19th November 2025
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth today led the Responsible Business Compass kick-off event at Fifteen George’s Quay, Dublin. The event, organised by Sisk and IPUT in collaboration with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, brought together business leaders and policymakers to explore Ireland’s evolving sustainability regulation landscape.
At the event, Minister Smyth launched a public consultation on the new Responsible Business Compass — an online pilot tool designed to help Irish businesses, particularly SMEs, understand and comply with sustainability-related EU Regulations and Directives.
Funded by the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI), the Compass consolidates nine key EU Regulations and Directives related to sustainability and responsible business practices. It aims to provide structured guidance on compliance obligations while connecting businesses to relevant supports offered by government departments and agencies.
The project is being developed by the OECD, in cooperation with the European Commission, to deliver a comprehensive report and pilot tool for Irish enterprises.
Minister Smyth said:
“The Responsible Business Compass reflects the Government’s ongoing commitment to helping businesses — particularly SMEs — operate responsibly and competitively in a changing regulatory environment. This initiative gives companies the opportunity to get ahead of EU requirements, strengthen supply chain resilience, and deliver responsibly sourced goods and services. I encourage all businesses to take part in the consultation now open on our department’s website.”
Speaking for the European Commission, Judit Rozsa, Director Technical Support Instrument (TSI) SG REFORM said:
“The European Union has taken significant steps in recent years — particularly under the European Green Deal — to support sustainability, due diligence and the circular economy… Achieving the right balance between sustainability, competitiveness and burden reduction requires smart design and collaboration — and this is exactly the ambition of the Responsible Business Compass.”
“We are seeing accelerating demand globally for this type of support to help business navigate today’s regulatory landscape on sustainability and responsible business conduct”, said Allan Jorgensen, Head of the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct. “Last month, 68 governments from around the world joined us for the second meeting of the OECD’s Inclusive Platform on Due Diligence Policy Cooperation, where we discussed global solutions to promote policy coherence, reduce complexity and costs for business, and scale effective tools and support. Ireland’s initiative is a great example to build on.”
Nadim Ahmad, Deputy Director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, said:
“For more than 40 years, the OECD has provided analysis, guidance and recommendations to help businesses of all sizes adopt responsible practices. The Responsible Business Compass will allow us to put that experience to work for Ireland’s SMEs - making it easier to navigate requirements and get on with doing business responsibly. We look forward to working with the Irish Government, the European Commission and the business community to deliver this exciting project.”
The public consultation is open for four weeks on the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment website. Feedback from stakeholders will inform the final development of the Compass ICT tool, which will later be made available via the departmental website and the National Enterprise Hub.
Notes to Editor
Overview of the RB Compass project
In 2023, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment were successful in their Technical Support Instrument (TSI) request for EU support for a project to create a Responsible Business Compass. The purpose of the project is to assist both policy makers and businesses (including SMEs) better understand the regulatory landscape on responsible business conduct. The Compass, once developed, will provide readily available and accessible information for policymakers and businesses. The OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities and the OECD Centre for Responsible Business Conduct have agreed to carry out the initial phase of the project on behalf of DETE and SG Reform, which will inform a future Compass.
Overview of the TSI project in Ireland
Markets and regulators are increasingly requiring businesses to act more responsibly in their activities and along global value chains (GVCs). Following the European Green Deal announcement that ambitions to make the EU climate-neutral by 2050, the European Commission has developed a package of sustainability measures, with more than 100 associated pieces of legislation concluded or in negotiation.
The new EU legislative landscape sets specific responsible business conduct obligations in respect of companies’ products, operations and supply chains, active in the Single Market. National policy support measures are also emerging and often overlap. Business compliance can impact global integration in GVCs and competitiveness, while not all firms are on an even field for coping with regulatory complexity.
In the context of the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), the EU programme offering tailored technical expertise to support Member States to design and implement reforms, this project aims to address these concerns by supporting Ireland’s development of a tool for Irish policy makers and businesses, notably SMEs to navigate relevant EU legislation and national policy support, promote Corporate Social Responsibility/Responsible Business Conduct (CSR/RBC) and due diligence in GVCs, streamline administrative burden for businesses, and improve policy coherence and business uptake of government support. The tool will also identify synergies and risks of duplication, e.g. in reporting and requirements, and in coordinating policy action across Departments and levels of government.
DETE, the OECD and the European Commission hosted a workshop in October 2025 where policy makers from relevant Departments and agencies in the Irish government were invited to discuss the results of the legislative and policy mappings, understand the interconnectivity of the policy initiatives they are responsible for, and how to increase clarity, consistency and compliance.
Details of the 19th November Event
The kick-off event will bring together Irish policy makers and representative groups from industry, business associations, and the business sector at large to test the results of the legislative and policy mappings and collect feedback on the desirable features of a future Responsible Business Compass.
The all-day event will take place at Fifteen George’s Quay (D02 VR98). The morning session held at expert-level will aim to present the key findings of the Project and explore critical issues. Business and community participants will be invited to raise questions and share ideas on what the future Responsible Business Compass could look like. The high-level afternoon session will officially launch the developments of the Responsible Business Compass with interventions from high-level representatives from Ireland’s government, the European Commission and the OECD, and the business and broader communities.
Overview of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct
The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct (referred to as the Guidelines) are the most comprehensive government-backed instrument for the promotion of Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). They provide non-binding principles and recommendations for all areas of business conduct.
Governments adhering to the Guidelines are required to set up a National Contact Point (NCP) to promote the Guidelines and related due diligence guidance and to address complaints made under the Guidelines (these are referred to as “specific instances”). These complaints are addressed through a non-judicial grievance mechanism which offers parties a means to resolve issues through mediation. The Ireland NCP is a standalone Unit in the Department.
ENDS
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