INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PAGES law, which requires very large French companies and other companies with a substantial presence in France to publish and implement a “vigilance plan”and account for how they address human rights impacts in their global op- erations. Enforcement The responsibility and mechanisms for enforcing legal compliance varies sub- stantially across jurisdictions. Broadly and across legislation, formal monitor- ing and evaluation efforts are general- ly limited and not all laws include an active enforcement of the competent authority. Non-governmental organisa- tions often play a role in informal mon- itoring on implementation by business- es. There are a number of differences on purpose, monitoring and enforce- ment of legislation, but they can be generally classified by type of penal- ty.chains in the garment and footwear sector, business members pointed to policy coherence on mandatory due diligence expectations as one of their top con- cerns. In addition to the above, where flexibility is not adequately integrated, legisla- tion lead to derisking through disengagement from particular sourcing coun- tries, by companies or to reporting a bare minimum in order to avoid legal liabilities. The best means of monitoring and enforcing legislation also remains a point of learning that requires further research. Where mandatory due diligence is pursued, governments are encouraged to consider the following good practice: -Legislation builds on existing negotiated and government-backed interpreta- tions of due diligence, including the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Re- sponsible Business Conduct and sector-specific guidance, where relevant. -Legislation incorporates the overarching components of due diligence, in- cluding that due diligence: is preventative; involves multiple processes and objectives; is commensurate with risk (risk-based); can involve prioritisation (risk-based); is dynamic; does not shift responsibilities; concerns interna- tionally recognised standards of RBC; is appropriate to an enterprise’s cir- cumstances; can be adapted to deal with the limitations of working with business relationships; is informed by engagement with stakeholders and involves ongoing communication. -Legislation enables recognition of industry and multi-stakeholder collabora- tion while also ensuring such collaboration is aligned with due diligence expectations. Within this context, the OECD Alignment Assessment pro- cess can support the recognition of industry and multistakeholder initiatives and provide governments with a neutral evaluation of how initiatives incor- porate and align with OECD due diligence guidance. -Legislation seeks to align with existing regulatory requirements, to the ex- tent possible, to support a level playing field for companies across jurisdic- tions.Learnings Supply chain transparency and due diligence laws are a relatively recent phenomenon, and in some cases are still not in force, so their effectiveness in driving overall impact has not yet been evaluated in full. Nonetheless, some preliminary lessons can be gleaned. Some studies have found that legislation has increased awareness among businesses, notably senior business leaders and in some cases has catalysed action to prevent and address risks, including through col- laboration with stakeholders. However, while regulations can be a strong inducement for companies to carry out due diligence, they can also pose challenges in the area of imple- mentation. The requirements of man- datory due diligence legislation vary across jurisdictions and therefore can create various and divergent under- standings of what due diligence means in practice. Additionally, this can du- plicate processes and increase the ad- ministrative burden on companies. In consultations on the 2020-2022 programme of work for the OECD’s sector project on responsible supplyOECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector OECD (2019), The alignment of industry and multi-stakeholder programmes with the OECD Garment and Footwear Guidance: Assessment of the Sus- tainable Apparel Coalition The OECD launched the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Sup- ply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector (the “OECD Garment Guid- ance”) in 2017. The OECD Garment Guidance sets a common framework to help companies carry out supply chain due diligence - to identify, prevent, mit- igate and address adverse impacts in their own operations and their supply chain. It has been approved by 48 governments and endorsed by business, trade unions and civil society and seeks to be aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in relation to human rights due dili- gence. The OECD Garment Guidance establishes a six-step framework1 for identify- ing and addressing risks in a company’s supply chain. It includes targeted recommendations for applying this framework across 11 issues common to the NCM-MARCH 2020 45