ethicaltrade.org
Purchasing Practices Programmeintegrating ethics into core business practices
Julia Kilbourne -- 13 January 2010Sustainable procurement with developing countries
ethicaltrade.org
ETI exists to improve the lives of workers and their families throughout the world
Why are we here?
ethicaltrade.org
ETI is a three-way alliance ofcompanies, NGOs and trade unions, predominantly involved in retail supply chains
Who are we?
We are supported and part funded by DFID
ethicaltrade.org
What we do
• Identify and promote good practice • Support local alliances that advance workers’
rights • Drive improvements in members’ ethical trade
performance• Provide cutting edge training courses and
resources• Build coalitions among companies and other key
players to achieve maximum impact
ethicaltrade.org
1 in 6 children between the ages of 5 and 14 in the world works
Putting ethical trade into context
ethicaltrade.org
5,000 people around the world die every day from work related accidents or diseases
Putting ethical trade into context
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12.3 million people around the world work as slaves or in other forms of forced labour
Putting ethical trade into context
ethicaltrade.org
Areas of most impact• health and safety• documentation (minimum
wages, hours, benefits)• awareness of legislation
Areas of least impact• freedom of association• discrimination• regular employment
(Barrientos & Smith, 2007)
What we’re best and worst at
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Our strategic priorities
• Good workplaces
• Payment of living wages
• Integrating ethical trade into core business practices
• Tackling discrimination in the workplace
• Focusing improvements on the most vulnerable workers
• Moving beyond audit
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What we expect of members
6 principles of ethical trade• commitment• purchasing practices• capacity building• identifying problems in the supply
chain• improvement actions• transparency
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• Commitment to driving change in the workplace
• Appropriate resource• Incremental improvement• Participation in ETI
activities• Reporting on progress
against benchmarks and targets
What we expect of members
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Benchmarking progress – 4 steps to leadership
Foundation: Minimum policy, resources & process needed to begin ethical trade programme with suppliers
Improver: Embedding policies, management systems and approach. Training and learning
Achiever: Engage with suppliers to makesustainable improvement, share learning
Leader: Demonstrates impact, tackling root causes, collaborative approaches with
industry stakeholders, supports suppliers
ethicaltrade.org
Principles of purchasing practices
The company selects suppliers with good labour practices that are likely to observe the provisions of the Base Code.
ethicaltrade.org
Principles of purchasing practices
The company recognises the contribution that stable business relationships can make to the observance of good labour practices and endeavours to establish long term relationships with its suppliers.
ethicaltrade.org
Principles of purchasing practices
Buying staff and other personnel whose decisions may affect working conditions and labour practices in the supply chain are made aware of the potential impact of such decisions. They are provided with training and guidelines that enable them to carry out company ethical trading policy and their performance is assessed and managed accordingly
ethicaltrade.org
Principles of purchasing practices
The company ensures that the terms of agreements with its suppliers such as prices, lead times and quantities are consistent with the ability of the supplier to observe the provisions of the Base Code.
ethicaltrade.org
Purchasing Practices Programme
A programme to support all corporate members to implement ETI principles of implementation and management benchmarks
• Practical guidelines and examples • Training to share elements of learning • Support members to develop schemes to advance their
implementation of the principles • Systematic sharing of learning from projects (from in and
outside membership)• Assess the impact of purchasing practices schemes to improve
working conditions
ethicaltrade.org
Thank you
About ETIThe Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a ground-breaking alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organisations. We work in partnership to improve the working lives of people across the globe who make or grow consumer goods – everything from tea to T-shirts, from flowers to footballs.
Ethical Trading Initiative8 Coldbath Square London EC1R 5HL UK
T +44 (0) 20 7841 4350F +44 (0) 20 7833 1569E [email protected]
ethicaltrade.org