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Responsible business and human rights

Responsible business and social sustainability are more important than ever. We provide a wide scope of services relating to responsible business conduct, including in respect of the Norwegian Transparency Act, CSDDD, international instruments such as the UNGP and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and other similar legal frameworks and legislation.

Human rights and social sustainability is one of the main areas of responsible business conduct. This is no longer just a matter of voluntary "nice-to-haves". The expectation that companies should consider and mitigate the risk of their business adversely impacting human rights is now firmly established in international standards, corporate policies and, increasingly, in domestic laws and regulations.  

Recent years have seen new legislation – in Norway, Europe and the rest of the world – requiring corporations to respect human rights, underpinned by mandatory human rights due diligence in companies' supply chains and own operations. This is a clear trend in an area where there are ever-increasing demands and expectations. 

Our team assists companies in their efforts to comply with legal requirements in this area in a risk based, practical and solution-oriented manner. At the same time, we have experience and expertise to support those wishing to go even further in complying with best practises and international expectations, for instance to ensure long-term value creation and a more sustainable future.  

We offer

  • Strategic advice in case of investments or operations in high risk countries  
  • Advice relating to compliance with the Norwegian Transparency Act, including the due diligence requirement, the reporting obligation and responding to information requests  
  • Integrity Due Diligence (IDD) of business partners with seamless cooperation with local advisors in relevant jurisdictions
  • Advice relating to sustainability reporting, including social sustainability   
  • Advice relating to the UK Modern Slavery Act  
  • Advice and investigations in the assessment of whether a business may be at risk of contributing to a breach of fundamental human rights or decent working conditions  
  • Developing processes to ensure a responsible supply chain 
  • Designing a framework, questionnaires and codes of conduct to ensure a responsible supply chain  
  • Designing supplier codes of conduct and tailored supplier declarations 
  • Supply chain human rights due diligence risk mapping   
  • A multijurisdictional approach aiming to ease the compliance burden for international corporations that are subject not only to the Norwegian Transparency Act but also CSDDD (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive) and similar legislation in other countries 
  • Advice to facilitate best practice compliance, including compliance with relevant international guidelines and frameworks such as the UN Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Compliance Update

In our Compliance Update we provide our readers with information and updates on current topics in ethics, compliance and crisis management. Enjoyable reading!

Read our latest Compliance Update here

Awards
2024
Tier 1
Legal 500 – Regulatory, Compliance and Investigations
2024
Band 1
Chambers and Partners – Corporate Compliance & Investigations

Read our articles on Responsible business and human rights

01/11/2024

WR ESG Alert: Norway commits to implement CBAM, while the first penalty under the Transparency Act is imposed

In this month's ESG alert, we highlight the first infringement penalty imposed under the Transparency Act, the implementation of the EU CSRD into Norwegian law, the Norwegian government's decision to implement CBAM into Norwegian law, EU restrictions on a sub-group of PFAS chemicals, and the latest decision from the Borgarting Court of Appeal regarding an injunction appeal from two environmental organisations.

17/10/2024

First infringement penalty for failing to comply with the Transparency Act – and it bites!

The Norwegian Consumer Authority has on 25 September 2024 issued what appears to be the first infringement penalty for a failure to comply with the Norwegian Transparency Act. For not responding to two information requests on time, the Authority has imposed a penalty on a retail company of 450,000 NOK.

27/09/2024

WR ESG Alert: An autumn of public consultations to further sustainability

In this month's ESG alert we describe three recently published public consultations in Norway, relating to (i) a revised CO2 compensation scheme, (ii) amendments to sustainability reporting in auditor and accounting regulations and (iii) the EU's recent Regulation on reduction of methane emissions in the energy sector.

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