Dutch International Responsible Business Conduct agreement for the Metals Sector
The International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) Agreement for the Metals Sector is a Dutch framework that helps metals companies assess and improve how they manage human rights, environmental, and governance risks in their global supply chains.
What You Need to Know
Date of Adoption:
23-May-19
Purpose:
A Dutch multi-stakeholder framework helping metals companies implement responsible sourcing and due diligence throughout global supply chains, aligned with OECD Guidelines and UN Guiding Principles.
Process:
› Risk Identification & Assessment: Companies collect and analyse data to identify and prioritise supply chain risks and human rights or environmental violations.
› Heat Map & Action Plan: Each company develops a heat map of key risk hotspots and prepares an action plan using a shared template and agreed timeline.
Scoring:
A maturity-assessment tool tracks company progress and benchmarks due diligence performance over the five-year implementation period.
Current Status:
In 2024, the Agreement launched a Due Diligence Risk Matrix to help companies quickly identify and prioritise human rights and environmental risks across 39 key metals.
The Agreement concluded in 2024 after its initial five-year term. Following the final evaluation, partners are developing a “Metals Agreement 2.0”
More about this regulations
Issued by
Netherlands
Isadora Costa
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