Sustainable and responsible international value chains

Tackling problems in the value chain together

Issues such as child labour, pollution and deforestation still occur in global production. These problems affect people, the environment and society.

The Netherlands wants to make value chains fairer and more sustainable. That is why we encourage businesses to examine their international value chains, identify potential risks and address them. Together with partners, we work on solutions in countries that need them most. It is important for businesses to act responsibly in their international value chains. This is called Responsible Business Conduct (RBC).

What does RVO do?

We contribute to sustainable and responsible value chains through subsidies and programmes such as:

• Subsidy Programme for Responsible Business (SPVO)
• Sectoral Partnerships International MVO
• European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM)
• Subsidie Verantwoord Ondernemen MKB (SVOM) (in Dutch)

These programmes focus on issues like:

• combating child labour;
• making value chains more sustainable;
• improving working conditions, such as a living wage;
• RBC and due diligence; and
• responsible mining.

RVO supports projects and partnerships that:

• investigate and address problems in international value chains;
• improve local working conditions;
• apply RBC and due diligence practices; and
• encourage the responsible production of minerals.

Dutch entrepreneurs can also receive advice and information via the RBC helpdesk (MVO-steunpunt) (in Dutch).

6 reasons to invest in sustainable value chains

A sustainable value chain offers your business several benefits. It:

• lowers your business’s costs and improves its results. By paying attention to human rights and sustainability, you use your resources more efficiently. This leads to better financial results.
• strengthens your business’s innovation and competitiveness. Sustainable processes, such as transparent value chains, lead to better products and fewer disruptions. This helps your business stay competitive.
• reduces business risks. You minimise disruptions, reputational damage and legal problems. This makes your business stronger and more resilient.
• builds trust with customers, partners and investors in your business. Investing in sustainability strengthens trust among customers, investors and other stakeholders. This is important for stable business operations.
• does not have to reduce your business’s profit. Sustainable measures can help reduce waste, lower energy costs and prevent disruptions in the value chain.
• makes your business more attractive to investors. Investors often prefer to work with businesses that have sustainable value chains. This can improve your business’s access to capital.

What can you do as an entrepreneur?

You can apply due diligence. Due diligence is an ongoing process where companies identify potential and actual adverse impacts on people and the environment that may arise from the activities in their operations and national or international value chains. The goal is to prevent, reduce and communicate these issues effectively. The Dutch government follows the 6 steps listed for this in the OECD Guidelines.

You can find more information on RVO’s due diligence page (in Dutch).

How can we support you?

Is your business based in the Netherlands, or do you represent an NGO or knowledge institute? Do you want to contribute to making international value chains more sustainable and responsible? Then you can:

• contact our advisers.
• find a partner for your project.
• subscribe to our monthly newsletter to stay informed on our latest news and top stories from all over the world.

What have our projects achieved?

Here are a few highlights of what our projects achieved in 2023:

For background information on our projects, visit our project database. For more information on our lessons learnt, see our:

• Documents and publications

Sustainable and responsible value chain projects in practice

Watch our video on a project in Cambodia.

• Read more articles about our projects