On September 19, 2024, the NAVEX Next Virtual Conference will take place, with sessions designed to equip risk and compliance leaders with the latest news and guidance on how to navigate the complex landscape. This article, the first in a series, will give a preview of some of the sessions you can learn more about at the virtual conference.

Humanizing the supply chain

There is no doubt in claiming that many businesses have boarded the train of responsible investing over the past few years. Environmental, Social, Governance, (ESG) has probably been the trendiest (and at times, very divisive) acronym around the world, stemming from both the social expectations that businesses protect the environment and provide fair and equitable workplaces, and also a raft of regulatory requirements now requiring businesses to prove their supply chain upholds these principles.

Whether it is environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), pay parity, or data privacy, the awakening to ESG matters simply cannot be ignored.

And at the core of this movement lays human rights. After all, at the very beginning of any supply chain are the people who source raw materials, assemble key components and work to produce everything we buy and consume. Ensuring humane working conditions for these people, respecting their integrity, and remunerating them properly are just the basic needs that need to be prioritized. Growing calls for responsible supply chains for both the environment and the people working within them are becoming louder – and resulting in legislation that actually has teeth to ensure human rights are upheld across supply chains.

As such, supply chain due diligence is a huge deal. Shareholders, consumers and regulators are paying attention to how companies produce their goods all the way down the supply chain. This pressure means companies cannot source materials with the lens of finding the cheapest deal – environmental and human rights impacts must be assessed and disclosed. This momentum promises to only increase, meaning companies of all sizes need to think about how their products affect the environment and the people who make them.

The challenges of human rights in the supply chain

Between the intention to improve operations in the supply chain and the implementation of these ambitions, there often exists a gap. It is not easy or simple for businesses to keep up with evolving regulations, but it is necessary to stay in the game.

Ensuring integrity in your supply chain is no easy feat, but it’s the way of the present and will be more so in the future. This will, in some cases, change how your company operates and who it works with. Shoring up supply chain integrity will also require business continuity plans and contingencies for the inevitable disruptions.

In short, upholding and advocating for human rights in the supply chain leads to many tricky questions that need answering.

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View original article at Risk & Compliance Matters