The Norwegian Transparency Act

The Transparency Act is a shorter name for the “Act on business transparency and work with basic human rights and decent working conditions” which came into law on 1st of July 2022.

The purpose of the Act is to “promote businesses’ respect for basic human rights and decent working conditions in connection with the production of goods and the provision of services, and to ensure the public has access to information about how businesses deal with negative consequences for basic human rights and decent working conditions.”

The law is based on the OECD’s guidelines for multinational companies. The OECD’s guidelines for multinational companies are recommendations from the OECD countries to promote responsible business in all sectors. The guidelines set expectations for businesses in areas such as human rights, employee rights, the environment, tax, anti-corruption, competition law, consumer interests and transparency. The guidelines expect businesses to carry out due diligence assessments (risk assessments), and further that measures be taken to preserve the environment, respect human rights, safeguard employee rights and avoid corruption in any form.

In the Northcom group, we are concerned with being a responsible social actor and welcomes the Norwegian Transparency Act and takes the obligations posed by this legislation seriously.

Further reading