Ung Thi Hien
Production Manager at Dayeon, Vietnam
““Managers and employees have
become working partners.”
Annual
Report
2024
In 2024, NIR navigated regulatory shifts and geopolitical uncertainty by focusing on collaboration, shared expertise, and supporting responsible business conduct. Explore how members connected, managed risks, and we supported our partners towards more sustainable and improved business conditions.
Highlights from the report:
FROM THE CEO
Risks and responsibilities
Identifying, analysing and developing strategic responses to future risks and opportunities was not an easy feat in 2024. Forecasting geopolitical events was quite similar to forecasting the weather – unpredictable at best. Meanwhile, regulations increased, as EU directives became more stringent in terms of human rights and environmental due diligence.
How can we best navigate these advancing times? At NIR, we believe that sharing perspectives and leveraging external expertise are key. Throughout 2024, we offered exactly that to our members, providing 47 unique opportunities to connect through Meeting Point NIR. We established two new member networks on circularity and human rights in the workforce, while the inaugural round of our Compliance Academy scored an impressive 4.7 out of 5. The year rounded off with our first Let’s Network, a cross- functional exchange on human rights in the workforce – including supplier, customer and compliance perspectives.
At our Annual General Meeting in April, 100 private and public partners celebrated what sets us apart. Namely the partnerships we foster at the nexus of aid and trade. We recognised that by working together – coordinating efforts while remaining flexible – Sweden becomes increasingly competitive, a proactive and engaged partner in low- and middle- income countries, creating jobs and wealth. A powerful tribute to the power of partnerships!
The potential of business to stimulate development is undeniable. When combined with Official Development Assistance, business becomes an even more powerful lever. Our newly developed framework on how to best support due diligence for responsible business conduct empowered this belief. Another important milestone during 2024 included the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency’s (Sida) decision to upscale our partnership. This involved a significant increase of our support to in-country partners on decent work, sustainable investments and responsibility in mining in 19 low- and middle-income countries.
In 2025, we celebrate 65 years of supporting our members to monitor risks and navigate new frontiers. In an increasingly complex and fast-paced world – marked by division, multipolarity and the shift of policies toward protectionism – trade and investment may be hampered, impacting everyone. One more reason to foster and maintain strong and meaningful partnerships. Join us in 2025 as we unlock new opportunities and position your business for long-term success!
We are NIR
In complex markets, factors outside your company’s sphere of influence often limit your capacity to single-handedly manage risks and make positive change. Partnerships create opportunities to take a joint approach to risk management, leveraging better outcomes for people and planet.
Our mission
Improve business conditions in complex markets. We are a pioneering and purpose-driven non-profit organisation, owned and governed by our members. Our long-term goal is to improve conditions for doing sustainable business and promote sustainable and inclusive economic development in low- and middle-income countries. We use a joint approach – collaborations and partnerships – to manage risks and promote more responsible business conduct. The result? Better outcomes for people and planet.
Our Role
Supporting Due Diligence for Responsible Business Conduct
Business and investors drive economic development, contributing to better outcomes for people and planet. The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct state that responsible business conduct involves ensuring the activities of businesses and investors are aligned with the needs of society. Both today and in the future.
By combining the responsible business conduct efforts of companies with a broader development agenda, we leverage efforts to promote labour and human rights along with environmental sustainability.
In 2024, we continued to develop our means of supporting and promoting due diligence for responsible business conduct in low- and middle-income countries.
“I believe that our tradition of dialogue and a willingness to share contributes to Sweden's competitive edge.”
Christine Bäckström
CEO, NIR
Members, sharing at Let’s Network, a cross-functional exchange on how to operationalise human rights in own workforce, as well as addressing supplier, customer and compliance perspectives.
Meeting Point NIR
Meeting Point NIR is where we facilitate peer-to-peer exchanges between members in a safe space, enabling the in-depth exchange of experiences, good practice and external expertise.
A cornerstone of our organisation, Meeting Point NIR offer an effective way to build networks, strengthen dialogue, collaborate effectively and form partnerships. Many member exchanges are planned in advance, covering extensive topics and countries. We also arrange exchanges on request, often in response to a global or regional event affecting the business of our members. .
In 2024, we made significant progress by offering 47 opportunities to meet and exchange, uniting around 600 participants
Meeting Point NIR 2024
One in every three meetings were on demand by members
Flavio Franza
Supplier Sustainability Manager, SKF Group
“It has been enlightening to compare how different organisations approach similar challenges and to learn from each other’s successes and difficulties. I believe that by working together, we can achieve even greater impact and continue to lead the way in sustainable practices.”
Meeting Point NIR
Let's Talk
Is our meeting format for exchanging know-how and discussing perspectives on a current topic or country.
Each Let’s Talk meeting focuses on specific topics and/or countries. Designed to support members by monitoring new opportunities, each meeting strives to position them for long-term business success and identify any potential risks. Leveraging external expertise is key to achieving this. In 2024, 70% of Let’s Talk speakers were sourced from outside our network.
Countries and Speakers in 2024 included
Meeting Point NIR
Networks
When there is an ongoing need for exchange between members, we create a network. 2024 was a big year for this initiative, and we now boast five networks, each meeting regularly throughout the year.
Networks in 2024
- Human Rights in Own Workforce
- Responsible Sourcing
- Sanctions
- Anti-Corruption
- Circularity
Christina Blixt, Global Employee Relations Lead at Volvo Group, Åsa Beckius, Head of Sustainable Supplier Management at Sandvik, Cecilia Bäcklund, Senior Group Sustainability Manager at Securitas and Daniel Taube, Chief Compliance Officer at SKF in a panel discussion on human rights in own workforce, in addition to addressing the customer, supplier and compliance perspectives.
Compliance Academy
Our Compliance Academy – a unique opportunity for member companies to receive practical training on compliance best practices – was inaugurated in 2024.
The Compliance Academy offers a safe and inspiring space for peer-to-peer sharing, knowledge exchange on managing risks and challenges and an interchange on best practices. Networks are also built through the Academy, enabling members to benchmark the most effective approaches for responding to a rapidly evolving regulatory and risk landscape. Especially as compliance and sustainability increasingly intersect. Developed by a member-led task force including Saab, Scania and Electrolux, the Academy curriculum runs over the course of a year and features six training modules. The second series will begin in early 2025.
4.7 out of 5
partcipants recommend the Academy to their colleagues
Petter Törnquist
Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer Saab
“I am extremely happy that we could materialise the Compliance Academy – best-practice sharing,
networking and professional development at its very best.”
Our 2024 Map
In 2024, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) scaled up our partnership and grants. This enabled us to double the number of countries where we support our in-country partners, as compared to 2023.
Our Partners
Collaborations and partnerships are our modus operandi for improving business conditions. When we jointly identify significant challenges in a country or region, we then unite the partner(s) who hold the keys to fostering and sustaining effective solutions. By building a coalition of the willing, we maximise the reach and impact we all make – together.
Our Partners Explained
Our in-country partners include companies, trade unions and industry organisations in low- and middle-income countries that we support with capacity building, stakeholder engagement and upskilling. Our 2024 in-country partners included the Kenyan Association of Manufacturers, Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers, National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, Guías Colombia, Colombian Mining Association, Sodeico, Tanzania Railways Corporation, Electricidade de Moçambique EP, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Inter-American Development Bank in Peru and Vietnam Electricity.
Team Sweden is a network of public organisations, authorities and companies that promote Swedish exports in close collaboration with Swedish embassies. Our toolbox complements the Team Sweden offer when and where we can contribute with added value. In 2024, we had extensive collaboration with Team Sweden, including Swedfund International, EKN, SEK, Business Sweden and the Swedish embassies in Abuja, Algiers, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam, Hanoi, Kyiv, Kinshasa, Lusaka, Manilla, Maputo, Nairobi, Santiago, Jakarta and Johannesburg.
As an implementing partner to Sida, our toolbox is a part of Sweden’s development cooperation. And as
a non-profit owned and governed by Swedish business, we are a nexus partner between our members and Sida. Enabling synergies between trade, promotion and development cooperation, our partnership with Sida means we can implement practical and demand-driven support to our in-country partners in low- and middle income countries. In 2024 alone, an increase in grants from Sida empowered us to scale up our support to in-country partners in 19 low- and middle-income countries.
By joining forces with implementing partners, we are granted a broader reach for executing our operational activities. Our 2024 implementing partners included Industrial and Metalworkers’ Union (IF Metall), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and Centro Vincular Foundation at the Federico Santa Maria Technical University.
Our training partners are teams of experts delivering capacity development and upskilling to our in-country partners. Often sourced from the Swedish resource base, they provide essential skills and know-how. In 2024, we worked with 10 training partners and four special advisors with both technical and sustainability expertise.
“The SDGs can only be realized with strong global partnerships and cooperation. A successful development agenda requires inclusive partnerships — at the global, regional, national, and local levels — built upon principles and values, and upon a shared vision and shared goals placing people and the planet at the center.” SDG 17
Théo Jaekel
Business and Human Rights Expert, NIR Special Advisor
"The potential of responsible business conduct to stimulate development is undeniable, and when combined with Official Development Assistance it can become a powerful lever not only for improved business conditions and sustainability in
the value chain but also for better outcomes for people and planet. NIR has a unique skill set when it comes to developing new tools and approaches to get the job done."
Practical and demand-driven support to in-country partners
OUR IMPACT TOOLBOX
Responsible business conduct is key to ensuring sustainable and resilient economies that provide better lives for present and future generations. The competitiveness of both Swedish companies and the countries in which we operate are strengthened through our partnerships.
OUR IMPACT 2024
Below you find a number of the practical results from our practical support we created with in-country partners.
Promoting Sustainable Investments by Developing Capacity
Ukraine
An effective and sustainable single emergency number – 112 – is a critical feature of civil resilience. 112 is even more critical during wartime, reducing severe injuries and deaths by shortening the response time from alarm to operation.
In 2024, NIR deepened its engagement in Ukraine by launching activities aimed at strengthening business partnerships for reconstruction and sustainable development. Collaborating closely with Ukrainian business organizations, Swedish companies, and international partners, NIR focused on promoting transparent business practices, rebuilding industrial capacity, and supporting Ukraine’s integration into European value chains. This work contributes to long-term resilience and aligns with Sweden’s broader support for Ukraine’s recovery.
Ukraine’s 112 call centres are up and running in Kyiv, Lviv and Dnipro. The development of 112 services is part of Ukraine’s path to EU integration.
Leonid Tymchenko
Deputy Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
"The acquired skills will have a positive impact on the rapid search for solutions to implement modern technologies and manage the latest equipment, allowing us to build a high-quality, reliable and uninterrupted means of operating the information and
communication system of Ukraine’s 112 Service. At the same time, the introduction of the latest technologies will reduce the response time to emergency situations."
Promoting responsibility in mining
Democratic Republic of the Congo
With large deposits of critical minerals such as cobalt and copper, DRC is a key enabler of the green transition and crucial for the European Green Deal. As global demand for sustainable and ethical sourcing grows, bridging the skills gap in DRC’s mining sector has become increasingly urgent.
In 2024, we increased our engagement in DRC by specifically focusing on workforce skills and capacity building. We once again participated in DRC Mining Week, where the Swedish business delegation, supported by the Embassy of Sweden in Kinshasa, showcased innovative solutions for technical and vocational education. Our engagement with key stakeholders in the Katanga mining district later in the year highlighted persistent challenges in the mining sector. These include poor infrastructure, weak governance and an acute shortage of the technical, managerial and green skills required for sustainable mining operations. Along with our Congolese partner Sodeico, we hosted the 5th edition of Nkelo Bantu, the flagship multi-stakeholder platform within our Swedish Workplace Programme. Discussions focused on the skills gap as a critical barrier to the sustainable development of DRC’s mining sector. Key themes included the importance of aligning vocational training with industry demands, fostering collaboration between public and private sectors and addressing the unique needs of artisanal and small-scale miners.
Kaveh Hagi
Programme Manager, NIR
"The mining sector’s potential to drive sustainable economic growth in DRC is enormous. However, realising this potential depends on addressing the skills gap and ensuring collaboration between all stakeholders – government, private sector and civil society. As we look forward to 2025, skills development will remain at the heart of our engagement in DRC, laying the foundation for a more sustainable and inclusive mining industry."
Promoting decent work through dialogue
Our Swedish Workplace Programme supports responsible business conduct and decent work by encouraging dialogue and collaboration between managers and employees. When employees have a voice and can participate in decisionmaking processes, it’s easier to identify and address sustainability and human rights issues in the workplace. In short, open dialogue helps solve many of today’s challenges related to decent work.
After five years of implementation, companies, managers and employees across industries have undergone positive changes. An external evaluation conducted in 2024 indicates that results have reached beyond the workplaces. The companies we supported have become champions of responsible business conduct. By setting inspiring examples, they motivate other organisations and contribute to more secure and resilient value chains.
95% of our project partners find the programme relevant
71% believe the programme has contributed to improved conflict resolution
80% say that they managed to improve the relationship between workers and management
208
partners
170 000
employees
1525
people trained
Promoting decent work through dialogue
Vietnam – Impacting the supply chain
In the past 30 years, Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia. Given the long-term political investments in infrastructure and manufacturing industries, the country is growing as a global supply chain hub, while manufacturers are increasingly relocating to the country.
Stakeholder dialogue is a prerequisite for effective due diligence. Employees in the supply chain are an affected stakeholder group and are essential to include in the due diligence process, especially for companies with suppliers in low- and middle-income countries.
Engaging with supply chain employees can be a challenging task. Management may not grant access to employees, and if a chance is given to engage in dialogue with them, it can be difficult to determine if they feel safe enough to speak openly. This often stems from a lack of trust between managers and employees.
Creating trust through dialogue
In Vietnam, we supported supply chain factories to set up collaboration committees for structured on-going dialogue between managers and employees. This serves to facilitate a workplace culture characterised by trust and open communication. When employees trust their managers and colleagues, they are more likely to voice ideas and concerns. Trust also plays a crucial role in reducing workplace conflicts. In a trusting environment, employees are more willing to address conflicts openly and to seek resolutions collaboratively. There is also a close link between trust in the workplace and job satisfaction, motivation and overall productivity.
A rise in ideas and concerns
After establishing representative collaboration committees between managers and employees, our partner factories reported a rise in employee ideas and concerns. They also observed increased employee engagement, reduced turnover and better collaboration between departments. However, the factories also faced challenges. A lack of real commitment from management and an inability to understand that dialogue is about creating meaningful change, not just a quick exercise to please buyers, proved difficult. Secondly, a big proportion of employ[1]ees are migrant workers, which involves high turnover rates and in turn threatens the dialogue structure. Lastly, the local norm of not speaking up also hindered engagement.
Showcasing how dialogue facilitates due diligence
In 2024, our partner factories were invited to share good practices at several supplier events during the year. In total, they reached more than 50 suppliers in the garment, electronics and furniture sectors. At the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum in Bangkok, we co-hosted a multi-stakeholder workshop on dialogue as a tool for effective due diligence and remedy. In Hanoi, we co-arranged a workshop with the Swedish Embassy, which included a panel discussion showcasing how dialogue rooted in trust and respect facilitates ongoing due diligence in the supply chain
Ung Thi Hien
Promoting decent work through dialogue
Colombia – Impacting the labour market
The business culture in Colombia is characterised by centralised decision-making and a strong emphasis on respect for authority. Often there is a lack of trust and collaboration between management and employees, which impacts critical areas such as health and safety, conflict resolution and the promotion of diversity and inclusion. A high degree of youth unemployment, informality and corruption further complicates the business environment. Dialogue between the labour market parties is difficult, and violations of labour rights are common.
When we launched in Colombia, we focused on establishing initial partnerships with Swedish industrial companies already located in Colombia. These companies are known for prioritising responsible business conduct in their agendas. We supported them to establish workplace collaboration committees for on-going dialogue between managers and employees. Our purpose was to provide employees with greater opportunities to be heard, influence policy and engage in daily improvements.
In an external evaluation, respondents from the participating companies expressed satisfaction with the new dialogue practices, describing it as relevant for both personal development and profitability.
Spreading good practices from Swedish companies
We partnered with a Colombian think tank, Fundación Ideas para la Paz, to conduct a study based on five of our Swedish partner companies in Colombia. The cases were presented in multi[1]stakeholder sessions on how our method could be used in a broader context within the Colombian labour market. Participants included companies, government entities, trade unions and employers’ organisations, all of whom showed great interest in our method. Consequently, we now collaborate with the Ministry of Labour and the Javeriana University in Bogotá.
Collaborating with the Ministry of Labour
The Colombian government has ambitious plans to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels, a cornerstone in the public economy. To ensure a green transition where employees, communities and businesses are all considered and supported during the shift, the government has emphasised the importance of social dialogue as a critical tool. We collaborated with the Ministry of Labour to develop a curriculum for a social dialogue school training both trade union and company representatives. We also collaborated directly with the energy sector through a partnership with the company Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM), one of the largest companies in Colombia. The partnership involves training managers and employee representatives in dialogue skills.
University dialogue course
By exploring ways to scale our efforts, we ensure that more stakeholders can benefit from learnings and models for dialogue. In 2024, we initiated a collaboration with Javeriana University in Bogotá. Based on good practices from Swedish companies, we are developing a certified university course in dialogue, designed to equip Colombia’s future business leaders with essential skills in dialogue.
Promoting Sustainable Investments by Developing Capacity
Tanzania – Investing in connectivity by electrified railway
Tanzania’s new Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is considered the region’s most modern electrified railway. The SGR began carrying passengers between Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial hub, and Dodoma, the capital, in summer 2024. By the end of the year, well over a million passengers had used the SGR as transport. Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC), Tanzania’s state-owned railway company, is the operator of the SGR.
The SGR has already begun improving transport, increasing business efficiency and providing a faster and safer mode of transit for passengers. The potential for social and economic development inspired by the SGR is vast. In total, 2,500 kilometres of electrified railway are planned for, connecting the port of Dar es Salaam with Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, extending beyond to Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries in the region.
Infrastructural projects like the SGR offer Swedish companies substantial business opportunities. According to Business Sweden, there are approximately over 100 potential Swedish suppliers to railway projects of this size, making the SGR a strategic project for Team Sweden.
The group of international lenders for the Dar es Salaam to Dodoma stretch of the SGR require align ment with the environmental and social standards set out in the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards (IFC PS).
Supporting organisational readiness
TRC aligning with higher sustainability standards benefits both the people and environment affected by the railway line. As a partner, we support those standards being achieved by offering practical tools, including flexible upskilling, capacity development and models for stakeholder alignment.
Upskilling the Environmental and Social Team Strengthening
TRC’s capacity to manage environmental and social risks by upskilling TRC’s Environmental and Social Team members means that Swedish and other international financiers can invest in the railway. It also means that TRC has increased capacity to manage risks to the environment and communities, resulting in better outcomes for people and planet. Our partnership with TRC since 2021 has been adapted to the project cycle.
Stakeholder alignment
Our partnerships go beyond training by aligning project stakeholders, for example project owners/ partners, financiers and regulating agencies. The lack of stakeholder alignment is often one of the biggest challenges in large infrastructure projects, and can result in unintended scope changes, delays and increased costs. Effective stakeholder alignment results in proactive identification, resolving gaps that could pose sustainability risks to the project while helping keep project timelines on track. In 2024, we supported TRC to align with stake holders such as the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Transport and the Office of the Attorney General
Our support in 2024 resulted in:
- Improved coordination on environmental and social (E&S) issues, grievances, data flow and reporting, resulting in a significant reduction in open grievances
- Strengthened E&S risk identification and management
- Stakeholder alignment on international lenders and sustainability standards
- Improved organisational structure
Our training partner instructing TRC’s Environmental and Social Team on how to streamline reporting, on-site in Dar es Salaam
Promoting responsibility in mining
Latin America – Challenges and opportunities
Latin America has become a key region for diversifying supply chains and securing access to transition minerals, as it has some of the world’s largest known reserves of copper and lithium as well as significant amounts of graphite, nickel and other transition minerals.
Mining has the potential to become a growth engine in Latin American economies. However, mineral extraction is accompanied by risks that negatively impact the environment and communities, with social conflicts being rooted in mining in many regions throughout Latin America. As Latin American companies strive to remain competitive in the global race for minerals, they must navigate the significant risks mining poses to human rights and the environment. Protecting these fundamental aspects is key for inclusive development.
Argentina
A model for responsible lithium production
Argentina, Bolivia and Chile have the largest known resources of lithium in the world. Lithium is a key component for the electrification of vehicles and the generation and storage of electricity.
While lithium extraction has the potential to contribute to job creation and improved infrastructure, it can also lead to conflict, potentially impacting local eco-systems and water resources. All while challenging the traditional economic activities of local communities.
Lithium is extracted from brine in salt flats in extremely arid areas of the High Andes. A large proportion of indigenous communities, whose well-being is closely linked to a healthy ecosystem, reside in these areas. Although large-scale production of lithium is only just getting underway in Bolivia and most provinces of Argentina, prior experience from Chile constitutes that transparency around water data is a key factor for forging trust between communities and mining operators.
Participatory water management leading to dialogue
Our implementing partner, the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), has developed a model for more inclusive water management to ensure that lithium production does not lead to negative social and environmental impacts. By producing and consolidating measurement data in a participatory manner transparent to all stakeholders, fairer and more constructive stakeholder dialogue is possible.
Working alongside involved companies, local authorities, communities and indigenous groups, we will contribute to developing and replicating the model across the region.
In 2024, we prepared for stakeholder dialogue in one of the Salta Province salt flats in Argentina. The first important milestone was to establish agreements between the lithium mining companies and provincial authorities for sharing water data.
David R. Purkey, Ph.D
Centre Director, SEI Latin America
"NIR and SEI bring complementary capacities to our new collaboration focused on the responsible production of critical minerals in Latin America. SEI’s expertise in site-specific analysis of the impacts of lithium production on water resources and aquatic ecosystems creates a very solid foundation to inform NIR’s facilitation of regional and
global discussions of mineral supply chains and governance.”
CONTACT
Tel: +46 8-783 00 50
Visiting adress:
Klarabergsviadukten 70
BOX 13009, 10301,
Stockholm
Sweden
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International Council of Swedish Industry 2024. All Rights Reserved.
