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Multistakeholder initiatives: Limits and conditions from the point of view of civil society

Position paper from NGO. In order to strengthen the responsibility of German companies for the environment and human rights, the Federal Government has for many years relied on so-called multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) instead of statutory regulation. The National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights, adopted by the Federal Government in December 2016, as well as the 2030 Agenda, rely on further industry dialogues or multi-stakeholder partnerships to promote human rights due diligence and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. MSI, however, is extremely time-consuming and resource-intensive for all parties involved and the results often fall short of the requirements of international standards. It is therefore important to weigh very carefully the conditions under which multistakeholder initiatives can make sense.

In a new position paper, the CorA network, the Forum for Human Rights, the Forum for Environment and Development, VENRO and the German Consumer Association (Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband) set out which framework conditions and criteria of bindingness, transparency and verification must at least be met for MSI in order for it to make a meaningful contribution to strengthening corporate responsibility.

Scope: 8 pages
Reference: free of charge for download