Italy

I. Statement of Commitment [page 5]

(…)Encourage companies, also in view of the updating of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, in line with the commitments undertaken with the Agenda 2030 and the role that the private sector will be called to play in its implementation, to voluntarily commit themselves at national, regional and international level to prevent and redress potential human rights adverse impacts; and to realise the goal of a decent work for all, as set out in SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth); and to enhance the use of indicators of quality, sustainable development, equality and gender.

III. Government expectation towards business [page 9]

The Italian Government recognises the importance of supporting voluntary approaches of human rights respect and promotion by business as fundamental ways towards the growing of new corporate cultures and strategies inspired by social values and sustainable principles. This is particularly true with reference to Agenda 2030 and to the role that business is called to play in the SDGs implementation.

In line with the principles set out in the II Pillar of the UNGPs, and as recalled by the CoE Recommendation (2016/3), enterprises are called to respect human rights by conducting their economic activities both within national borders and abroad in a manner to prevent and avoid any potential direct or indirect human rights negative impact, internally (both to direct employees and to those involved in the supply chains) and externally (environment, community members, consumers). According to the ‘Responsibility to Respect’, in order to prevent and avoid negative human rights impacts enterprises have to conduct processes aimed at preventing the risk of causing (or contributing to) adverse human rights impact and at adopting specific measures able to mitigate eventual harmful consequences.

Companies are thus expected to: i) establish a human rights policy; ii) set up and implement due diligence processes to identify, assess and prevent any potential human rights risks which could be incurred in across their operations and activities (or business partners or suppliers’); iii) provide for mechanisms of grievance allowing reparation to victims of abuses they may have caused or contributed to, or with which they are directly linked to. In conducting this activity, which allows to foresee and avoid potential negative human right impact on individuals and communities, companies should refer at a minimum to internationally recognized human rights, as expressed in the International Bill of Human Rights and those set out in the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Right at Work and the ILO Tripartite Declaration on Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy. Furthermore, depending on circumstances, companies may want to consider additional international instruments and standards (such as the international humanitarian law in case of conflicts or other UN human rights treaties).

To this framework, it is important to add the need of disclosure of non-financial information (in this regard, Italy is also intervening with the transposition of the EU 95/2014) and the existence of remarkable standards such as the UNGP Reporting Framework, the OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises and the Tripartite ILO Declaration, as well as other recognized European and International frameworks and standards such as Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), the UN Global Compact, ISO26000 and the Global Reporting Initiative.

IV. Government responses

Current Activities and Future Commitments [page 11]

A. Foundational Principles

Guiding Principle 2

Enterprises domiciled and/or operating in Italy must respect human rights throughout all their activities: the respect of fundamental human rights is a cornerstone of the economic activities as well, carried out either by public or private companies. Art. 41 of the Italian Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of economic activity, states indeed that it may not be carried out against the fulfilment of social purposes or in a way that may jeopardise or harm fundamental rights and freedoms and human safety.

Italian Government expects then that business enterprises comply with all domestic legislation, which includes – among others – specific provisions regarding the right to form association and trade unions, the right to equal treatment and social security, the protection of the employees, consumers and environment. Economic activities should also be carried out in compliance with all recognized international instruments on human rights, such as the International Bill of Human Rights, the Fundamental ILO Conventions (in this regard, the Government supports projects in the framework of G7 and G20 meetings that are aimed at integrating ILO regulations within the fundamental rights at work), the UNGPs and the OECD Guidelines.

As to OECD, the Italian Government – through its OECD NCP – gives particular attention to due diligence and responsible supply chain management, also through multi-stakeholder initiatives. The Italian Government endorsed the G7 Declaration including the commitments related to sustainable supply chains. On the occasion of the Meeting of the G7 Employment and Development Ministers (Berlin, 12-13 October 2015) the “Action for Fair Production” initiative was approved by Ministers in order to foster sustainable global supply chain management in compliance with the internationally recognised labour, social, and environmental standards of the United Nations, the OECD and the ILO.

To this purpose, Italy will proactively support the NAP implementation by the private sector through the full development of the human rights dimension by engaging in an on-going dialogue with businesses, trade unions, non-governmental organisations, and representatives of civil society.