Digitalisation and responsible business conduct

Abstract

The digital economy has had a profound impact on society, including the global business landscape and market dynamics. New phenomena such as online platforms, social media, distributed ledger technology (such as blockchain), big data and online service providers affect business models and our understanding of what a “business” is. The links between digitalisation and Responsible Business conduct (RBC) are manifold. New digital tools can help firms accelerate their contribution to sustainable development, and enable businesses to strengthen their efforts to meet standards of RBC. At the same time, digitalisation can also cause business to violate human rights, or contribute to social and environmental harms in new ways. This paper discusses the links between RBC and digitalisation. It aslo summarises the key issues and findings emerging from the stocktaking and analysis of current initiatives.