BSR Insight | New California Regulation Spurs Greater Supply Chain Transparency
About the Author(s)
Sasha Radovich, Former Manager, Advisory Services
Publication Date
January 10, 2012
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In a recent roundtable discussion that BSR and San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women led on California’s new anti-human trafficking law—which requires retailers and manufacturers to disclose information related to labor and human trafficking in their supply chains—Verité Southeast Asia Founder and Director Maria Apostol said her organization found debt-bonded forced labor in every single one of its audits in Taiwan and Malaysia where foreign workers were present.
Apostol's statement underscored the magnitude of the problem the law intends to address. But there are two important points beyond the letter of the law:
First, compliance has a different meaning in the eyes of investors, civil society, and consumers. The law requires disclosure on whether a company is taking action on issues such as by verifying the trafficking- and slavery-related risks in its products’ supply chains and auditing its suppliers for compliance with company standards. Stakeholders will expect companies to go beyond this and disclose how they are proactively addressing and eradicating these risks.
Second, this law is part of a larger movement to increase supply chain transparency worldwide. Companies that plan for this by setting up appropriate management systems will be best positioned to meet stakeholder and legislative demands.
Listen to our webinar to learn more about this issue, or contact BSR’s Human Rights Director Faris Natour.
About the Author(s)
Sasha Radovich, Former Manager, Advisory Services
Topics
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