Responsible Supply Chain Management

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Responsible Supply Chain Management

• Kristin HolterEthical Trading Initiative,
  Norway
• BI 13 April 2005

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Ethical Trading Initiative(ETI-N)

• Founded in year 2000
• Membership organisation and
• Multi Stakeholder Partnership
• Commercial enterprices, Employers organisations,
  Unions and NGOs

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ETI Core Concepts

• Vision
• Contribute to international trade that promotes
  development, human rights and the environment.
• Business idea
• Enable members to meet challenges related to
  ethical trade.

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Ethical trade defined

• Trade in which the retailer or merchandiser (i.e
  sourcing or buying company) assume some measure
  of responsibility for labour practices and
  environmental issues at all levels of the
  products supply chain.

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ETI Ethical StandardsBased on internationally
recognised ILO and UN conventions

• No slavery or forced labour
• Right to join union/collective bargaining
• No child labour
• No discrimination
• Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
• Wages/Working hours
• Disciplinary practices
• Regular employment
• Environment
• Local community

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Step by Step Approach

• Verification
• Internal
• External
• Sertification

Corrective Action - Customer leverage-
Resources

• Risk Assessment
• Map status
• Improvement strategy

Internal systems -Develop Code -Plan of Action
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Challenges

• Small business
• Little or no customer leverage
• Small resources
• Long, complex and non-transparent supply chain
• Agent is handling contact with producer(s)

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Dilemma Size matters

• You are a small (2 pst) customer at a large
  production unit. You have presented your Code of
  Conduct. Apart from that how should you
  contribute to improvements?

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Dilemma Allocation of resources

• You are responsible for your firms ethical supply
  chain management. You have a budget. Should you
  prioritize expenses to documentation - inspection
  and control or contributing to improvements at
  production unit level?

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Dilemma Empowering the workers

• You want the workers involved in improving the
  working conditions at the factory you are buying
  from. There is no union. What do you do?

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Conclutions

• No easy answers
• Individual solutions to code implementation can
  only have limited impact. Collaboration between
  companies, suppliers, governments, trade unions
  and NGOs is essential.

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• www.etiskhandel.no