OECD Sustainable Investment Days: Business Underlines Commitment to Advancing Balanced, Rules-Based Investment Policies

Business at OECD actively participated in the OECD Sustainable Investment Days in Paris from 4^th to 6^th November. Among many interventions, one particular highlight was the Business at OECD active contribution to the OECD Roundtable on Investment and Sustainable Development, bringing forward the business perspective on how investment policies can foster resilience, sustainability, and trust in international cooperation amid growing geopolitical and economic challenges.

As part of these OECD Sustainable Investment Days, Business at OECD also organised on 4^th November a side event on “Economic Security & Investment: Taking Stock of the Current State of Play and Challenges for Companies.” The discussion gathered members of our business network, including VNO-NCW, MEDEF, Sanofi, Intel, Pernod Ricard, Siemens, Enagás, and policymakers to explore how to balance national security policies with the imperative to maintain open, predictable investment frameworks.

From left to right: Siemens' Christian Hoffman, MEDEF's Lys Vitral, Intel's Kimberley Schmitt, Sanofi's David Elvira Martinez, Pernod Ricard's Darya Galperina, our Executive Director Hanni Rosenbaum, our Investment Committee Chair Winand Quaedvlieg, European Commission's Maria Nedelcheva, France's Thomas Ernoult, and Enagás' Francisco de la Flor García.

Our Investment Committee Chair and VNO-NCW's Head of the Brussels Office Winand Quaedvlieg delivered opening remarks.

Intel's Vice President and Director of Patent Litigation Kimberly Schmitt spoke on Panel 2 about the private sector’s perspectives on economic security and investment.

The Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty of France's Head of the Foreign Direct Investments Screening Unit Thomas Ernoult participated in discussions.

There are three main takeaways from the discussions that took place in this event. First, when it comes to economic security, a strong emphasis was put on concrete ways to balance openness and security. Speakers agreed that effective investment screening must protect legitimate security interests without deterring productive cross-border investment. Transparency, predictability, and proportionality were identified as essential to maintain business confidence. They called for evidence-based, risk-proportionate frameworks that strengthen resilience without disrupting global operations. Second, participants underlined the importance of international coordination to avoid regulatory fragmentation. The OECD’s policy guidance and EU cooperation mechanisms were seen as key tools to align national approaches. Third, an onus was put on the importance of public-private collaboration. Companies urged governments to engage the private sector in designing and implementing security policies to ensure that measures remain practical, coherent, and supportive of competitiveness.

Looking ahead, Business at OECD reaffirmed its commitment to advancing balanced, rules-based investment policies and to working with the OECD Investment Committee towards the 50^th Anniversary of the OECD Investment Declaration in 2026.