Strategic use of the OECD’s paper “Responsible Business Conduct for a Just Transition: Protecting workers, communities and consumers in the low-carbon transition”
In May 2026, the OECD published a new paper on responsible business conduct for the just transition. This guide is intended to help civil society organisations use the OECD’s paper effectively and strategically. It explains how the paper fits within the wider responsible business conduct framework, highlights the strongest expectations it sets out for companies, and identifies where it falls short. It also provides practical guidance on how civil society can use it impactfully in engagement with impactede communities and companies, policy advocacy, and complaints to National Contact Points (NCPs).
The OECD paper highlights several areas where companies must apply responsible business conduct to ensure their transition strategies are fair and socially responsible. This guide summarises the key expectations for companies emerging from the paper and the broader OECD RBC framework, including:
- Climate and environmental responsibilities
- Social impacts of the transition
- Meaningful stakeholder engagement
- Indigenous Peoples’ rights
- Benefit-sharing models
- Workers’ rights
- Responsible disengagement
The guide also explores four key ways that the OECD paper could be used for accountability and advocacy. These are: engaging with companies; raising community awareness; advocating for stronger laws and policies; and filing complaints. The guide explains how civil society can effectively use the new OECD paper, in conjunction with existing international standards, to strengthen corporate accountability campaigns related to the just transition.
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