Third yearly progress report International RBC Agreement Renewable Energy Sector: Charged Together For Change
In the Agreement, wind and solar energy companies, industry associations, trade unions, civil society organisations, knowledge institutions and the Dutch government work together with the aim of promoting international responsible business conduct (IRBC) in the renewable energy sector.
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This is done by jointly identifying human rights, environmental and biodiversity risks in the value chain and taking action to address them, for example through collective projects.
Accelerating the use of renewable energy is key to achieving global goals for a green and sustainable economy. However, producing, installing and deploying the renewable energy technologies involve risks for people, nature and biodiversity. The supply chains of such green technologies are complex and often lack the necessary transparency to enable the effective identification and mitigation of the associated impacts.
The Agreement is growing
Three years ago, The International Responsible Business Conduct Agreement for the Renewable Energy Sector was launched to address and prevent risks of human rights abuses and environmental damage in value chains. Today a total of 65 companies, industry associations, governments, knowledge institutions and NGOs are working together to achieve this and set responsible business conduct as a firm standard in the sector.
It is clear that the initiative has gained traction. The number of participating organisations continues to grow, and the assessments show that companies are steadily improving the way they organise their responsible business conduct processes. In both wind and solar sectors, we see companies gaining a better understanding of where the risks in their value chains lie and how they can take responsibility for addressing them.
Charged Together For Change
During the third year of the Agreement, the parties focused on piloting due diligence tools developed in previous years, implemented impact projects, and exchanged knowledge and expertise. In the third year five key results were delivered: Progress in due diligence, growth in numbers, risk assessments and research, a mid-term evaluation by KU Leuven and various collective actions.
Looking forward
“In the coming year we will continue to face the challenge of making full use of the collective strength of this Agreement. The foundations are in place. Now is the time to translate this collaboration more consistently into concrete societal impact. Let us take that step together”, says Kees Vendrik, Chair of the International RBC Agreement for the Renewable Energy Sector.