstakeamorecomprehensiveandevaluativeapproach,overaperiodofusuallysixto18months,toanalysedocuments,implementationactivitiesandmanagementsystems.Theassessmentincludesacentralroleforstakeholderinterviewsandconsultationaswellason-siteshadowassessments.Initiativesareassessedonthedegreetowhichtheyincentiviseand/orrequiredynamic,risked-basedduediligenceconsistentwithOECDduediligenceguidance.EachOECDalignmentassessmentneedstobeadaptedtothespecificcontextoftheinitiativebeingevaluated:ineachcase,theassessmentmethodology,scopeandfindingsareadaptedtoreflecttheindividualscopeandactivitiesoftheinitiativeunderassessment(seeSection

2.1)

.

Giventhecase-by-casenatureofOECDalignmentassessments,detailedpublicassessmentreportsandindividualcriteria-by-criteriaratingsarecriticalforexplainingthescopeoftheinitiative,thespecificmethodologyusedandthescopeandoutcomesoftheassessmentto

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stakeholders.Alloftheseelementsimpacttheconclusionsthatcan(and,justasimportantly,cannot)bedrawnfromassessmentfindings.ItisalsoimportanttonotethattheOECDdoesnotcarryoutongoingmonitoringorfollowuponalignmentimprovements.Theresultsshouldthereforebeconsideredasasnapshotatagivenpointintime.

Figure1.DuediligenceprocessandsupportingmeasuresunderOECDRBCinstruments

Source:Source:OECD(2018[3]),OECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforResponsibleBusinessConduct,

/10.1787/15f5f4b3-en

.

1.2.Selectionofinitiatives

ForthepurposeofOECDalignmentassessments,theOECDdistinguishesbetweeninitiativesthat:

1.facilitateorsupporttheduediligenceprocessofanenterprise,includingbycarryingoutduediligenceactivitiesonbehalfofcompanies,butwhichdonotassessorcertifybusinesspractices,sitesorproductsagainstrequirements(“facilitationinitiatives”4),and

2.setrequirementsforandassessorcertifyindividualbusinesspractices,sitesorproducts(“verificationinitiatives”5).

ManyinitiativescarryoutamixoffacilitationandverificationactivitiesandinthesesituationstheAssessmentcanbeadaptedtocoverbothaspects.SeeSections

3.3.3

and

3.3.2

onkeydifferencesinhowverificationinitiativesandfacilitationinitiativesareassessed,giventheirdifferentnatureandpurpose.

TheOECDconsidersanumberoffactorswhenselectinginitiativesforOECDalignmentassessments,including:

?Scopeandfocus:sectorcoverage,geographicalscope,entityscope(includingnumbersofparticipatingorassessedenterprises),supplychainsegment,issuefocusandcoreactivitiesoftheinitiative.

?Duediligenceintegration:whethertheinitiativeincludesduediligence-relatedrequirementsinitsstandardsand/oractivities,orpubliclyclaimstointegrateduediligencecomponents.

?Statusofpolicies,standardsandimplementationactivities:whethertheinitiativehasclearlycommunicateditspolicies,standardsandimplementationactivitiestoparticipatingcompaniesand

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whethertheyareuptodateandaccessible.FortheImplementationAssessment,theinitiativemusthavecarriedoutrelevantimplementationactivitiesforatleastsixmonths.

?TermsandConditions:TheinitiativeacceptstheTermsandConditionsgoverningOECDalignmentassessments(seeSection

5.1)

.

1.3.Assessmentcomponents

Afullalignmentassessmentconstitutesthreeparts:

?Standardsassessment:evaluatestheextenttowhichtheinitiative’swrittenpoliciesandstandardsforenterprisesandanyduediligenceactivitiestheinitiativeitselfconductsalignwiththerelevantOECDduediligenceguidance(seeSection

2.2)

.

?Implementationassessment:evaluatestheadequacyoftheinitiative’simplementationofitswrittenpoliciesandstandardsforenterprisesand,whererelevant,itsownduediligenceactivities.Thiscaninclude,whererelevant,evaluatingtheadequacyoftheinitiative’smonitoringandoversightsystemsincludingitsannualperformancechecksorotherassessmentsofenterprises,

ortheadequacyofagrievancemechanismortraceabilitysystemthataninitiativeprovides(seeSection

2.3)

.

?Credibilityassessment:evaluatestheextenttowhichtheinitiative’ssystemsmeetcredibilitycriteria,includinginrelationtogovernance,assurancemechanisms(whererelevant),claimsrules,stakeholderengagement,transparency,conflictsofinterestandcross-recognition6(seeSection

2.4)

.

1.4.Assessmentprocess

Fullalignmentassessmentsfollowtheprocesssetoutin

Figure2.

Theyareoftenprecededbyaninitiativecompletingasector-specificgapanalysisor“DueDiligenceChecker”.7

Figure2.StepsofatypicalfullOECDalignmentassessment

Note:Thisisatypicaltimeline.However,theduration,numberofinterviewsandshadowassessmentsvariesaccordingtotheinitiative.

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Aninitiativemayundergoastandards-onlyassessmentorafullassessment(includingastandardsassessment,implementationassessmentandcredibilityassessment).Initiativesmayalsorevisetheirwrittenpoliciesandstandardsafterthestandardsassessmentandrequestanoptionalre-assessmentoftheirrevisedstandardsandrequirements.Inthesecases,thefinalalignmentassessmentreportwillincorporatetheoriginalanalysisandratingsaswellastherevisedanalysisandratings.Decisionstoundergore-assessmentsofpoliciesandstandardsaremadeonacase-by-casebasis.

1.5.Assessmenttoolsandcriteria

Toassessthealignmentandcredibilityofsustainabilityinitiatives,theOECDhasdevelopedpubliclyavailablealignmentassessmenttools8basedonrelevantOECDduediligenceguidance.Thealignmentassessmenttoolsincludeassessmentcriteria,interpretativeguidanceforassessorsandreferencestotherelevantduediligenceguidance.

Eachassessmenttoolencompassesthefollowingcriteria:

?Duediligencecriteria:Theseinclude(a)duediligencecriteriabasedontheexpectationsintherelevantOECDduediligenceguidance,and(b)overarchingcriteriabasedonthekeycharacteristicsofduediligencesetoutintheOECDDiligenceGuidanceforRBC.

?Credibilitycriteria:ThesebuildonearliergovernancecriteriaandtheexamplesofgoodgovernanceforsustainabilityinitiativessetoutintheOECDDueDiligenceGuidanceforRBC9.

Dependingonthesector,thealignmentassessmenttoolincludesbetween95toover150criteria.Notethatthetoolforthegarmentandfootwearsectorincludesadditionalinterpretativeguidancebasedontheriskmodulesincludedintheduediligenceguidanceforthesector.

1.6.Thirdpartyassessments

OECDalignmentassessmentsareassessmentsthatareconductedbytheOECD,withconclusionsdrawnbytheOECD,andpublishedbytheOECDinafinalOECDalignmentassessmentreport.However,thealignmentassessmentmethodologyandassessmenttoolsarepublicdocumentsandmaythereforealsobeusedbythirdpartiestoevaluateinitiativesagainstOECDduediligenceguidanceandrelatedcredibilitycriteria.10

WhereathirdpartyundertakesanindependentassessmenttoevaluateaninitiativeagainstOECDduediligencestandards,itisparticularlyimportantthatthepartycommissioningtheassessment:

?Considerstheskills,competenciesandexpertiseoftheassessor,frombothasubjectmatterandmethodologicalperspective,aswellaspotentialconflictsofinterest.Forexample,theassessorshouldbe:

-technicallycompetentinthesubjectmatterthatisaddressedbytheinitiativesbeingassessed

-freefromconflictsofinterest11

-abletoworkinthegeographiesinwhichtheassessedinitiativeoperates.

?Followsthismethodologydocumentandtherelevantassessmenttool,includinginrelationtothecentralroleofsite-levelshadowassessmentsandstakeholderinterviewsandconsultation(seeSections

2.3

and

4.1)

.

?Publishesataminimumthefol