Bottoms up? OECD Guidelines and the race to the bottom or to the top

20 June 2018 - After 12 years of active engagement with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and since 2013 as the chairman of the coordinating Working Party for Responsible Business Conduct, Dr. Roel Nieuwenkamp was offered a Liber Amicorum on the occasion of his farewell from this position at the OECD in Paris. The Liber Amicorum, with prefaces from the OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, and from the Director-General for Foreign Economic Relations of the Netherlands, Marten van den Berg, was written by an authoritative group of academic thought leaders, all of whom are actively involved in the practice and development of the OECD Guidelines. The Liber Amicorum, “a glass half full”, offers a wide-ranging and comprehensive message to governments, business, trade unions, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to collectively widen and deepen the adherence and practice of the OECD Guidelines worldwide. Themes addressed include linkage with the sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, as well increasing the effectiveness of the Guidelines. The Liber was presented to Roel Nieuwenkamp on the occasion of the 6th Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct.