FOCUS SUSTAINABILITY
With the COVID-19 pandemic
still a ecting the availability
of labour, materials and services,
it’s reasonable to presume that
businesses should anticipate
continued supply chain disruption
this year. Companies must have
the processes in place to both
overcome these challenges, and
ensure they are taking an employee
first approach - ensuring workers in
supply chains are protected against
potential exploitation.
To do this, organisations need to
monitor the trends that impact their
supply chains, and work to manage
risk and support supply chain
resilience. Trends that organisations
should be aware of include:
LEGISLATION AND THE
CONTINUED DRIVE FOR BUSINESS
ACCOUNTABILITY
In 2021 several nations including
Norway, Germany and the USA, passed
laws that place greater responsibility
on businesses to provide more
transparency regarding their supply
chain operations. This includes steps
to manage risks to workers and the
environment.
This ra of new transparency
legislation is becoming increasingly
detailed and broad in scope. It o en
expands beyond country borders, and
will continue throughout 2022.
In the UK, the government is
currently reviewing its modern slavery
strategy, and is set to provide an
update by the spring. The European
Commission is also due to release a
dra of its mandatory human rights
and environmental due diligence
legislation, in the first half of this year.
Businesses should monitor these
legislative changes, and develop action
plans as they evolve to ensure they
remain compliant.
OVERCOMING MODERN SLAVERY
Modern day slavery remains a
pressing issue. A new report from the
International Labour Organisation, is
due to be published, and is predicted
to show more victims of modern
slavery than ever before.
Many factors will have exacerbated
these findings, including political
unrest, climate degradation, and
disruption across global supply chains
brought about by the pandemic.
The launch of the report will likely
catapult the issue of modern slavery
into public consciousness, sparking a
renewed focus on issue-specific laws
such as the UK Modern Slavery Act.
It will also prompt renewed focus on
businesses to re-evaluate risks that
exist within their supply chains.
COVID-19 AND ONGOING
DISRUPTION
Businesses will continue to experience
challenges such as labour shortages
due to potential lockdowns or
forced working from home orders.
Workers continue to be particularly
at risk, including being vulnerable
to extensive working hours. This has
the potential to lead to compromised
health and safety standards and can
be an indicator of forced labour, when
excessive over a long period of time.
According to the Centre for Social
Justice (CSJ) and Justice and Care,
there are at least 100,000 people
held in modern slavery in the UK
alone. Organisations therefore
need to regularly take stock of their
operations, ensuring that they do not
compromise working conditions as
they rush to engage new suppliers or
extend working hours. This includes
maintaining regular due diligence with
stakeholders, and conducting regular
supplier assessments, both onsite and
virtually.
CLIMATE CHANGE & HUMAN RIGHTS
The COP26 conference last year
renewed the world’s focus on
meeting environmental targets.
Many companies now face additional
pressure, needing to measure the
environmental impact across their
supply chains. This is driven in part by
governments looking to demonstrate
both commitment and action.
As industries explore new
technologies, the intersection
between climate change, potential
solutions and human rights will
become more widely recognised. The
environmentally friendly solutions
developed and implemented will need
to uphold human rights, and account
for any potential risks to people.
For example, we already know that
there are significant human rights
risks in some renewable energy supply
chains. Sedex’s risk assessment tool
Radar has revealed that metal ore in
the mining sector is “high risk” for
many issues, including poor health and
safety, excessive working hours, and
restrictions to freedom of association.
Businesses looking to do their bit
for the planet, will need to have one
eye on the impact this new type of
operating model has on workers across
their supply chain.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
For many businesses, having a diverse
and inclusive workplace has always
been a key pillar of their operations,
but there are still many laggards who
have failed to adapt their organisation.
A renewed focus and pressure
has been put on these businesses,
especially since the emergence of
the Black Lives Matter movement.
Stakeholders - especially the public
- now expect companies to make
commitments and set long-term
strategies to drive greater inclusivity.
Leading international companies and
some governments are broadening
their diversity and inclusion strategies
to more explicitly include racial
disparity, indigenous peoples and
LGBTQ+ communities. Businesses
that look to make their organisation
as open and inclusive as possible, will
likely prosper the most.
A HOLISTIC VIEW OF THE
SUPPLY CHAIN
As the conversation around ethical
operations evolves, gathering and
analysing data through sophisticated
platforms is crucial. This data is the
key to understanding the people,
operations and working conditions
across the supply chain and will
provide a holistic view of operations.
Businesses must also look to
establish and maintain regular, open
communication with suppliers,
helping to manage current disruptions
and build long-term resilience. It’s
only by maintaining these regular
risk assessments to understand and
address issues, that organisations will
be able to stay on top of presented
challenges that exist within their
supply chain.
ETHICAL SOURCE -essica McGoverne, Director of Policy and Corporate $ff airs, Sedex the membership organisation
that provides advice for companies on managing and improving working conditions in global
supply chains, explains how businesses can operate ethically and source responsibly
44 MARCH 2022