Responsible sourcing & human rights in supply chains

Despite significant attention to the question of protecting workers’ human rights in recent years, the situation remains dire. In 2021, according to the International Labor Office (ILO), 27.6 million people were considered to be subject to forced labor, and 17.3 million – were exploited in the private sector. At the same time, 21% of employed people in 2019 were part of a household with less than $3.1 a day per capita (ILO); and the number of children that have to drop out of school to work has been increasing, with 8.4 million more as compared to 2016, for a total of 160 million children (ILO, UNICEF, 2020).

As a result, many countries have been increasingly adopting due diligence laws to enforce the deployment of grievance mechanisms to fight against forced labor, child labor, and indecent labor conditions.

Large companies, especially Businesses to Consumer, must establish robust due diligence processes to be able to identify and mitigate social and environmental risks in their operations and supply chains.

On top of ethical considerations, changes in consumer preferences are driving businesses to improve their due diligence processes and disclosure. For example, in 2021, fair-trade-labeled products experienced an 11% jump in sales, 35% of which is attributed to the French sector; furthermore, for the first time, their annual sales have passed the bar of €2 billion.

At InclusEO, we believe that complying with the new due diligence regulation represents just the beginning of the rethinking of procurement practices. We help companies (i) innovate in strengthening their grievance mechanisms, (ii) deploy Inclusive Procurement strategies as well as (iii) actions to foster shared value and access to decent work for underprivileged workers.

Accelerating circular economy and regenerative agriculture within one’s supply chain is also an opportunity to create decent work opportunities!