ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Can social auditing be repurposed for greater good? That was the question posed during a breakout session of the Sedex Global Responsible Sourcing Conference in London last week. Muriel Johnson, AAG Project Manager at Sedex, asked a panel of leading business representatives if social auditing could be used to advance sustainable development within global enterprise, rather than as a simple mechanism to manage risk in the supply chain.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Today the Tronie Foundation — a Washington-based non-profit organization founded by trafficking survivor Rani Hong, dedicated to driving awareness of human trafficking and slavery — announced the availability of a new “Freedom Seal” that companies can earn for taking steps to eradicate slavery from their supply chains. Marking the launch of the Seal is a corresponding social media campaign, through which concerned consumers can encourage companies to #AdoptTheSeal.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It can be daunting to ramp up a sustainability program. This is especially the case when moving from an operations focus, where most programs start, to successfully leveraging the many opportunities associated with product materials and sourcing, design, and production. Yet companies that take aim at their products and measure, improve, and communicate the environmental and social attributes across the life cycle are able to achieve significant improvements that dwarf those they could realize otherwise.
COLLABORATION -
Last week, EcoVadis, operator of a collaborative, sustainable global supply chain platform, announced the launch of Railsponsible, an initiative to drive sustainability throughout the railway supply chain. Six companies in the railway industry - Alstom Transport, Bombardier Transportation, Deutsche Bahn, Knorr Bremse, Nederlandse Spoorwegen ("NedTrain") and SNCF - participated as founding members of Railsponsible for the launch on March 4th in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Animal welfare NGOs Mercy for Animals (MFA) and The Humane League declared victories this week, having motivated more large food companies to reform their animal treatment policies, this time after exposing supplier cruelty toward dairy cows and veal calves.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Last fall, HP became the first company in the IT industry to require direct employment of foreign migrant workers in its supply chain with the release of the HP Foreign Migrant Worker Standard.Three months after HP the release of this new standard for preventing exploitative labor practices and forced labor, Sustainable Brands spoke with Bob Mitchell, Global Manager of Supply Chain Social & Environmental Responsibility, to learn how the program is enabling HP to ethically recruit and manage foreign migrant workers.
LEADERSHIP -
As the European Commission (EC) prepares its new five-year strategy for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), delegates at their Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR on 3rd and 4th February urged the EC to pick up the pace. Given that this 2015–2020 strategy is still in the making, they have a point.The forum attracted over 450 delegates interested in shaping the EC’s future CSR strategy, many of whom see the formulation of the strategy as a key mechanism to drive innovation, competitiveness and growth for Europe, whilst furthering sustainability goals.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Today, the adidas Group announced that in 2014, it sourced more than 30 percent of all of its cotton as Better Cotton, exceeding the originally planned 25 percent target. This marks the sportswear giant’s highest volume of sustainable cotton use to date. The Better Cotton used in 2014 was predominantly sourced from farmers located in India, Pakistan and Brazil.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Apple has terminated its relationships with 18 suppliers to date due to sustainability code violations, according to a new report from the technology company.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Inditex, one of the world's biggest fashion firms, has banned the sale of angora wool after activists highlighted the cruel treatment of rabbits by farms in China.The parent company of Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka said it would stop selling angora garments in all of its 6,400 shops after facing months of pressure from animal rights campaigners.A PETA campaign against angora wool showed videos of live angora rabbits screaming while fur is pulled from their skins on ten Chinese farms. The video also showed rabbits being stretched on boards and cut as their fur is hacked off.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Despite being one of the most popular gifts for a loved one on Valentine’s Day, jewelry has been notorious for coming at a social and environmental cost that goes well beyond the price tag. Now Signet, the world’s largest jewelry retailer, is being challenged by social and environmental groups across the world to demand that its major diamond and gold supplier, Rio Tinto, clean up its act this Valentine’s Day.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The availability of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fish is better than ever with a million tons of MSC certified cod caught last year, but there is a growing gap between supermarkets that offer their customers ecolabelled sustainable seafood choices and protecting ocean environments, according to new figures released by MSC.Since 2010, Sainsbury’s has led the pack in terms of numbers of products stocked, with 163 MSC-certified seafood products for the last financial year, MSC says. The retailer’s product numbers are almost twice its closest competitor, Waitrose, which is in second place with 79 certified seafood products and more than three times the number of products stocked by M&S.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Unilever has announced that its Breyers, Fruttare, Magnum and Lipton brand products have all made significant commitments to responsible sourcing.Beginning this month, Breyers will only use real vanilla from Rainforest Alliance-certified vanilla beans from Madagascar. The company will now also only source milk and cream from farmers who don’t treat their cows with artificial growth hormones, making Breyers the largest packaged U.S. ice cream brand to do so.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
On Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the launch of Asia Pulp & Paper’s (APP) Forest Conservation Policy (FCP), an unprecedented initiative aimed at defining a new standard and business model for achieving a deforestation-free paper supply chain, Rainforest Alliance (RA) released the results of its evaluation to gauge the paper giant’s progress on its commitments.
COLLABORATION -
FCF Fishery Company (FCF) has announced that its joint investment, Nambawan, and its associated fleet, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PNAO/Pacifical as a commitment to maintaining Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standards while trading tuna harvested from Pacific Island Nations (PNA) waters.Under the agreement, FCF will work with the PNA and Pacifical on criteria for certification and ensuring traceability and reporting from fish harvested to transportation, and processing into its semi-finished and finished products.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Stonyfield Farm has taken the transparency of its supply chain to a new level by creating a source map for each of its ingredients.The New Hampshire-based organic dairy brand worked with SourceMap to create a map detailing the location, farm conditions and history for each of its ingredients, ranging from the dairy farms that supply its milk to the peaches, pears and raspberries that flavor its products.
COLLABORATION -
In 2013, after years of efforts to develop the highest standard for animal welfare in the industry, outdoor goods retailer and manufacturer Patagonia published its 100% Traceable Down Standard to provide a roadmap for other brands to meet the same high bar and prevent needless animal suffering. Patagonia says it is the only company to date to have fully implemented this rigorous standard, which it achieved in 2014.
LEADERSHIP -
UK grocery giant Sainsbury’s has announced that 95 percent of the palm oil used in its own-brand products is now certified as sustainably sourced. The supermarket revealed this statistic late last month, on the day it also became the first UK retailer to launch a dishwashing liquid made with palm oil certified as sustainable by mass balance analysis.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), a nonprofit coalition of electronics companies dedicated to supply chain responsibility, has announced that it will conduct shadow audits and increase its industry and government engagement in Malaysia to further combat forced labor.The EICC says it has been working for more than a decade to support the rights and wellbeing of workers and communities worldwide affected by the global electronics supply chain. Although the EICC Code of Conduct bans trafficked and forced labor, completely eradicating it in the global electronics industry supply chain remains a challenge for everyone—including EICC members.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Panera Bread today offered details regarding its progress on sourcing only responsibly raised livestock and poultry, following the introduction of its new Food Policy in June.As part of Panera’s commitment to have a positive impact on the food system and provide transparency, the company is sharing progress on further reduction of antibiotic usage and confinement for farm animals in its U.S. supply chain for Panera Bread and St. Louis Bread Company bakery-cafes.