BSR Insight

A Weekly Newsletter for BSR Members | September 28, 2010

   
 

In This Issue

Editor's Note

Conflict Minerals: Risk or Responsibility?

"Blood phones … an ugly paradox of the 21st century." That's how New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently characterized the challenge of so-called "conflict minerals"—tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold—that are mined from war-torn regions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and used in the supply chains of the high-tech industry for mobile phones and other products.

But the fact is that these minerals are used in many industries, and addressing this challenge is a whole lot more complex than simply eliminating conflict minerals from industry supply chains. In preparation for a BSR Conference 2010 session on this same topic, BSR's Marshall Chase offers four recommendations to help business address some of the underlying causes of conflict in the DRC.

This week, we also report back from London on BSR's latest workshop on sustainable consumption, and from China on how manufacturers can improve worker recruitment and retention and strengthen loyalty and morale in the face of China's labor shortage.

The Path to ‘Conflict-Free’: Risk Management or Responsibility? Department Icon

In Depth

The Path to ‘Conflict-Free’: Risk Management or Responsibility?

By Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services, BSR

Addressing the root causes of the "conflict minerals" issue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo requires a multi-industry approach that includes alignment of company activities, broader ownership of the issue, empowerment of the intended beneficiaries, and engagement with policymakers and governments. Photo courtesy of Pact, www.pactworld.org.

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Toolbox

How Manufacturers Can Succeed During China’s Labor

By Jason Ho, Manager, Advisory Services & CTI, BSR

BSR's new study (commissioned by Primark) investigates the root causes of China's labor shortage in the manufacturing sector and provides recommendations for how companies and suppliers can improve worker recruitment and retention and strengthen loyalty and morale. Beyond increasing wages, manufacturers can pursue the following strategies:

  1. Prioritize human resources planning to help predict fluctuations in labor availability and retain staff talent.
  2. Develop recruitment strategies such as providing incentives for staff recommendations, sending recruitment agents to regions with abundant labor, participating in job fairs, and cooperating with vocational schools.
  3. Invest in training and education programs beyond workplace skills (such as in professionalism, responsibility, and corporate culture) in order to build a reserve of worker talent and strengthen loyalty.
  4. Provide incentives such as free travel tickets, better food, lower dormitory fees, and opportunities for promotion.
  5. Build stronger relationships with workers by providing labor-dispute processes and satisfaction surveys.
  6. Embrace a corporate culture that values trust, happiness, and equality.
  7. Train line managers in communications skills and dispute resolution.
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On the Record

Business and Sustainable Consumption: The Call to Action

In London last week, at BSR's second workshop on business' role in promoting sustainable consumption, representatives from the apparel, food and beverage, telecommunications, and chemicals industries discussed issues such as product design, consumer engagement, and what to do with a product at the end of its use life.

In sharing their common challenges—such as getting sustainable consumption on the business agenda and identifying consumption trends and implications—participants agreed that incremental action is not the answer, and one participant noted:

"The debate on consumption is shadowed by all of the negative impacts we hear about every day. We need to remove the pessimism from the sustainable consumption debate because it allows us to be lazy. The response from companies should instead be 'What are you asking me to do?'"

—Workshop participant (anonymity based on the Chatham House Rule)

Read more about this workshop or summaries of the first workshop here and here. You can also learn more about our sustainable consumption initiative in our report or at the BSR Conference 2010 session on how business leaders, urban planners, policymakers, and others can drive sustainable consumption models in urban settings.