Belgium’s lead office for promoting business sustainability – the National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct (NCP) – is well set up to conduct its mandate and, with notable expertise of NCP staff driving this agenda on behalf of the Ministry of Economy, including involvement in recent EU negotiations of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The NCP nevertheless faces ongoing challenges relating to visibility, resources, and stakeholder engagement to drive forward greater impact, according to a new peer review by the OECD.
This latest OECD review finds that the Belgian NCP has made significant efforts in carrying out its principal missions – promoting the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the Guidelines) and addressing complaints brought against companies, although recent years have shown a decrease in activity. To ensure continued effectiveness, all NCPs must undertake periodic peer reviews. The Chair of the NCP, Renaat Schrooten, commented that “The peer review was a very valuable and insightful exercise. It provided constructive feedback and practical ideas on how we can further strengthen our work and continue improving our effectiveness for all stakeholders.”
The Belgian NCP’s institutional set up brings together government, business, and trade unions, providing access to expertise and senior leadership. Stakeholders appreciate this “tripartite” structure. However, stakeholders have not always been sufficiently engaged, with access to civil society proving particularly challenging, as civil society is not represented in the NCP membership. Staff and financial resource constraints have further hampered the NCP’s ability to proactively carry out its responsibilities under the Guidelines. The NCP has seen a notable decrease in complaint submissions in recent years, despite success in past case-handling.
Belgium’s second National Action Plan (NAP) on Business and Human Rights (2024–2029) has strengthened the country’s policy framework on responsible business conduct. The NCP supported the development of the NAP, which includes specific articles referencing the NCP. While the NCP benefits from structural links to government actors, engagement, particularly at the regional level of government, is not always consistent.
According to the review, the NCP has delivered fewer events and other promotional activity since 2020, dropping periodic civil‑society meetings required by the NCP’s internal regulations for several years. Although the NCP maintains a trilingual website and benefits from structural access to diverse stakeholders willing to collaborate, limited strategic promotion and stakeholder engagement have contributed to reduced visibility and low case submissions. There were some notable contributing factors to this decrease in activity considering circumstances linked to Covid-19, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council, and staffing.
The peer review recommends that the Belgian NCP:
- Ensures sufficient access to expertise and engagement with all stakeholder groups, in particular civil society;
- Promotes RBC strategically for the Belgian context, ensuring the effective use of resources;
- Revise the case-handling procedures to further align with the Guidelines;
- Further disseminate the Guidelines, NCP, and related RBC issues to other government actors;
- Engage further with regional authorities on RBC-related activities.
The NCPs of Mauritius and Sweden led this peer review. Belgium is invited to report on follow up on these recommendations to the OECD by December 2026.
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (the Guidelines) are the most comprehensive international standard to align activities of business with the needs of society. The Guidelines are backed by 52 governments in the OECD and beyond, which are required to establish a National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct, a unique domestic body to promote the Guidelines and resolve cases brought against companies as a non-judicial grievance mechanism. To ensure continued effectiveness, all NCPs must undertake periodic peer reviews.
For further information, please contact: RBC@oecd.org
