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Homepage Basics International frameworks: guides for global business

International frameworks

Guardrails for global economic activity

How can responsibility and sustainability be embedded in a global economy? The answer to this question is provided by international guidelines, which serve as the foundation of the global debate on corporate social responsibility (CSR).

All aspects of doing business - procurement, production and sales - are part of globally interconnected structures, often putting them outside the reach of exclusively national legislation. How can we then make sure that in such a world the profit of one person is not made at the expense of others? To this end, international organisations have developed guidelines that offer globally active companies guidance and are designed to ensure that social and environmental responsibility are taken into account.

UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Human rights are at the heart of the debate, and so is the question of which tools can be deployed to make sure that they are respected. This is where the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights that the Human Rights Council of the United Nations adopted in 2011 come into play. The Guiding Principles are based on three pillars:

  1. the state's duty to protect
  2. corporate responsibility
  3. access to remedy

The first pillar describes the obligation of states to actively contribute to preventing human rights violations by companies, while the second pillar deals directly with the responsibilities of companies themselves.

The UN Guiding Principles provide, for the first time, an international framework for business and human rights that sets out clearly the obligations and responsibilities of states and companies. According to these principles, states bear the responsibility for protecting human rights. The state's duty to protect cannot be transferred to other societal stakeholders. The UN Guiding Principles delineate where governments have to fulfil their duty to protect with special care with a view to economic activity and in which policy areas they are equipped with tools to improve human right standards in global markets.

At the same time, the Guiding Principles emphasize that companies also bear a social responsibility to respect human rights. Their actions can impact human rights positively as well as negatively. Negative impacts are especially likely if states don’t fulfil their duty to protect at the local level, leading to violations of fundamental labour, social and environmental standards. Therefore, companies are obliged to establish management procedures to meet their due diligence obligations related to human rights and to avoid, minimise or mitigate risks. The elements of this due diligence are outlined clearly in the UN Guiding Principles and constitute its core. States in turn are obliged to establish the framework conditions for companies to be able to meet their due diligence obligations and put them into practice. All countries that have accepted the UN Guiding Principles are obliged to draw up National Action Plans for its implementation. In doing so, they should consider, in line with the Guiding Principles, a "smart mix" of national and international, binding and voluntary measures to promote respect for human rights by companies.

The Federal Government has developed a National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights, which is based on the Guiding Principles.

Corporate Social Responsibility

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises offer a comprehensive code of conduct designed to provide multinational enterprises with guidance and support in their interactions with trade unions and in the areas of environmental protection, the fight against corruption and respect of the interests of consumers. The Guidelines also contain recommendations on foreign investment and cooperation with foreign suppliers. They were last updated in 2023.

The Guidelines were developed by the OECD member states in cooperation with companies, trade unions and civil society as recommendations for companies. Their application is voluntary. However, the States Parties are obliged to promote the Guidelines, the only multilaterally agreed, comprehensive code for corporate social responsibility. National Contact Points (NCPs) ensure the implementation of the Guidelines. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy acts as Germany's NCP. Here you will find more information about the NCPs tasks.

The ILO's social standards

The International Labour Organization (ILO), which was founded in 1919, aims to introduce minimum social standards around the world. The idea behind these efforts is to prevent companies from gaining competitive advantages by violating workers' rights.

The mission and the actions of the ILO are based on four basic principles:

  • Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
  • Elimination of forced labour
  • Abolition of child labour
  • Prohibition of discrimination in respect to employment and occupation

These fundamental principles have been set out in eight conventions to date. Collectively, they are known as the core labour standards. In 1998, all member states adopted the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. It stresses that "social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace". To date, 142 ILO members states, among them Germany, have ratified all the core labour standards.

The tripartite declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy constitutes the basis for the actions of the ILO's member states. It deals with all ILO guidelines "enhancing the positive social and labour effects of the operations and governance of MNEs". The principles aim to serve as guidelines for multinational enterprises (MNEs) as well as for companies, governments, employers' and workers' organisations. All in all, the declaration contains 68 rules for the following areas:

  • Employment
  • Training
  • Conditions of work and life
  • Industrial relations

Here you can find the Declaration of Principles in twelve different languages.

The UN Global Compact

The UN Global Compact is an international network of companies that have committed themselves to aligning their operations with ten globally applicable principles on human rights, labour, the environment and fighting corruption. For companies this includes taking on responsibility for respecting human rights – also within supply chains –, implementing labour standards in developing and emerging markets, pursuing measurable environmental goals and actively fighting corruption.

The ten Global Compact principles are derived from four key international agreements: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO's Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and the UN Convention against Corruption.

Adherence to these principles benefits not only the markets and society as a whole, but also the members of the UN Global Compact. With their voluntary commitments, they are contributing directly to a stable environment for their business activities. More than 25,250 companies and organisations from civil society, policy making and academic communities in more than 170 countries have already joined the initiative to make the vision of corporate social responsibility a reality. Members exchange experiences in national networks and develop concrete solutions for a contribution of business to sustainable development in the form of strategy papers, guidelines and instruments.

Basic principles for corporate social responsibility (CSR)

The guidelines provide companies with guidance on the challenges associated with corporate social responsibility and what policy makers and the public expect of them. They include specialised material on reporting or guidelines for individual economic sectors. Especially guidelines with a comprehensive approach to CSR, such as ISO 26000 or the German Sustainability Code, refer to the key, internationally recognised standards listed in this article, when it comes to delivering on the crucial areas of action.

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