From the early 1990s people have become increasingly concerned about the conditions of labour standards around the world. However, after considerable time and effort had been spent working on solutions it became apparent to many companies that their individual efforts weren’t working and that they needed to come together to create a collaborative solution.

By the late 1990s a number of key retailers in the UK and their first tier suppliers (Marks and Spencer’s, Tesco, John Lewis Partnership, RHM [now Premier Foods], Northern Foods and Geest [now Bakkavor]) got together to try and improve the situation. The key aim was to be able to gather and report on their supply chain in an easily accessible manner whilst also reducing the burden on suppliers.

In 2004 Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (www.sedex.org.uk), was launched as an online data base for organizations to share and report on ethical and responsible trade. Since then it has grown to become a global system used by more than 20,000 production sites in 132 countries and 250 organizations reporting on their supply chain ranging from Tesco and PepsiCo to Oxfam and the British Red Cross.

WHY WOULD YOU JOIN SEDEX

Suppliers such as factories and farms join Sedex because they want to share their information, and large companies including major retailers and brands join to see this information and report on their supply chain. In addition to using the system, members also have the opportunity to participate in working groups and other forums to discuss a wide range of issues such as ethical auditing and environmental reporting.

Sedex has helped organizations build a network of members and key stakeholders that contributes to the advancement of the ethical and responsible trade agenda as one of Sedex’s ambitions is to help organizations work together to address these issues.

Sedex is a not-for-profit membership organization which simply means that the membership fees go straight back into enhancing the very product to which members are paying for.

HOW IS SEDEX DRIVING A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH?

There are always lots of things going on at Sedex but here are just a few examples of what they have been doing to help drive the collaborative approach to ethical and responsible supply chain management.

SEDEX ASSOCIATED AUDITOR GROUP (AAG)

The AAG working group was formed to drive collaboration on organizations’ approach to ethical auditing. It comprises of a number of auditing companies, internal auditors, NGOs and industry experts who meet every quarter to discuss developments of the auditing process in Sedex and of key issues in ethical auditing as a whole.

One of the key outcomes of the group has been the ‘Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit’ (SMETA). This guidance document, audit template and corrective action plan report was developed in response to the challenge from members to provide a report format for ethical trade audits that could more easily be shared, and to give greater transparency into the auditor qualifications and practices that underpin reports.

To find out more information and to download the relevant documents please go to www.sedex.org.uk.

AIM—PROGRESS

One group that requires a special introduction is PROGRESS. In 2006, a group of FMCG companies, (Cadbury, Danone, Diageo, Kraft, Mars, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever) established a global Programme for Responsible Sourcing (PROGRESS). These companies recognized the overlap in global supply chains and the potential duplication of effort for themselves and their suppliers in pursuing individual programs.

As part of this, PROGRESS investigated a number of different software platforms and agreed on a common approach to evaluate and help manage the social and environmental performance of their suppliers. They joined Sedex in late 2007 in order to use the collaborative tools in Sedex to help them drive the synergies of this initiative.

Sedex has helped organizations build a network of members and key stakeholders that contributes to the advancement of the ethical and responsible trade agenda

The collaborative theme has continued to grow and the initiative has spread to the creation of the AIM-PROGRESS group—a wider forum of consumer goods companies assembled to enable and promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable production systems.

AIM-PROGRESS* is a global initiative supported and sponsored by AIM (brand manufacturers association) in Europe and the GMA (Grocery Manufacturers Association) in North America. Its key objectives include the provision of a forum to exchange views regarding responsible sourcing practices and supporting the effective collaboration and potential convergence with other global initiatives having similar aims or interests. It aims to develop and promote the use of common evaluation methods to determine CSR performance within the supply chain and drive efficiencies for all companies by collecting, assessing and sharing noncompetitive information on supply chain CSR performance. Whilst a common approach can be agreed, all supplier policies, ethics code and supplier programmes remain individual to each company.

*More information can be found at: www.aim.be

NEW SECTORS ON SEDEX

Sedex continues to grow globally in a number of key sectors including produce, clothing and home wares, but their membership is not purely geared for commercial companies.

For instance, there is a growing interest from the charity sector. Oxfam (www.oxfam.org.uk) have been members since 2007 and Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org.uk) and British Red Cross (www.redcross.org.uk) joined this year.

Due to the growing development in public sector procurement, the Greater London Authority (www.london.gov.uk) has recently joined, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (http://www.london-2012.co.uk/LOCOG/) and BBC.

The governance structure represents everyone in the supply chain, and the considerable input from members has allowed the organization to achieve a great deal. Recognizing that the issues are complex and that this can’t be done alone; Sedex has continuously sought to work with like minded organizations to drive convergence worldwide in the approach to, and management of, ethical and responsible business practices.