Asia Society Policy Institute

Recommendations addressed by governments to multinational enterprises that are operating in or from adhering countries. A list of these countries can be found here.

Offers nonbinding principles and standards to further economic, environmental, and social progress and encourage responsible business conduct consistent with host countries’ laws and internationally recognized standards.

Developers and Contractors (originally, "multinational enterprises”) should:

• Abide by host countries’ laws and regulations related to environmental and social risks and impacts.
• Contribute to economic, environmental, and social progress in host countries.

Developers and Contractors should:

• Disclose accurate information about their activities, structure, performance, ownership, governance, and financial situation in a timely manner.
• Engage in communication and consultation with relevant stakeholders, including affected local communities, employees, customers, and suppliers.
  • Incorporate stakeholders’ views on various issues, such as a project’s environmental, health, and safety policies, into project planning and decision-making.
• Provide the public and their workers with adequate, measurable, and verifiable information in a timely manner on each project’s potential environmental, health, and safety impacts.
• Ensure meaningful employment negotiations by providing information to workers’ representatives.
• Promote consultation and cooperation with workers and their representatives on matters of mutual concern. These may include standards of employment, industrial relations, wages, benefits, and working conditions.
• Employ local workers and provide them training to improve their skills as much as possible.
• Provide workers with adequate education and training in environmental health and safety (H&S) matters.

Developers and Contractors should:

• Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts but address them if they occur.
  • Undertake due diligence scaled to the scope of operations and the severity of human rights risks.
• Establish and maintain a system of environmental management that includes the following:
  • The collection and evaluation of adequate information about their activities’ environmental, health, and safety impacts in a timely manner.
  • The establishment of measurable objectives and targets to track environmental performance.
  • The consistent monitoring and verification of progress toward these objectives or targets.
• Maintain contingency plans for preventing, mitigating, and managing serious environmental and health damage.
• Establish mechanisms for immediate reporting on serious environmental and health damages to competent authorities.