Ethical Audits and Supply Chain Support

For many companies, responsibilities extend beyond their core and into their supply chains, to cover ethics, working conditions and environmental management. Where suppliers do not meet basic standards in these areas it can have a very damaging impact, both on the reputation of the customer, and on the sustainability of the supplier's business. Conversely, there are many benefits that come from well-managed factories, including increased productivity, employee engagement, talent recruitment and retention and cost savings through environmental efficiency.

We work with large companies and their supply chains to help them realise these benefits. We want to progress responsible supply chain relationships from the traditional and relatively adversarial model of auditing and non-compliance, towards a collaborative approach where both parties work together to continuously improve working conditions and factory management.

Our support in this area therefore includes a range of services to establish agreed standards, communicate and train factories in their implementation and to help buyers understand the effect of commercial decisions on working conditions. We see auditing as an important monitoring and risk-assessment tool, and also an opportunity to impart knowledge and to help factories develop workable improvement plans and strategies. Auditing needs to fit into an overall improvement objective, aimed at raising working conditions and standards of factory management for some of the world's poorest workers.

Related Links: