Publications

The OECD released its inaugural Responsible Business Outlook 2026: Making Commitments Count on 30 June 2026. The report provides the first global assessment of how companies practice responsible business conduct and how governments promote it through public policies. It was published to mark the 50th anniversary of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (MNE Guidelines), the leading international standard for how companies and investors should address their impacts on people, the planet, and society.

Key Findings

1. The report analyzes publicly disclosed information from the 10,000 largest listed companies globally and reviews government policies across 52 countries that adhere to the MNE Guidelines. OECD
2. More than two-thirds of the world's largest listed companies have committed to responsible business conduct, but implementation is lagging behind these commitments. 
3. Commitments related to corruption and greenhouse gas emissions are the most common, followed by forced labour, child labour, and human rights, while less than half of large listed companies have commitments to freedom of association and only a quarter to biodiversity. 
4. More than one-third of large listed companies have a cross-cutting commitment to responsible business conduct spanning all social topics as well as GHG emissions and corruption. 
5. The report highlights what governments can do to help companies turn commitments into action, including providing practical support for risk-based due diligence in supply chains, promoting better reporting and tracking, improving the evidence base on policy impact, and cooperating on due diligence policies to reduce complexity across jurisdictions. 
6. The OECD also supports a global network of National Contact Points (NCPs), which promote responsible business conduct with businesses and other stakeholders, serve as non-judicial grievance mechanisms for cases of alleged non-observance of the OECD Guidelines, and support government policy efforts on RBC.

1.  Read more: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2026/06/oecd-responsible-business-outlook-2026_e1db7f05.html