Activities of the Federal Government
The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that companies respect human rights, for example, through the 2016 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP), with a newly updated plan currently in development.
Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights
For implementation of the National Action Plan, the Federal Government has appointed an Interministerial Committee on Business and Human Rights chaired by the Federal Foreign Office. The task of this committee is to review the measures taken to implement the NAP and to advance the further development of the NAP process. Action areas to be reviewed notably include measures around the state’s duty to protect and further elaboration of the due diligence requirements, including plans for sector-specific requirements and related support. Recommendations of the National CSR Forum Working Group on Business and Human Rights are taken into account in this connection.
The Committee comprises ten ministries (the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and the Community, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development). The Federal Chancellery has observer status.
The Committee generally meets every two months. At its meetings, the ministries report in a regular cycle on the status of government projects to strengthen business and human rights as provided for in the NAP. Another of its central tasks is to initiate, support and guide the evaluation of companies’ progress in implementing the human rights due diligence elements described in the NAP (NAP monitoring and to advance the development of the revised NAP.
Subsidies
Subsidies
Subsidies always require special justification and regular assessments of their effectiveness because arrangements that benefit some at the expense of the general public usually have adverse effects in the long term. To increase the transparency of subsidisation, the pressure to justify it and the scope for controlling it, the Federal Government follows subsidy policy guidelines, which constitute a voluntary commitment undertaken by the Federal Government in connection with subsidy measures under its remit. The Guidelines from 28 January 2015 require the Federal Government to conduct sustainability assessments as part of its reporting duties.
Their focus is on weighing the impacts of measures from an environmental, economic and social perspective, paying particular attention to goal conflicts. This is based on the targets, indicators and principles of the German Sustainable Development Strategy and on the UN Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainability impact assessments consequently cover the requirements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The Federal Government will examine how companies that receive significant subsidies can be required in future to apply the due diligence elements described in the NAP.
National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines now the central grievance mechanism
The National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises was established in 2001 as an extrajudicial grievance mechanism. It is attached to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and has the task of distributing information about the OECD Guidelines, raising awareness of them and promoting compliance with them. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are a code of conduct for responsible corporate behaviour in international contexts. As part of the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, the OECD Guidelines are not legally binding.
However, they correlate with the Federal Government’s expectations for the conduct of German companies in their international activities. The Guidelines call upon enterprises to, for example, "respect the internationally recognised human rights of those affected by their activities". The NCP examines incoming complaints, with regard to insufficient respect for human rights, among other things. When a complaint falls within its purview, it offers to mediate between the parties. In the course of the implementation of the National Action Plan, the NCP will be upgraded to be the central grievance mechanism for external trade promotion projects. Enterprises wanting to make use of foreign-trade promotion instruments are required to participate in any grievance proceedings initiated against them before the German National Contact Point. Constructive participation in grievance mechanisms of the National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines may taken into account for companies’ participation in high-level ministerial visits by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).
Assistance offered to companies
The Federal Government wishes to help small and medium-sized enterprises in particular implement the comprehensive requirements and expectations for corporate due diligence in the area of human rights. It therefore supports various measures and activities through a wide range of institutions and contact points that provide information, training and advisory services on the implementation of human rights due diligence. The National CSR Forum ensures that information about what support companies need to successfully implement due diligence is continuously communicated to the Federal Government so that it can make adjustments accordingly if possible.
There is also a special award for responsible supply chain management that has been awarded as part of the Federal Government's CSR awards since 2017. The award is intended to get a learning process in companies started. Each company that participates in the competition receives an individual evaluation of its activities in the field of sustainability. Further information on the Federal Government's CSR awards can be found on the German CSR website.
More Information
Sector dialogues
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs conducts sector dialogues as part of the implementation of the National Action Plan for Business and Human Rights (NAP). The aim of these dialogues is to provide companies in sectors that are subject to particular human rights challenges with guidance and to support them in suitably implementing the NAP requirements on human rights due diligence. In this way, the dialogues contribute towards improving the human rights situation in global supply and value chains.
Further information on the sector dialogue is available in our website.
Green Button
Green Button is a government-backed certification for sustainable textiles, which provides guidance to consumers as well as public and private procurement bodies when purchasing textiles. What makes it special is that it systematically verifies whether companies are taking responsibility for upholding human rights and environmental standards within their supply chains. The five core elements of this corporate due diligence process are:
- Policy statement
- Risk analysis
- Prevention and mitigation
- Public reporting
- Grievance mechanisms and remediation
In addition to the requirements for corporate due diligence processes, there are also requirements for production processes, compliance with which is verified through recognised certification schemes. These schemes carry out on-site inspections at production facilities.
The Green Button scheme covers almost all textiles, such as clothing, rucksacks and bed linen – workwear is also included. This means it can be used in both procurement and the fashion retail sector. Already today, not only fashion and outdoor brands but also hospitals and hotels rely on it and many other companies and organisations are already sourcing Green Button-certified staff uniforms.
Textile Dialogue
The Dialogue and Impact for Sustainable Textiles (DST) was launched in 2026 as a multi-stakeholder network for sustainable textile supply chains, building on more than eleven years of joint commitment by the former “Partnership for Sustainable Textiles”. Within the framework of the network, the German Government, together with companies, associations, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, academic institutions and multi-stakeholder partnerships, is working to bring about social and environmental improvements in the textile and clothing sector across global textile supply chains. The aim is to improve environmental standards as well as living and working conditions, particularly in producer countries. Respect for human rights and operating within the Earth's ecological limits guide its actions. The work of the DST is guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Due Diligence Guidance to Promote Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Industries. Participants join forces and contribute their expertise and strengths.
Exchange and implementation
The Textile Dialogue focuses on constructive exchange and networking among a diverse range of committed stakeholders in the sector. On the digital platform and at an annual meeting, participants exchange ideas and learn from one another. On this basis, they jointly develop needs-based initiatives, working groups and projects, including cooperation activities in partner countries, to contribute to concrete improvements in conditions within the textile industry through collective measures as part of corporate due diligence processes. An additional service offered by the DST is the opportunity to collaborate on implementation initiatives that are partially funded by public bodies (subject to availability and the objectives set).
DST participants can also benefit from partner offers. Negotiated offers are based on the terms and conditions of the respective partner but are either accessible to DST participants or even available at a reduced rate. Information on these external partner offers can be found on the website and ranges from training courses and online seminars to resources in the form of tools and guides, as well as the opportunity to participate in the partners’ implementation projects.
Involvement of stakeholders from producer countries
To ensure a sustainable impact and the long-term establishment of the measures taken, stakeholders from producer countries are actively involved in the dialogues and implementation. This is achieved, for example, through the Textile Dialogue’s “Sounding Board”, which ensures the structured involvement of civil society stakeholders from producer countries in particular. Comprising technical experts from the DST participant group, the Sounding Board covers a wide range of expertise in the field of human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) and provides technical advice and support to the initiatives emerging within the DST during their development and implementation.
In November 2024, a pioneering group comprising companies, non-governmental organisations, the trade union ver.di and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development signed a joint declaration of intent to strengthen trade unions and non-governmental organisations in producer countries as legitimate representatives of rights holders and to incorporate their perspectives into due diligence processes. Last year, individual initiatives were launched in various countries. Activities and measures that contribute to the objectives of the declaration are to be further implemented within the framework of the DST.
German Initiative on Sutainable Cocoa
Cocoa is highly popular in Germany. With 430,000 tonnes in 2020, Germany is the world’s third-biggest importer of raw cocoa and also the largest exporter of chocolate products. Per-capita consumption of chocolate products in Germany was 9.2 kilograms in 2019. In some cases, however, the cocoa fruit is grown under difficult conditions. Child labour on plantations, non-living wages and discrimination against women comprise major human rights challenges in the cocoa supply chain.
Multi-stakeholder alliance for sustainable cocoa
Launched in 2012, Forum Nachhaltiger Kakao – the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa (GISCO) – is a joint initiative of the Federal Government, represented by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the German Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), the German sweets and confectionery industry, the German retail grocery trade, and civil society. GISCO currently has about 70 active members.
Its aim is to support cocoa farmers in producer countries on their way to sustainable cocoa cultivation and to bring together existing measures. These includes improving living conditions of cocoa farmers and their families and contributing to a secure living, and conserving and protecting natural resources and biodiversity in producer countries. GISCO also aims to increase the cultivation and commercialisation of cocoa produced according to sustainability standards. The target is for a share of at least 85% of cocoa in cocoa-containing end products sold by the producing members in Germany to be certified by sustainability standards or equivalently independently verified (such as with Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade certification) by the year 2025. This figure was 74 percent in 2019 and 83 in 2020.
In the long term, all cocoa in cocoa-containing end products sold in Germany is to come from sustainable cultivation (see the GISCO sustainability definition).
Working with partner countries to promote sustainable cocoa cultivation
GISCO members are committed to supporting investment in substantial and sustainable training for cocoa farmers, promoting the development and implementation of sustainable cultivation systems and eliminating abusive forms of child labour in cocoa production. In this connection, GISCO provides a platform for experience sharing and networking among members in order to further develop and apply good practices. Measures are embedded into international initiatives to help partner country governments improve production. Together with international partners, GISCO members currently have 125 projects underway in 25 cocoa producer countries. 66 of these are in Côte d’Ivoire. The latter is the world’s most important cocoa producer and the source of about 50 percent of Germany’s total raw cocoa imports. A major GISCO project is PRO-PLANTEURS, in which the Federal Government cooperates with the Côte d’Ivoire government with the aim of professionalising 30,000 cocoa farmers and their families. Women in particular are to be provided with means of improving their own income, and cocoa farming is to be made more attractive and viable again for young people.
Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil
Palm oil is ubiquitous in everyday products and has long been one of the world’s most important renewable resources, being used in food, cosmetics, detergents, candles and many industrial products. Hardly any sector of the economy can do without palm oil, as its properties make it ideal for industrial processing. However, oil palm cultivation can be problematic. Rainforests are cleared to create new land for palm oil plantations, smaller farmers are displaced, endangered species such as orangutan lose their habitat and the ground becomes polluted with pesticides.
Multi-stakeholder initiative including business, civil society and the Federal Government
In view of the ubiquitous presence of palm oil in everyday products and the questionable cultivation conditions, the Federal Government supports Forum Nachhaltiges Palmöl e.V. (the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil, or FONAP). A multi-stakeholder initiative, FONAP was launched in 2013 at the initiative of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), a number of companies, and WWF. The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) joined FONAP in 2020. FONAP is a German registered association with over 50 members including companies that process palm oil, trade associations in the food, sustainability and certification sectors, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and non-governmental organisations. All FONAP members commit to using only certified, 100 percent sustainably produced palm oil and palm kernel oil in their products.
Promotion of certified, sustainably produced palm oil in Germany
FONAP’s aim is to promote sustainable agricultural supply chains with emphasis on palm oil. A key focus is on supply chain transparency and fact-based dialogue around this commodity. Visible involvement in producer countries, conservation of biodiversity and the restoration of ecosystems are also among FONAP’s objectives. This includes strengthening local employment rights and supporting small-scale producers. FONAP currently accepts four certification schemes and aims to improve their transparency and supply chain sustainability requirements: Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC PLUS), Rainforest Alliance (RA) and Roundtable of Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). Among other things, FONAP members work for supply chain traceability to ensure that palm oil is produced in accordance with the law. They also advocate compliance with additional criteria such as doing without toxic pesticides and applying strict reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions, most of which are now covered by certification schemes or by RSPO.
Environmental and social challenges in the supply chain
According to the latest FONAP study of the palm oil market, a total of 1.26 million tonnes of palm oil were consumed in Germany in 2019, with 83 percent certified sustainable. There are still some challenges associated with oil palm cultivation, however. As oil palms only grow in a tropical climate, large areas of rainforest are often cleared for plantations and illegal slash-and-burn cultivation releases greenhouse gas emissions. Oil palm cultivation frequently also involves human rights violation, poor working conditions and social inequity. Due to their work, plantation workers and their families often live on the palm oil plantations themselves, as a result of which their children have no access to education. There are cases of indigenous peoples being evicted from their lands and small growers having to compete with local agribusinesses for water and other basic resources. How to support companies in implementing human rights due diligence is therefore a major issue for FONAP and its members.
Alongside ordinary members, companies involved in producing, processing and trading in palm oil can commit to promoting sustainable palm oil production as FONAP supporters (www.forumpalmoel.org) by increasing the proportion of certified palm oil each year in a verifiable and ambitious manner. They support members in fulfilling their voluntary commitment, including the additional criteria, and in ensuring the traceability of palm oil by engaging in dialogue with suppliers to ensure transparency and hence legality within the supply chain.
Commitment with impact
Commitment with impact With their initiative and voluntary commitment, FONAP and its members send out a clear signal to producer countries, certification schemes and the public that palm oil-consuming companies in Germany deliver on their responsibility in global supply chains and aim to improve social, economic and environmental conditions in the countries where oil palms are cultivated.
Initiative for Sustainable Supply Chains
The Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (Initiative für nachhaltige Agrarlieferketten, or INA) unites more than 70 actors from the private sector, civil society and politics. It sees itself as an open platform and works across the various supply chains. Together, the stakeholders aim to take holistic approaches in order to improve the living conditions of small-scale farmers and to add to the sustainability of agricultural supply chains around the world. INA focuses primarily on protecting natural resources and implementing a living wage.
Impacts across all commodity sectors
More than 400 million people live from the cultivation of agricultural commodities such as coffee, cocoa, bananas, palm oil or cotton. Most such commodities are cultivated in small-scale farming structures. Smallholders are thus the basis for a secure, sustainable supply of food to the world’s population. However, poverty, child labour, environmental problems and outdated cultivation methods continue to be major challenges in the cultivation of agricultural commodities.
In recent years, several commodity-specific multi-stakeholder partnerships (MAPs) have been set up to make agricultural supply chains more sustainable. Many companies are members of the relevant MAP platforms and also invest in their own sustainability programs. Certification to voluntary sustainability standards also makes an important contribution to the development of sustainable agricultural supply chains.
Low wages and incomes and deforestation nevertheless continue to be a problem. A common approach by all actors across the borders of their supply chains promises greater impact. INA works independently of individual raw materials. It is committed to the development of sustainable regions where a cross-commodity approach comes into play.
Expertise on agricutural commodities
INA has many years of expertise in individual commodities, including coffee, cocoa, banana, palm oil and natural rubber. Its cross-commodity orientation also means it has expertise on various cross-cutting issues. These include deforestation-free supply chains, living wages and digitalisation.
Through close interaction with commodity-specific multi-stakeholder partnerships – such as the German Initiative on Sustainable Cocoa and the Forum for Sustainable Palm Oil – INA creates synergies to effectively combat deforestation and low wages and incomes.
Action and knowledge community
As a multi-stakeholder partnership, INA performs various functions for stakeholders. It is both a knowledge community and a network. To this end, it operates through various formats, including INA workshops, podcasts and regular newsletters. In all of these formats, topical issues of relevance to sustainable supply chains are presented in a practice-oriented manner and made available to the INA network. As well as working with private-sector and civil society stakeholders, INA also makes use of its expertise in communication with consumers. INA raises awareness and provides information on issues related to sustainable consumption in social media channels and campaigns with influencers.
Support in readiness for the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains
Following the adoption of the Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichengesetz – LkSG), INA plans a wide range of support for interested stakeholders. This includes a series of events presenting various tools and resources to help companies meet their human rights due diligence obligations. The events take place in a one-hour lunch break format on the first Friday of each month. They also go beyond the legislation in Germany and anticipate potential new stipulations at international and EU level that could result in additional requirements. A further focus is on the agribusiness and food sector. There will also be webinars for stakeholders in partner countries on the importance of legislative measures for provenance in agricultural supply chains.
Building local alliances
Aside from these formats, INA also supports the establishment of local alliances and collaborations through its network. Numerous projects have arisen as a result of this since its launch. In Rwanda, for example, INA is working to digitalise the supply chain of a speciality coffee grown solely by Rwandan women. INATrace, the open-source blockchain solution used for this purpose, enables the coffee to be traced all the way back to producers. The fact that the coffee is traceable significantly enhances its market potential and value. That in turn leads to higher incomes for the women producing it.
Another INA project underway since the summer of 2019, Sustainability and Value Added in Agricultural Supply Chains in Ethiopia (SUVASE), focuses on a previously neglected commodity: beeswax. The main crop grown in the Woreda Nono Sale region of Ethiopia is coffee, but many of the smallholder families practice beekeeping in parallel, and some also grow spices. New sales markets are now to be opened thanks to the open and active cooperation of major wax and coffee companies within INA. This enables smallholder families to improve their incomes from the sale of different commodities.
More success stories can be found on the INA website. INA operates without formal membership and is always open to interested stakeholders who wish to work together across commodities. Contact INA at any time: ina@giz.de
Partnerships 2030
Through the Partnerships 2030 project, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development provides information, training and advice on partnership-based cooperation. In a multi-stakeholder partnership, stakeholders from at least three different sectors, government, business, civil society and academia, cooperate on an equal footing in an organised and long-term manner to achieve common goals. The initiatives in the textile and agricultural sectors are examples of such partnerships.
Further examples, ideas and support are available on the Partnerschaften2030 website.