Practical guide prepares companies for IRBC legislation

The so-called ‘Practical guide for companies on IRBC and OECD due diligence’ formed the basis for the annual assessment of participating companies in the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile that recently expired. This framework -assessed positively by the OECD- implements the OECD Guidelines for due diligence in a practical way through an extensive questionnaire. This means that companies identify, prevent and mitigate potential risks in their supply chain, and account for how they deal with them. The framework makes clear what a company should tackle first, why it is relevant, which tools are helpful and which organizations can help.

Prepared for legislation

The European Union presented a proposal on due diligence legislation two weeks ago and a proposal on the Corporate Social Responsibility Directive (CSRD) last year. The assessment framework helps companies to prepare for this. It takes companies step by step through the due diligence process and shows with examples how companies are already implementing this. Companies from all kinds of sectors can get started with it, because it concerns the principles of a good due diligence system according to the OECD Guidelines (see figure).