Guidelines for the Transparency Act

Consumer Authority Guidelines

The Consumer Authority enforces the Transparency Act in Norway. They have published guidelines on their websites to guide businesses in their efforts to ensure human rights and decent working conditions, as well as to provide the public with access to this information. You can also read our full guide on how to prepare for public disclosure.

The law mandates that businesses have a duty to provide information and conduct due diligence assessments. These assessments must be documented in a report and made available to the public upon request. The Consumer Authority notes that there are currently no regulations associated with the law.

Guidelines Explained

To provide you with the best possible information on how your business can comply with the Transparency Act, we share the Consumer Authority’s guidelines with explanations.

Anchor Responsibility in the Board

The first step towards handling the Transparency Act in organizations is to officially anchor responsibility in the board. The board must then adopt a plan for how the business, including suppliers and business partners, will conduct due diligence assessments. It must also be decided by the board that a statement will be published in accordance with the Transparency Act and guidelines. Finally, but not least, the business must comply with the duty to provide information. The responsibility for implementing the plans must be clearly placed within the organization.

Guidelines and Corporate Culture

Guidelines should be developed on how the organization will address human rights and decent working conditions. All existing guidelines, including requirements for suppliers and business partners, must be updated in line with the Transparency Act.

System for Handling the Duty to Provide Information

Organizations must acquire a system for handling requests for information from anyone who asks for it. TransparencyGate provides such a system, which also covers all other needs according to the Transparency Act.

Mapping

To meet all the requirements for due diligence assessments under the Transparency Act, the organization must have an overview of both internal and external assessments. This is easiest to process in a digital transparency system for organizations.

Risk Analysis

Once the mapping work is completed, it will form a comprehensive picture that will be the basis for risk assessment. The goal of a risk analysis is to determine whether there are violations of fundamental human rights and decent working conditions in the various parts of the business. It is also important to assess where in the supply chain there is a likelihood of violations/deviations, and what type they are. The organization can then implement specific measures and monitor these measures.