The National Contact Point (NCP) promotes the observance of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprise on Responsible Business Conduct and discusses with the parties concerned all relevant issues so as to contribute to the resolution of any problems which might arise.
The OECD Guidelines are legally non-binding recommendations on responsible business conduct addressed by the governments of the 38 OECD member states as well as a dozen other states to multinational enterprises operating in or from their territories. They apply wherever multinational companies are involved in business activities. Each participating state is obliged to set up a National Contact Point, which is assigned the following duties:
- Raise awareness of the OECD Guidelines
- Promote the implementation
- Be available to advise in case of questions and queries as a platform for dialogue or informal mediator
- Collaborate and exchange information with other NCPs
- Submit annual reports on its activities during the annual meeting of NCPs at the OECD
The NCP and the OECD Guidelines are a central reference in the Federal Council's CSR Action Plan 2020-2023 (see in particular measures 1, 2, 4, 5 and 16).
The Swiss government has commissioned an analysis of the implementation of due diligence procedures for responsible business conduct by Swiss companies. Click here for the results of the study (PDF, 12 MB, 01.12.2023).
Under the motto "Solutions for responsible business conduct", SECO State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda, Prof. Christine Kaufmann, company representatives and stakeholders from business, NGOs, trade unions and academia discussed the updated OECD Guidelines at the NCP event on 30 November 2023.
