Tags | Supply Chain | BSR | Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility Network and Consultancy

Partners in Sustainable Procurement: Hilton Worldwide and BSR

Guest perspective by William Kornegay, Senior Vice President, Hilton Supply Management, Hilton Worldwide

For some time, we’ve been working to understand the sustainability impact of the goods and services Hilton Worldwide purchases on a yearly basis. Read more →

HERproject: Educating Factory Workers and Company Executives Alike

Marcus Chung, Director, Vendor Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility, Talbots

With small teams and limited resources, we CSR practitioners must often integrate our work into other departments' business processes to achieve our strategies and objectives. Given that, one of the most important parts of my job is to educate other Talbots departments and colleagues about what I do and why it's important to consider the external effects of our decision-making. Read more →

In the Spotlight: Wastewater in China’s Textile Industry

Andy Chen, Associate, Advisory Services

With the rapid growth of China’s economy, textile exports tally about US$212 billion, accounting for 34 percent of total market share. Accompanying this development is (quite literally) an unwanted byproduct: wastewater—approximately 2.5 billion tons annually, according to one report. Read more →

Understanding the Plight of the Young Worker in China

Cherry Lin, Project Assistant

As the Chinese economy continues to develop, new issues have arisen around the relationship between employers and young employees in the manufacturing sector. To understand these issues, the China National Textile and Apparel Council and the Center for Child-Rights and Corporate Social Responsibility came together in July 2011 to examine the plight of young migrant workers in six different factories. The initiative was carried out with support of the Swedish Embassy, and ultimately offered advice for employers to improve management strategies by enhancing communication with young workers. Read more →

Learning the Right Lessons From the Apple Story

Aron Cramer, President and CEO

A decade ago, Apple made a splash with its “Think Different” advertising campaign. Today, with Apple in the headlines concerning labor conditions in its supply chain, it’s time for all of us to think different about how to improve the lives of the millions of workers making the products that drive our global economy. While it’s tempting to point to particular companies as the core of the problem, the reality—and the solutions—are much broader and much more complex. Read more →

HERproject Partner Profile From Bangladesh: Awaj Foundation

Amaya Gorostiaga, Manager, Advisory Services

Note: This is the third blog in a three-part series highlighting the impact of HERproject in Bangladesh. The first blog explored impacts within and beyond factory walls through the stories of HERproject peer educators. The second blog shared a participating brand’s perspective on health and business impacts she has seen, and this blog profiles one of our NGO partners. Read more →

HERproject: A Perspective From Primark

By Libby Annat, Senior Ethical Trade Manager, Primark

Note: This is the second blog in a three-part series highlighting the impact of HERproject in Bangladesh. The first blog explored impacts within and beyond factory walls through the stories of HERproject peer educators. This blog shares a participating brands’ perspective on health and business impacts she has seen, and the third blog profiles one of our NGO partners. Read more →

Conflict Minerals and Global Trends in Responsible Sourcing

Sasha Radovich, Manager, Advisory Services

Note: This is the third blog in a three-part series highlighting the critical issues that risk getting lost in the rush to implement due diligence on conflict minerals. Our first blog discussed the local impacts of supply chain policies. The second blog focused on the importance and relevance of local labor and environmental issues outside the conflict. Read more →

Conflict Minerals and Local Development Concerns

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

Note: This is the second of three blogs highlighting the critical issues that risk getting lost in the rush to implement due diligence on conflict minerals. Our first blog discussed the local impacts of supply chain policies, and the next will explore the connection with global responsible sourcing issues. Read more →

Conflict Minerals: The Impacts of the Regulations

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

Once the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issues its final conflict minerals reporting regulations—due soon—we expect many companies to focus on the due diligence required to ensure “conflict-free” products. But a narrow focus on the rules neglects a point BSR has regularly emphasized in our years working on conflict minerals: Companies must take action with a real understanding of how that activity will affect local communities, and how it will fit into global supply chain sustainability trends. Read more →

During Tough Economic Times, Is It Time to Focus on the Fundamentals?

At the BSR Conference this year, I moderated a lively, insightful, and solutions-focused panel on “Child Labor, Culture, and Compliance.” Given the breadth of private, public, and civil society experience among our panelists and the audience, we were able to come up with some concrete solutions, including the sharing of effective monitoring tools and early-warning systems to pick up and respond swiftly to instances of child labor, and to outline what good remediation looks like—which, in this instance, is about giving a child laborer his or her life back. Read more →

An Expert’s View on Labor Trends in China

Jason Ho, Manager, Advisory Services & CTI

I recently sat down with legal expert and Shenzhen University Professor Hou Lingling to discuss the implications of China’s 12th five-year plan. In particular, we focused on the new social insurance law, which guarantees five social insurances for workers, including: pension, unemployment, work injury, medical care, and maternity leave regardless of non-local residency. We also spoke about the collective bargaining mechanisms (CBM) that were developed in response to demands from a new generation of workers that is more conscious of their rights and frequently using collective action against their employers. Read more →

The Pharmaceutical Industry’s Sustainable Supply Chain

Mark Little, Director, Health Care, Advisory Services

The Pharmaceutical industry is making great strides in a pre-competitive collaboration to improve sustainability in its supply chain. Since inception of the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Initiative (PSCI) in 2006, membership has nearly doubled to 14 companies, a recognition that “Big Pharma” sees a business case in working together to develop a common set of environmental, social, and ethical supplier standards. Read more →

Ten Years Later: Human Rights in a Post-9/11 World

At the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, I was in Montreal attending the CIVICUS World Assembly, an annual gathering of more than 900 civil society organizations (CSOs), including NGOs, trade unions, and faith-based organizations. Looking at various U.S. newspapers and my Facebook feed that morning, the reporting centered on the senseless deaths of that tragic day, people discussing where they were at that exact moment, and those that they had lost. All the coverage made me realize that the wounds remain fresh 10 years and two difficult wars later. Read more →

Regulating Supply Chain Sustainability

Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

What would have been unthinkable only a few years ago is now the order of the day. Read more →

Where BSR Will Be in September

Summer is over for BSR staff in the Northern Hemisphere with September shaping up to be a packed month. Here are a few of the places we’ll be and events we’re hosting. We hope to see you there! Read more →

How Companies Can Help Prevent Trafficking

Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services

It’s estimated that 80 percent of global trafficking victims are women, and the vast majority are ensnared in sexual exploitation through the promise of legitimate jobs, marriage, “a way out,” or the lure of love from a male figure. Women and girls often become trapped in their situations through the threat (or reality) of violence, physical bondage, psychological control, and drug addiction. Around the world, poverty and illiteracy are some of the most common factors among female victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Read more →

VIDEO: How the Tech Sector Should Address Human Rights

Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services

Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Council approved new Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As a result, more clarity exists today than ever before on governments' duty to protect human rights and business' responsibility to respect human rights. Read more →

Audits Are Falling Short for Women

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Last month, the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights (formerly the National Labor Committee), released a report documenting widespread human rights abuses at a factory in Jordan that supplies apparel products to international buyers. Among the allegations were numerous reports of sexual abuse by facility managers, highlighting a history of abuse by one manager in particular. Buyer responses, to date, have been to cite their commitments to rigorous auditing protocols and established social-compliance standards. Read more →

Why Solar Should Care About Sustainability

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

Solar power is a poster child of sustainability, at least from the standpoint of energy users. It provides a clean alternative to GHG-emitting fossil fuels and runs indefinitely on free energy from the sun. What more, then, is there to the sustainability of solar energy? Read more →

How to Create Financial Inclusion for Workers in the Supply Chain

Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services

We recently hosted a virtual roundtable on the topic of financial inclusion in the supply chain. Funded by Citi Foundation and co-hosted by Microfinance Opportunities, a non-profit that focuses on financial education, the two-hour event provided participants with an opportunity to share case studies, ask questions, and discuss challenges on bringing formal savings and remittances, among other vital financial services, to low-income workers in the supply chain. Read more →

Global HERproject Partners Gather in Indonesia for Annual Convening and Country Launch

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Last week in Jakarta, Indonesia, HERproject partners from around the world gathered with more than 40 participants from Indonesian factories and NGOs and HERproject participating companies to discuss workplace women’s health solutions and kick off the initiative in the country. At the meeting, we shared HERproject impact stories and data from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam; explored challenges and solutions to workplace interventions; and discussed methods to sustain and replicate successful programs. Read more →

Finding Hidden Opportunities in the Supply Chain

Last month’s headlines in China included a deadly accident at Foxconn, a product recall that took Little Sheep meatballs off retailer shelves, and chemically induced “exploding” watermelons that cast doubts on produce quality in Jiangsu Province. For Apple, Yum! Brands, and many other firms that source from China, stories such as these are constant reminders of the many risks inherent to complex supply chains. Given this, it is not surprising that most companies take a risk-management approach to their supply chains. Read more →

Calling Port in Oakland in a Hybrid

Eva Dienel, Communications Manager

I pull into the Port of Oakland’s Global Gateway Central terminal following a silver Honda Insight that looks microscopic next to the Singapore, an APL container ship at berth nearby. But the 14-foot car and the 900-foot ship have something in common: They’re both hybrids. Read more →

Where BSR Will Be in June

June is shaping up to be a busy month for BSR staff around the world. Here’s a few of the place we’ll be—and events we’re hosting. We hope to see you there! Read more →

Embedding the Millennium Development Goals into Business Strategy: the World’s Women Can Help

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

During the CERES conference earlier this month, Levi Strauss CEO John Anderson made an important announcement: Levi Strauss will begin to require their suppliers to go beyond compliance and support the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through workplace policies and programs and community outreach. Using the MDGs as a measurement for impact, Anderson said, will help apparel companies and apparel manufacturing businesses create positive benefits for local communities—such as improved health and nutrition, or access to bank accounts and financial literacy. Support for local communities and economic growth can lead to industry stability and ensure a sustainable supply of quality products. Plus, it’s the right thing to do. Read more →

The Truth About the Migrant Worker Recruitment Process

Guy Morgan, Director, Advisory Services

Last week, Laura Ediger and I were in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia, to study the recruitment process of semi-skilled workers who migrate to Malaysia each year to work in the ICT and apparel sectors. As part of our Migration Linkages initiative which seeks to uphold the rights of migrant workers in global supply chains, we are looking at countries of origin to understand the process by which workers find jobs, sign contracts, and leave their villages on extended work visas abroad. Read more →

A Letter from San Francisco

Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services

Seven years ago today, I boarded a Virgin Airways flight from London Heathrow to San Francisco armed with a one-way ticket, a quaint English accent, and all the unbounded optimism that accompanies a promising new stage of life. I was headed west to work for BSR, tasked with engaging the world’s largest technology companies in their efforts to become more sustainable. I’d never been to the United States before, but from all I’d read about San Francisco, I’d clearly hit the jackpot. Fast forward seven years and I’m moving to a new, equally engaging role at BSR, handing over my portfolio of work to Vijay Kanal, BSR’s new director of our Information and Communications Technology (ICT) practice. In light of this transition, I’ve reflected on how the ICT industry’s approach to sustainability has shifted over the past several years. Here I offer what I believe to be the three most significant developments that I’ve had the privilege to witness, and the corresponding areas where significant improvement is required. Read more →

Rebuilding Sustainability Reporting Guidance From the Ground Up—Starting in Chile

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

Should organizations be accountable for the performance of their supply chains? What information should they disclose? The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Working Group on Supply Chain Disclosures met last week in Santiago, Chile, to answer these questions in order to help improve supply chain reporting—which was identified by stakeholders and the GRI board as a weak point in overall sustainability reporting. Read more →

What Conflict Minerals Regulation Means on the Ground

Amaya Gorostiaga, Manager, Advisory Services

I recently returned from a trip to Kigali, Rwanda, where I attended a regional conference on mineral certification—an effort to create responsible supply chains for “conflict minerals” mined from the African Great Lakes Region. Through the discussions, I learned where the region stands on promoting transparency and good governance in the artisanal and small-scale mining sectors, and the implications that recent legislative efforts would have on companies operating in, or sourcing from, the region. Read more →

Bringing Energy Efficiency to Inland China

Last week, I traveled to Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei Province for a two-day meeting on energy efficiency and carbon reduction with representatives from the Guangdong and Hubei provinces and the British Embassy. Wuhan has approximately 9 million people, three city centers, and is sprawled across several rivers and lakes—but more importantly, the city is currently in the middle of a major modernization effort. Read more →

HERproject Takes to the Field in Kenya

Jennifer Schappert, Associate, Advisory Services

During my most recent trip for HERproject with colleague Ryan Flaherty, the term "fieldwork" took on a whole new meaning—we found ourselves suiting up in boots and smelling roses. Ryan and I traveled to Naivasha (an hour northwest of Nairobi) to lay the groundwork for expanding HERproject into the cut-flower and food-processing industries in Kenya. Traditionally, BSR’s HERproject—a factory-based program that provides peer-to-peer health education to female workers—has operated in factories in the garment and information technology (IT) sectors. Read more →

Taking Worker Rights to Scale—So What If There Isn’t a Business Case?

I just returned from Singapore, where (thanks to the generous support of the Levi Strauss Foundation) we convened a leading group of worker rights training organizations from around the world to collaborate on ways to scale and deepen the impact of their daunting and difficult in-factory work. Read more →

Conflict Minerals Reporting Regulations: Who is Covered?

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released draft conflict minerals reporting rulesin December 2010 that have significant implications for a range of corporate sustainability issues—from supply chain monitoring and transparency to integrated reporting and responsible investing. In the short term, however, many people are simply focused on understanding and commenting on these rules, which are open for comment until the end of January 2011. Read more →

ISO 26000 Approved for Publication. Now What?

Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services

Following five years of a consensus-based iteration process, ISO 26000 guidance on implementing social responsibility was recently approved for publication as an ISO International Standard, due for release on November 1. There’s been a lot of buzz in the CSR field around this standard, but what does reaching this milestone actually mean? Read more →

What the U.S. Legislation on Conflict Minerals Means for the Private Sector

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

The U.S. financial reform legislation signed into law yesterday includes a provision requiring publicly traded companies to report on their use of “conflict minerals”—including gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten—whose trade helps fund armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Read more →

Conflict Minerals and Supply Chain Scrutiny

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

Two recent events on opposite sides of the United States will have significant implications for industries ranging from high-tech electronics and aircraft engines to commodities like cans and cutting tools, whose supply chains source minerals like gold and ores containing tantalum, tin, and tungsten. In Washington, D.C., the financial reform legislation passed by a House-Senate conference committee early June 25 included a provision requiring companies to publicly report on their use of so-called “conflict minerals” from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and neighboring countries. And in California’s Silicon Valley, the trustees of Stanford University have voted to support shareholder resolutions on the same subject. Read more →

Making Supply Chain Guidance Comprehensive—and Comprehensible

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

Ensuring minimum standards for responsible business conduct within any company is a large undertaking. The challenge of extending those standards to suppliers and sub-tiers of supply chains is complex and evolving, which is one of the reasons this work can be so interesting, frustrating, and rewarding. Read more →

Sustainability Outlook 2020: Hyper-transparency and the New Global Supply Chain

Eric Olson, Senior Vice President, Advisory Services

Over the past several months, I‘ve worked with a wide range of companies in global shipping, financial services, retailing, and consumer electronics to devise forward-looking sustainability strategies that take account of radically shifting conditions in their sectors and markets. In every one of these cases, the twin trends of “hyper-transparency” and global supply chain shifts have been at or near the center of attention. Read more →

Evaluating the Impact of Supply Chain Sustainability

As discussed in BSR’s recent report on key performance indicators for responsible sourcing, metrics for identifying and evaluating the impact of sustainable supply chain initiatives on society are generally underdeveloped. Read more →

In Conversation with Factory Workers in Bangalore

By Nandini Hampole

I was recently in Bangalore to kick off the HERproject Southern India expansion through renewed partnerships with international companies, their supplier factories, and our local partner St. John’s Medical College. Read more →

Policymakers and Protecting Human Rights in Supply Chains

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

This week I testified before a joint committee hearing (PDF) of the California State Senate. Three senators, including Senate leader Darrel Steinberg, heard testimony from academics, campaigners, social services providers, business, and fair trade organizations on the role of state government in protecting human rights throughout global supply chains. Read more →

Why You Should Care that Fish Are Shrinking

Stephanie Greene, Former Manager, BSR

Levi Strauss’ Michael Kobori on Supply Chain Sustainability ★

At last week’s Ceres Conference, the “Great Expectations: Building a Sustainable Supply Chain” session examined how companies are improving workers’ well-being in the supply chain. Read more →

Bettercoal Launches to Advance CSR in the Coal Supply Chain ★

Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services

Bettercoal, a global, not-for-profit initiative supporting the continuous improvement of corporate responsibility in the international coal supply chain, launched last week. Read more →

Improving Worker Well-Being: A Case Study of Levi Strauss & Co.‘s Supply Chain Approach ★

Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services; Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Consider two stories that illuminate challenges in the typical approach to supply chain compliance today: Read more →

Report Calls on Global Apparel Companies to Address Water Pollution in China ★

Five environmental organizations—including China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, founded by Ma Jun, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday—sent letters to the CEOs of 48 apparel companies, calling on them to address wastewater pollution and the inefficient use of water in their Chinese supply chains. Read more →

The New Reality of Water in China: Informed Activism and No Guarantees ★

Laura Ediger, Environmental Manager; Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services

While the carbon dioxide emissions of China’s manufacturers may receive international attention, water pollution and scarcity hit much closer to home. Local governments, communities, and consumers in China are putting more pressure on factories to clean up their waste streams and use less water. Read more →

Four Key Sustainability Trends in Retail ★

The Retail Industry Leaders Association’s first sustainability report on the industry’s environmental, social, and community impacts features company case studies and identifies four key trends: Read more →

New California Regulation Spurs Greater Supply Chain Transparency ★

Sasha Radovich, Manager, Advisory Services

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. Read more →

Helping Your Suppliers Improve Their Sustainability Efforts ★

Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services

To increase the reach of sustainability efforts, companies are using sophisticated questionnaires, scorecards, and indices as tools for supplier engagement. However, companies often superimpose their own sustainability goals on suppliers without considering how these tools could enable stronger governance structures, systems, and strategies for suppliers. Read more →

HP, Dell, and Nokia Top Greenpeace’s Green Products Ranking ★

Greenpeace’s 2011 “Guide to Greener Electronics” ranks 15 leading mobile phone, TV, and computer manufacturers on their policies and practices to reduce climate impacts, produce greener products, and make their operations more sustainable. HP, Dell, and Nokia top the list of the greenest manufacturers, while LG Electronics, Toshiba, and RIM take the bottom three ranks. Read more →

The Future of Fuels ★

Eric Olson, Senior Vice President, Advisory Services

The recent public actions and debate around the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is designed to transport increasing amounts of fuel produced from Alberta’s oil sands into the United States, have demonstrated just how important—and complicated—the questions about our common energy future have become. Read more →

Implementing a Living Wage Program ★

Roger McElrath, Manager, Advisory Services

Note: This is the second in a two-part series examining living wage. Part one looked at what constitutes a living wage, who is responsible for ensuring that it is defined, and the role of the company in providing it. Read more →

Reflections From the BSR Conference 2011: We Have the Will—and the Power—to Act ★

Kara Hurst, Vice President

In his opening address at the BSR Conference 2011, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore talked about the “functional insanity” of CEOs and CFOs who choose short-term gains over long-term sustainability. He referenced a study in which these leaders were asked what they would do if they were given a chance to make an investment that would increase their company’s profitability and sustainability—with the catch being that they would miss their quarterly targets. Eighty percent said they would not make the investment. Read more →

A Practical Guide to Social and Environmental Compliance in the Licensing Industry ★

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

BSR’s new guide—created with the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers’ Association and BSR’s Licensing Working Group (which includes representatives from Hasbro, NBCUniversal, Time Warner, and the Walt Disney Company)—helps the licensing industry promote social and environmental standards among a complex network of licensors, licensees, agents, suppliers, factories, and retailers. Read more →

OECD’s Business Guide to Sustainable Growth ★

The OECD’s new Sustainable Manufacturing Toolkit helps businesses—particularly small- to medium-sized companies and supply chain firms—grow more sustainably by improving their operational efficiency, reviewing the materials they use for production, rethinking their products’ benefits and challenges, and supporting continuous improvement in their teams. Read more →

The Business Case for Supply Chain Energy Efficiency ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

In this video, learn about the business case for investing in supply chain energy efficiency, which includes three elements: Read more →

Sustainability: What’s Quality Got to Do With It? ★

Raj Sapru, Director, Advisory Services

About a half century ago, Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran were asking some questions that sounded ahead of their time: How can companies redesign whole systems to overcome corporate challenges and improve products, service, and the organization? Read more →

The 4:1 ROI for Women’s Health Initiatives ★

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

BSR’s factory-based women’s health education program has the potential to deliver a US$4 return for every dollar invested in the project, according to a new study. Read more →

Investing in Factory Workers’ Mental Health and Well-Being ★

Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services

In response to the reported rise of suicides among Chinese factory workers, leading companies are investing in employee-assistance programs (EAPs)—including mental health education, diagnostic services, and counseling—to help workers and their families balance work- and personal-life demands, while also improving productivity. While common in North America, EAPs are emerging as important tools for addressing the root causes of mental health issues among workers in China. Read more →

Room for Another Standard? ★

View larger image here. Read more →

Adapting to China’s Changing Health Care Market ★

Mark Little, Director, Health Care, Advisory Services; Chloё Poynton, Associate, Advisory Services

The health care landscape in China is quickly changing, with both government and consumers increasingly concerned about the cost and quality of products from multinational pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Read more →

The Economic Implications of Resource Scarcity ★

Linda Hwang, Manager, Research

Last week in Toronto, Canada, the World Economic Forum hosted a roundtable on the role of capital and investment in shaping the future of natural resource availability. Participants from mining, agriculture, government, and the investment community discussed how corporate responsibility—and issues such as transparency and local economic development in particular—have created additional costs associated with resource extraction, distribution, and consumption. In particular, attendees emphasized the importance of investing in people to increase their CSR knowledge. Read more →

Why Is Living Wage So Complex? ★

Roger McElrath, Manager, Advisory Services

Ever since the United Nations adopted its new human rights framework, companies have had an added impetus to ensure that the treatment of their employees, workers in supply chain partners, and people in local communities is just and in accordance with international standards. Read more →

Improving Migrant Worker Recruitment in Indonesia ★

Chris Nolan, Manager, Advisory Services

BSR’s Migration Linkages initiative released a new report covering the experiences of migrant workers who leave Indonesia for Malaysia. The report also includes recommendations for improving Indonesia’s recruitment system. Read more →

Scaling the Impact of Worker Rights In-Factory Trainings ★

BSR—in partnership with the Levi Strauss Foundation (LSF)—recently authored a train-the-trainer resource for under-resourced worker rights training organizations operating in the light manufacturing industry. In developing this guide, organizations including Better Work, BSR’s China Training Institute, the Asia Foundation, Verite, and CARE collaborated for the first time to share lessons learned and innovative approaches to delivering worker rights trainings. Read more →

Conflict Minerals Policy, Management, and Reporting for Supply Chain ★

Corporate executives are experiencing increased risk exposures from conflict minerals in an already challenging and rapidly changing international business environment. Pending regulation that requires companies using minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of Congo or adjoining countries to report on their due diligence measures regarding the source and chain of custody of those minerals is one evolving aspect of managing risks within supply chains. Read more →

Conflict Minerals Due Diligence: What Can Companies Expect? ★

Sasha Radovich, Manager, Advisory Services

In February, Apple was the first company to disclose how many of its suppliers use “conflict minerals,” or tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold that may be sourced from and contribute to armed conflict in the regions around the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Apple also reported how many smelters originally processed the minerals, indicating its ability to trace them in its supply chain. Apple, along with other companies, including HP, Dell, and Intel, have announced strict policies to eliminate minerals that are not certified as “conflict free” from their supply chains. Read more →

Social Impact Assessments Help Companies Manage Risks and Opportunities ★

Alison Colwell, Manager, Advisory Services

With growing stakeholder expectations and increasingly complex operating environments, leading companies recognize the need for a more comprehensive approach to understanding and managing project risks and opportunities that moves beyond regulatory requirements. Social impact assessments (SIA)—the process of analyzing, monitoring, and managing social issues such as resettlement and access to water—can help companies reduce risks, enhance operational decision-making, improve stakeholder relations, maximize community benefits, and secure a company’s license to operate. Read more →

New BSR Tool Educates Women in Developing Countries on Health Issues ★

Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services

BSR’s new HERproject Toolbuilder allows public health educators to create accurate and culturally relevant tools to educate women working in factories and farms in developing countries about health issues. BSR’s HERproject has demonstrated that investments in women’s health deliver business benefits such as reduced absenteeism and turnover and increased productivity. Read more →

Explore Our Impact: Videos ★

Take a deeper dive into the BSR Report 2010 and core areas of our work in video clips that provide personal perspective from BSR staff members. Read more →

Partnership Innovation: It Takes a Supply Chain to Improve Women’s Health ★

Over the past six weeks, I have traveled from meeting to meeting in Washington, D.C., Bangkok, and Geneva to develop opportunities for BSR to partner with funders and others to provide resources to tackle challenges as diverse and broad as childhood nutrition, climate change adaptation, and energy efficiency. These discussions have gotten me thinking about the importance of innovative partnerships in addressing big challenges, and how business can be more effective in its work with government, civil society, and even private funders. Read more →

The Human Face of Water-Related Risk Assessments ★

Linda Hwang, Manager, Research

At the CEO Water Mandate meeting in Copenhagen last week—which focused on corporate water disclosure—one participant reminded us of the connections between water, healthy populations, and corporate performance. Despite the growing number of tools to help investors and companies assess water-related risks, companies will miss a critical factor when evaluating their long-term risks if the tools do not link physical-, regulatory-, and reputational-risk frameworks to people’s ability to participate in the growth of healthy economies. Read more →

Creating a Supply Chain Strategy for Conflict Minerals ★

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

In this video, learn about the steps company leaders should take—from visioning and internal alignment through supply chain mapping and external engagement—to address conflict minerals in their supply chains. Read more →

How Companies Can Collaborate to Improve Factory Labor Issues ★

Adam Lane, Manager, Advisory Services

In the Beijing Development Area (BDA), an economic zone with a high concentration of factory workers, companies are facing severe challenges such as recruiting and retaining workers—issues that prevail in similar manufacturing regions across China. Read more →

Managing Energy by Working Directly With Suppliers ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

With increasing pressure from investors and growing energy constraints, it’s no longer a question for company leaders about whether to address climate change impacts. It’s a priority. One of the surest bets for company managers to do so is to identify opportunities to reduce energy waste, whether through an organized sustainability program or as part of quality management and lean efforts. Read more →

Improving the Environmental Performance of Ports and Terminals ★

Raj Sapru, Director, Advisory Services

BSR’s new report—supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund—highlights the risks and opportunities associated with improving the sustainability performance of ports and terminal operations, a part of the supply chain often left out of broader supply chain sustainability efforts. Read more →

Improving the Environmental Performance of Ports and Terminals ★

Raj Sapru, Director, Advisory Services; Laura Ediger, Environmental Manager

Around the world, the shipping industry accounts for more than a third of the value of all trade, and about 4 percent of global carbon emissions. While ports contribute a relatively small amount of the industry’s climate impacts—and of the overall impacts of supply chains—they often have a significant effect on local communities due to their contribution to air pollution. Emission sources include ships docked at the terminal, fuel used in cargo-handling equipment, and the various modes of transportation, especially trucks, that converge at ports to move goods onto the next leg of their journey. Read more →

Maximizing Benefits From Supply Chain Sustainability ★

Charlotte Bancilhon, Associate, Advisory Services

BSR's new issue brief presents the business case for improving social and environmental performance throughout companies’ supply chains. Through practical case studies, this brief illustrates that by helping suppliers improve their sustainability performance and by investing in opportunities such as energy management or workplace improvements, companies can achieve real benefits such as enhanced supply chain security and reduced costs. Read more →

Building Effective Local Content Strategies ★

Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Advisory Services

BSR's new report highlights some of the challenges and opportunities extractives companies face in building local content programs that drive commercial value and deliver sustainable local development benefits in countries where they operate. Read more →

Operating Locally: BSR’s Three-Step Approach to Delivering Lasting Value ★

Michael Oxman, Director, Advisory Services

Leading energy and extractive companies continue to develop new approaches to ensuring benefits to local communities and other key stakeholders from large capital projects and ongoing operations. These benefits include economic opportunities such as employment and the procurement of goods and services from local suppliers as well as benefits from social investments in education, health, and other community areas of need. Read more →

Stories From the Field ★

Interview with Richard Feinberg, Professor, University of California, San Diego, by Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services, BSR

Terry Nelidov, project manager of BSR's DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project, recently talked with University of California, San Diego Professor Richard Feinberg, a senior advisor to the project, about his insights gained from developing the case studies for it in BSR’s new compendium “Stories From the Field.” In excerpts below from the conversation, Professor Feinberg highlights both overall learnings from the three-year project and practical tools that companies anywhere in the world can apply to their labor and competitiveness strategies. Read more →

Closer Look: Understanding Land Deals in Africa ★

The International Institute for Environment and Development's new guide to understanding land deals in Africa explores the significant impacts land contracts have on agriculture and food security in recipient countries. Land contracts define the terms of an investment project, and particularly how risks, costs, and benefits are distributed and who has the authority to sign the contract and through what process. Read more →

Waste Not, Want Not—An Overview of Food Waste ★

Guy Morgan, Director, Advisory Services

As highlighted in BSR's new research brief on food waste—the first in a series exploring different elements of sustainable consumption—there is enough food to feed the world, but 30 percent of all food grown worldwide (approximately US$48.3 billion) is either lost or wasted before it reaches the consumer. Read more →

Prosperity on a Crowded Planet: BSR’s Next Phase of Work on Sustainable Consumption ★

Virginia Terry, Director, Advisory Services

By nearly any measure, our current consumption patterns are not sustainable. The 2010 World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Index—which reflects changes in the health of the planet’s ecosystems—shows a drop by about 30 percent since 1970, and its 2010 Living Planet Report concludes that we are now using 50 percent more natural resources than Earth can sustain. This decline is already stalling progress addressing the needs of the more than 1 billion people who still lack adequate food, clothing, and shelter. As the population continues to grow, from 7 billion today to 9 billion in 2050, we need to shift to a more sustainable form of consumption that meets people’s needs without overtaxing natural resources. Read more →

Closing the Gender Gap in Agriculture ★

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization released a new report on the business case for addressing gender issues in agriculture and rural employment. According to the report, women in all regions face gender-related constraints that reduce their productivity and impose real costs on society. Read more →

Women and Sustainability: Integrating Women Into Your Business and Sustainability Strategies ★

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Growth in women’s income, education levels, and labor participation rates makes them essential participants in the global economy, and engagement with women and girls increasingly critical to sustainable growth for every industry. Women contribute to the private sector’s social license to operate; market, crop, and supply chain stability; a talented and stable employee base; and market growth and innovation. Additionally, investments in women have a multiplier effect, as women are more likely to reinvest in education, health, and economic activities at the community level. Read more →

Reducing the Environmental Impacts of Global Goods Transportation ★

Raj Sapru, Director, Advisory Services

BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG)—a business-to-business initiative among leading shippers (retailers, manufacturers), ocean carriers, and logistics providers that creates practical tools for measuring and reducing the environmental impacts of global goods transportation—released a new report, which includes an overview of CCWG tools used for benchmarking performance, estimating average carbon dioxide emissions for global trade lanes, and understanding the environmental challenges and opportunities in the sector. Read more →

Will Old Europe Become the New World of Sustainability in 2011? ★

Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

European companies, government officials, and civil society representatives have tended to scoff at their American cousins’ approach to sustainability, and also at the perceived fundamental disregard for the environment and human rights in BRIC countries. But as we make our way into 2011, I sense a shift in Europe toward a more somber mood, similar to the sobriety that comes to a soccer team the day after an unexpected defeat by a mignon competitor: heads down, feet dragging, and a realization that something different has to be done. Read more →

The Business Case for Water ★

Linda Hwang, Manager, Research

Last week, BSR and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development co-hosted a forum in Washington, D.C. on corporate water strategies. JPMorgan Chase's James Fuschetti delivered the event's keynote address on the business case for investing time and resources into activities linked to water stewardship. He noted that having a clear understanding of the physical water risks for global facilities and meeting local stakeholders' expectations for water use are just two benefits of a proactive water strategy. Read more →

Greenpeace Ranks Green Electronics for 2011 ★

Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services

Greenpeace just released its third "Green Electronics Survey"—which assesses the greenest electronics products that will be available in 2011, and ranks 18 leading electronics manufacturers on three criteria: removing toxic substances, responsible take-back of their end-of-life products, and energy efficiency. Read more →

Responsible Sourcing Network Helps Companies Combat Human Rights Abuses in Supply Chains ★

Corporate accountability NGO As You Sow recently launched the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) in an effort to combat slavery and other human rights abuses in corporate supply chains. RSN provides a space for companies, investors, NGOs, and other stakeholders to share best practices and take coordinated action. RSN is presently working to end forced child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry, and addressing the conflict minerals trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—where profits help fuel one of the world's bloodiest conflicts. Read more →

Water in the 21st Century: Shared Risks Demand Shared Action ★

By Gavin Power, Deputy Director, UN Global Compact, and Jason Morrison, Program Director, Pacific Institute

Today, people around the world identify water issues as the most serious sustainability challenges facing our planet. Read more →

Coalition Provides U.S. SEC With Recommendations on Conflict Minerals ★

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

A group of NGOs, investors, and companies—facilitated by BSR and led by AMD, the Enough Project, and As You Sow—has developed recommendations to guide the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) pending rulemaking on conflict minerals (defined as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This rulemaking, mandated by the U.S. financial reform legislation passed in July, will require U.S.-listed companies to report if their products contain conflict minerals, which are so named because of the role of armed groups in mining and taxing their trade. Read more →

The Advent of Supply Chain Climate Reporting: Reading CDP’s 2010 Results on Scope 3 ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

The Global 500 Report, Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) annual summary of climate reporting by the world’s 500 largest companies released in September, gives the most insight to date on corporations' reporting about climate change and their supply chains. But what does it tell us? Read more →

Doing Business With China’s New Generation of Workers ★

Wei Dong Zhou, Vice President, Broad Group

In December 2009, Time magazine unveiled its short list for Person of the Year. Though the Chinese worker was eventually a runner up to Ben Bernanke, the second-place nomination belies huge changes sweeping across China, as “new generation” workers aspire to more than just higher wages and better working conditions. As we learn from a discussion with BSR’s China Director, these workers represent a significant shift taking place that has implications for global companies, consumers, and 800 million workers in a country that no longer wants to be “the sweatshop of the world.” Read more →

Actress and Activist Challenges Us to ‘Engage When the Going Gets Rough’ ★

The BSR Conference 2010 plenary and I³ sessions featured global experts who shared ideas on how to integrate innovation into strategy and core business. Read more →

‘Workers’ Rights’ Tops List of Priorities in Year Ahead ★

According to one key finding from a new survey of nearly 400 BSR members (see chart below), workers' rights has jumped to the top of the list of significant priorities for companies' CSR/sustainability efforts in the year ahead, followed by human rights, climate change, and water quality/availability. Climate change dropped two spots from last year, when it was at the top of the list and workers' rights was third. Read more →

Demonstration Projects Link Responsible Labor and Competitiveness ★

Jessica Hyman, Associate, Operations

BSR's DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness project released 14 case studies showcasing the link between responsible labor and competitiveness from successful projects throughout Central America. The studies document the successes and challenges of the projects and provide practical solutions for responsible labor practices. Read more →

Partnering With Suppliers on Sustainability Management Systems ★

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

BSR's Beyond Monitoring Working Group released a new guide to help companies effectively partner with their suppliers to improve sustainability management practices. BSR recommends a continuous improvement approach that includes three components: Read more →

Overcoming the Obstacles to Investing in Women ★

Jennifer Schappert, Associate, Advisory Services

Last week in London, BSR hosted a workshop where representatives from businesses and NGOs explored the intersections of business and women in emerging economies. As companies expand their operations and supply chains, sustainable growth will require investments in and recognition of women as consumers, employees, and community members. Read more →

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. Read more →

How Manufacturers Can Succeed During China’s Labor ★

Jason Ho, Manager, Advisory Services & CTI

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: Read more →

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

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

With recent headlines about the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) broadcasting strong claims like “Break the Link Between Laptops and War” and “Death by Gadget,” it’s easy to get the impression that the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is solely responsible for the violence in that country. These articles generally focus on the association between “conflict minerals” (tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold) used in ICT supply chains and the ongoing violence in the eastern DRC that has contributed to the deaths of more than five million people during the past 15 years. Read more →

Gaining a Competitive Edge in the Shipping Industry ★

Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services

BSR's new report—based on more than 30 interviews with the international container shipping industry’s biggest customers—provides a summary of the sector's key sustainability challenges and explores how leading companies can turn these potential business risks into opportunities to develop new services, improve operating models, and deepen customer loyalty. Read more →

Climate Change and Supplier Energy Conservation ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

At the recent Energy Efficiency Partnership (EEP) kickoff meeting in Guangzhou, China, 11 companies including Starbucks, HP, and Levi Strauss & Co. gathered with more than 80 of their suppliers to share best practices and trends in energy management. Participants learned how to use energy action plans and take advantage of local service providers like CLP, which has a free energy audit program backed by the Chinese government. Read more →

Recommendations for the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Supply Chain Practices ★

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

At a recent workshop on responsible supply chain practices to inform the yearlong process to update the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, representatives from government, business, the investment community, civil society, and trade unions provided the following recommendations: Read more →

New Eco Index for Improving Product Life-Cycle Impacts ★

The Eco Index—a new web-based environmental assessment tool created by the Outdoor Industry Association’s Eco Working Group—is aimed at helping companies in the apparel and outdoor industry understand (and ultimately improve) a product's impacts at different life-cycle stages. Read more →

Understanding the Health Needs of Female Factory Workers ★

Nandini Hampole

HERproject—BSR's factory-based women's health initiative—recently released new resources to help companies understand the specific health needs of women workers in their supply chains: Read more →

Preparing for a Carbon Tax in China ★

Jason Ho, Manager, Advisory Services & CTI

According to a recent study (Chinese only) by the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance, China is well poised—in terms of need and feasibility—to launch a carbon tax in 2012. The tax would be the first market-based mechanism implemented by China aimed at helping the country reach its 2009 commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 40 to 45 percent of 2005 levels by 2020. Read more →

Emerging Trends in Supply Chain Sustainability ★

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

At last week’s UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, the international business community gathered to, in the words of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, “highlight the key role of responsible business in building markets that are more sustainable and inclusive.” Read more →

Identifying Human-Trafficking Risks in Supply Chains ★

Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services

The U.S. Department of State's "2010 Trafficking in Persons Report" provides in-depth assessments of and recommendations for 177 countries, with the aim to eliminate modern slavery. The report also outlines key trends, the challenges and successes in identifying and protecting victims, and the need for governments to incorporate anti-trafficking policies in response to natural disasters. Read more →

New Generation of Workers Enters Chinese Manufacturing Industry ★

According to a recent BSR survey of 109 Chinese factories that serve as suppliers for companies such as Gap Inc., Marks and Spencer, Walmart, and others, pervasive labor shortages in the country as well as a rising number of workers born in the 1980s or 1990s are having an impact on the manufacturing industry. The survey included 14 quantitative and qualitative questions that covered the extent of the shortages, the impact of the shortages on operations, the proportion of younger workers in manufacturing jobs, and good management practices for dealing with these issues. Read more →

Supplier Ownership: A Shared Vision for Responsible Supply Chains ★

Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services

In 2004, Human Rights Watch launched a high-profile documentary and international campaign accusing El Salvador’s sugar industry of condoning child labor. While many international buyers chose to pull out of the country, Coca-Cola opted to stay and join forces with the Sugar Association of El Salvador, the International Labour Organization, and others to face the challenge head on. Read more →

Getting Started on Supply Chain Energy Efficiency in China ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

Late in 2008, following Walmart Vice Chairman (now CEO) Mike Duke’s announcement that the company would improve the energy efficiency of its top 200 China-based suppliers by 20 percent by 2012, Walmart enlisted BSR to help launch its first supply chain energy-efficiency effort in China. Read more →

On the Horizon: The Shipping Industry’s Choppy Waters ★

Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

By all accounts, the shipping industry has an enormous economic footprint. It transports more than a third of the value of global trade and provides more than 4.2 million jobs. At any given point, the largest shipping lines transport more than 3 percent of the globe's gross national product. And because shipping routes—as a means to connect goods with markets—play a huge role in regional growth and the development of today's complex supply chains, the industry’s economic reach is even greater. Read more →

Starting a Responsible Labor Initiative: Lessons From the DR-CAFTA ★

Read part one of our series on responsible labor here. Read more →

Jordanian Government Mandates the Better Work Program ★

Alison Colwell, Manager, Advisory Services

At the recent Better Work Jordan Buyers' Forum, Labor Minister Ibrahim Amosh announced that Jordan's exporting apparel factories will be required to use Better Work's assessments on labor standards. His aim is to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the country’s garment sector by reducing duplicative audits so factories can focus their resources on continuous improvement. Read more →

Why Good Labor Practices Are Good for Business: Lessons From BSR’s DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiven ★

Alison Colwell, Manager, Advisory Services; Terry Nelidov, Manager, Advisory Services

Read part two of our series on responsible labor here. Read more →

Peer-Education Model Raises Tuberculosis Awareness in China ★

In 1990, tuberculosis accounted for half of all deaths from infectious diseases in China. From 2001 to 2009, the country documented and treated more than 8 million cases. TB has serious business impacts including work flow disruption, productivity decline, and costs related to treatment and the replacement of workers. To address this pandemic, BSR piloted an innovative toolkit, created by the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative and Lilly's Multi-Drug Resistant TB Partnership, in three of our member companies' contract facilities and promoted the toolkit to an additional 15 suppliers. Read more →

Following Walmart’s Lead: Driving Emissions Reductions ★

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

In late February, Walmart announced that it would eliminate 20 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its supply chain—a commitment that will address climate change, cut costs, and make the company’s suppliers leaner and more competitive. The initiative will likely influence thousands of other companies, as Walmart suppliers teach their suppliers, and other companies follow Walmart's lead. Read more →

HERproject Report Reveals Positive Impacts on Women and Business ★

According to BSR's new report on HERproject, our factory-based women's health initiative has provided positive benefits for business and significantly improved women's health awareness, leadership skills, and relationships with their employers. Read more →

Investing in Women for a Better World ★

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

There has never been a better time to invest in women. Read more →

Social and Environmental Compliance in Licensing ★

While compliance with social and environmental standards in supply chains can drive business success and sustainability, the opportunities and barriers to compliance have not yet been fully explored within the licensing business model. Read more →

Virtual Sustainability Summit Showcases Smart ICT ★

"Smart ICT" is the first in a groundbreaking virtual event series focusing on sustainability in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. The event—co-sponsored by BSR—will feature an innovative format with virtual auditoriums for presentations, meeting rooms for networking, and an exhibit hall. International thought leaders, policymakers, advocacy groups, and experts will discuss concrete strategies on how the ICT sector can provide profitable opportunities and solutions to create a low-carbon society. Read more →

Integration: The Key to Improving Supplier Sustainability Performance ★

Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services

Increasing demands for traceability are forcing food companies throughout the supply chain to improve labor and environmental performance. While suppliers understand what to implement, BSR's work with Central American agricultural producers has revealed that they are struggling with how to implement these changes within their existing culture and operations. And this integration is key to sustainable performance. Read more →

Guest Perspective: GreenBiz on Ten Trends Shaping the State of Green Business ★

By Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com

“We’re still here.” Read more →

Chinese Labor Disputes on the Rise ★

Although Chinese workers have benefited from increased labor rights protection in recent years, the number of labor disputes reported in China has nearly doubled since 2007. This trend is a result of clearer and more comprehensive legal frameworks for labor protection, greater worker awareness of labor laws, and a lack of corporate investments in formal grievance mechanisms. Read more →

Measuring Metrics That Matter in Supply Chain Sustainability ★

BSR's recent report guides companies on how to design effective supply chain sustainability indicators and metrics, which are essential tools in helping companies demonstrate both internally and externally the value of these strategies. Read more →

A Strategic Approach to Responsible Sourcing ★

Last September, facing the pressure many companies are experiencing to reduce costs and improve efficiency, Kraft Foods announced that it would halve its number of strategic suppliers from 70,000 to 35,000 worldwide in order to save an estimated US$300 million. In a similar effort to reduce costs in its supply chain, Wal-Mart recently shared long-term plans to shift to direct sourcing for 80 percent of its purchases. By doing so, the company expects to reduce costs by 5 to 15 percent across its supply chain within five years and hopes to save between US$4 billion and US$12 billion. Read more →

BSR and the UN Global Compact: Improving Supply Chain Sustainability ★

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

In partnership with BSR, the UN Global Compact (UNGC) will launch a work stream later this month to provide guidance for companies on developing more sustainable supply chain practices around the four issue areas of the UNGC: human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. Read more →

Working With Government on Responsible Labor ★

Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services

Through BSR's DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project, we recently presented recommendations to the Salvadoran government on how the country can promote company and national competitiveness through improved working conditions. Our benchmarking of global public-policy practices revealed that more governments are incorporating sustainability incentives into their policies. Read more →

Energy Efficiency in China Requires Going Back to the Basics ★

By Daniel Gross

After Copenhagen, attention will switch from government commitments to on-the-ground changes needed now to lower emissions, especially in developing countries. Read more →

A Visit to Saudi Arabia: Key Trends in CSR and Human Rights ★

On our recent trip to Saudi Arabia, we received a refresher lesson on globalization as soon as we stepped off the plane. In this conservative country steeped in Arab and Muslim history and tradition, all the big American and European retail chains are well represented, and you can neatly divide the young professionals into Blackberry and iPhone camps. One of our business meetings even began with a question about whether we had seen a recent edition of Oprah. More importantly, we found that another core element of globalization—corporate social responsibility (CSR) —is increasingly viewed as a key driver for global competitiveness of Saudi business. Read more →

HERproject Update: Promoting Women’s Health in Pakistan ★

Last month, an appreciation ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan, celebrated the accomplishments of HERproject, a BSR initiative that raises female factory workers’ awareness of general and reproductive health issues. Read more →

Global Forum Advances Protection for Migrant Workers ★

By Nicolette van Exel

During the Global Forum on Migration and Development—held in Athens, Greece, earlier this month—civil society, governments, and business came together to discuss a collaborative approach to informing government policy to protect global migrant workers. Read more →

Another Year, Another Drought: Water Scarcity in China’s Manufacturing Zone ★

Reports that 50,000 people in southern China (and at least a million more in the western and central regions) are suffering from a severe drought underscores a perennial question about the impact of water shortages in the country: How can companies with supply chains and manufacturing in China reconcile the water needs of their business with competing demands from industry, agriculture, and local residents? Read more →

Working with Governments to Protect the Rights of International Labor Migrants ★

By Nicolette van Exel

Labor migrants represent roughly 3 percent of the world's population and constitute a large and vulnerable segment of companies’ workforces. However, legislation in emerging economies fails to protect foreign contract workers adequately, and companies are often unaware of violations. Read more →

Electronics Companies Seek Cross-Industry Collaboration for the Responsible Sourcing of Metals ★

Because of the ongoing civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also a source of metals such as tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold that are used in electronics products, electronics companies are being asked more frequently to identify the origins of their materials. Read more →

The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals ★

Clean Production Action's "Green Screen for Safer Chemicals" is the first open-source tool to help companies and governments identify substances that are less hazardous for humans and the environment. Companies can use the tool—which focuses on hazard reduction, rather than controlling exposure—to assess the inherent hazards of the chemicals they use in their products and find safer substitutes, while governments can use the tool to support legislation on phasing out chemicals of high concern. Read more →

Ateliers Perspectives et Solutions RSE | Breakfast Series

The Ateliers Perspectives et Solutions RSE series is an opportunity for CSR practitioners to get together to share insights and tools that address the challenges of CSR and sustainable development. This series is conducted in French. Learn more →

Training and Fair for NGOs and Brands on Partnerships in the Supply Chain

Learn more →

BSR Conference 2011: Leadership Required

Leadership in business is changing fast. In today’s global, integrated, and transparent world, business is expected to do more than deliver shareholder returns. At its best, business is a creative force and an integral player in delivering prosperity for 9 billion people, applying game-changing technologies for social benefit, and radically reducing our use of natural resources. Learn more →

Hazardous Chemicals Substitution and Elimination

Consumers and policy makers are increasingly concerned with the environmental and health impacts of hazardous chemical substances. This has led to the tightening of regulations all over the world and has also driven consumers to turn to safer products. All such moves put pressure on companies to actively seek solutions that allow them to make products with less or no hazardous chemicals. Learn more →

Responsibility in the Licensing Industry

BSR is hosting this seminar on the topic of responsibility in the licensing industry at this year's Licensing Show in Las Vegas. The two-hour seminar is part of the efforts of BSR's Licensing Working Group, and is open to all attendees of the conference. Learn more →

Asia Socially Responsible Investment Roundtable

Socially responsible investment (SRI) is the practice of integrating environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance (ESG) considerations into the investment process. It is not only a means of risk mitigation for financial institutions, but also a powerful lever for shifting to a more sustainable global economy. Learn more →

Going Beyond the Supply Chain in the Democratic Republic of Congo

BSR is exploring how companies can move beyond supply chain traceability of conflict minerals to support local development in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Read more →

Migrant Workers and Health—The Role of Business

Migrant worker health is increasingly important for companies following the UN‘s endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the identification of migrant workers as a group specifically requiring protection related to health. Business is expected to adopt or establish standards and procedures to support the protection of individuals belonging to specific groups, including migrant workers. Among these principles, Principle 121 states, ―with respect to the International Bill of Human Rights, additional standards for vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers and their families, should be considered to prevent adverse human rights impacts. Read more →

Good Practices for Complying with Licensors’ Social and Environmental Requirements

This guide serves as a starting point for licensee executives and professionals to understand how they can meet licensors’ requirements related to social and environmental compliance. It also provides guidance on how licensees can improve working conditions within their direct and contract manufacturing operations and supply chains. Read more →

Wireless and the Environment: A Review of Opportunities and Challenges

The world is witnessing tremendous innovation in wireless technologies, leading to significant changes in how humans and machines interact with one another. These new wireless technologies and the changes they support are generating exciting opportunities to address environmental impacts in a range of fields, from agriculture to utilities. Read more →

Applying the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the ICT Industry | Version 1.0

In June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council approved new Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. As a result, more clarity exists today than ever before on governments’ duty to protect human rights and the business responsibility to respect human rights. Read more →

CSR and Quality: A Powerful and Untapped Connection

Launched a half century ago, the total quality movement has some striking similarities to CSR: It strives to make hidden costs visible, it focuses on corporate governance, it empowers individuals to improve quality, it takes a proactive approach to prevention and continuous improvement, and it breaks down barriers to internal, cross-functional collaboration. Read more →

HERproject: Health Enables Returns | The Business Returns from Women’s Health Programs

HERproject health needs assessments have demonstrated that women’s health remains a critical area of investment for international companies and their supplier partners. This study seeks to provide a clear business case for such investments. Read more →

Step Up: Improving Recruitment of Migrant Workers in Indonesia

This report released by BSR’s Migration Linkages initiative examines the recruitment of migrant workers from Indonesia to Malaysia, highlighting key risks and opportunities for both workers and business. The research is part of the initiatives’ focus on identifying and promoting ethical recruitment practices among business and uncovered significant variability in the recruitment process—variability that can contribute to less-than-ideal outcomes for workers. The report also articulates some of the wholesale changes required of both government and business to address these issues and improve the recruitment system in Indonesia, laying the groundwork for Migration Linkages’ guidance for business on ethical recruitment to follow later in 2011. Read more →

Protecting the Rights of Garment Factory Workers: A Train-the-Trainer Resource

In this document, you will find lessons and advice from pioneering factory trainers and organizations that the Levi Strauss Foundation is honored to support, in pursuit of protecting the rights of apparel factory workers. We invite you to grapple with and test this resource—and by offering your feedback and advice, join us on this journey toward improving the lives of factory workers around the world. Read more →

Summary of Research on the Labor Situation in the Beijing Development Area

BSR’s research found that recruitment and retention challenges are affecting companies in the Beijing Development Area (BDA) and that there are real opportunities to address these through collaboration to improve living conditions, provide training to operators and line managers, and improve recruitment practices. Read more →

Extending Supply Chain Sustainability Metrics to Terminal Operations

This report—supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund—highlights the risks and opportunities associated with improving the sustainability performance of ports and terminal operations, a part of the supply chain often left out of broader supply chain sustainability efforts. Read more →

Maximizing Benefits From a Sustainable Supply Chain

Leading companies are working to improve the social and environmental performance of their supply chains by building closer relations with suppliers, developing supplier capacity, and identifying and investing in opportunities for improvements along the supply chain. Read more →

Stories From the Field

"Stories From the Field" provides a reader-friendly collection of 14 case studies from our DR-CAFTA Responsible Competitiveness Project in Central America and the Dominican Republic, which BSR created and led to make the business case for responsible labor in the region. Read more →

Waste Not, Want Not: An Overview of Food Waste

More than 1 billion people (one-sixth of the world’s population) suffer from chronic hunger. It is not a problem of supply, since the food system continues to provide enough food to feed the world. One of the reasons for this disconnect is simply waste. By many estimates, one in three food calories is currently wasted. Read more →

Women and Sustainability: Investing in Women's Health

The gender dimensions of health have significant impacts on workplace productivity, the consumer marketplace, community stability, and community member well-being. Investments targeted at raising women's health awareness and access to health products and services, can deliver important immediate business benefits, such as more productive workforces or more informed consumers. In the longer term, these investments also support women's full economic participation and contribute to healthier, more stable communities. Read more →

Women and Sustainability: Investing in Women Economic Empowerment

Investments in women's economic empowerment are a strategic means to create and support markets, by providing jobs, opportunities for professional development, financial literacy and access to banking, and start-up capital and capacity-building to help women run small businesses. Read more →

Beyond the Factory Gates: How Brands Improve Supply Chain Sustainability Through Shipping and Logistics

BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) produced this report, which includes an overview of CCWG tools used for benchmarking performance, estimating average CO2 emissions for global trade lanes, and understanding the environmental challenges and opportunities in the sector. Read more →

The Business Case for Supply Chain Sustainability: A Brief for Business Leaders

This report provides the business case for investing in supply chain sustainability, which is increasingly recognized as a key generator of business value and an important element of strong corporate responsibility performance. Read more →

Electronics Supply Networks and Water Pollution in China: Understanding and Mitigating Potential Impacts

Electronics manufacturing has become an important economic contributor to China’s success, but its rapid growth has come with environmental costs as well, including negative impacts on water quality. Read more →

Conflict Minerals Reporting Regulations: Who is Covered?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) draft conflict minerals reporting rules will have significant implications for a range of corporate sustainability issues. BSR has prepared this issue brief to help companies understand how they may be affected and whether they may have to respond. Read more →

A Public Policy Framework for Advancing Responsible Labor and International Competitiveness: El Salvador

The purpose of this report is to assist El Salvador—its government, private sector, and civil society—to design a public policy framework, centered on positive incentives, to advance responsible labor practices in a manner that benefits private sector employees and also bolsters labor productivity and the international competitiveness of firms and, ultimately, the competitiveness and therefore the well-being of the entire nation Read more →

Electronics Supply Networks and Water Pollution in China: Understanding and Mitigating Potential Impacts

Electronics manufacturing has become an important economic contributor to China’s success, but its rapid growth has come with environmental costs as well, including negative impacts on water quality. As governmental enforcement of wastewater standards improves, along with public awareness and civil society engagement on environmental issues, global companies have a growing need to effectively understand and mitigate potential risks. For this study, BSR worked with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to better understand the environmental performance of a sample of China-based suppliers to EICC members in relation to wastewater management. Read more →

Continuous Improvement Partnership Approach

This report was prepared by BSR in collaboration with the Beyond Monitoring Working Group for the purpose of defining a practical approach to supply chain partnerships between companies and their suppliers. The report presents initial principles and a process for engagement in this area, along with management systems criteria, which can be used to evaluate suppliers' systems and guide the process of improvement. Read more →

Continuous Improvement Partnership Approach

This report was prepared by BSR in collaboration with the Beyond Monitoring Working Group for the purpose of defining a practical approach to supply chain partnerships between companies and their suppliers. Read more →

Sustainability Trends in the Container Shipping Industry

This report—based on more than 30 interviews with the international container shipping industry’s biggest customers and stakeholders—provides a summary of the industry's key sustainability challenges and explores how leading companies can turn these potential business risks into opportunities to develop new services, improve operating models, and deepen customer loyalty. Read more →

Migrant Worker Management Toolkit: A Global Framework

This management tool for multinational companies and employers provides guidance on how to better manage migrant worker issues, from managing risks to better protecting migrant workers’ rights. Read more →

A Study on the Labor Shortage and Employment Guidelines for Manufacturers in China

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 Read more →

Supply Chain Sustainability: A Practical Guide for Continuous Improvement

More and more companies are extending their commitment to responsible business practices to their value chains, from subsidiaries to suppliers. They do so not only because of the inherent social and environmental risks and the governance challenges the supply chain poses, but also because of the many rewards supply chain sustainability can deliver. Indeed, sustainable supply chain management can be a strong driver of value and success--for business as much as for society. Read more →

Seeding Positive Impacts: How Business and Civil Society Can Contribute to the Sustainability of Chinese Agriculture

This report features examples of private-sector and civil-society initiatives that address the environmental impacts of agricultural supply chains in China. Read more →

Conflict Minerals and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

NGOs, governments, and businesses are increasingly focused on the issue of "conflict minerals," whose sourcing and trade support armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This report offers an overview of these mineral supply chains and the relevance for a range of industries, and highlights challenges and opportunities for companies to address conflict minerals in their supply chains through support of supply chain responsibility efforts, government engagement on the issue, and local capacity building in the Congo. Read more →

Unlocking Energy Efficiency in China

This guide helps global sustainability professionals establish supply chain energy-efficiency programs, with a focus on China. The report outlines how companies can succeed with a four-step process that includes building foundations for a comprehensive program, helping suppliers take the first steps, facilitating progress over time, and enhancing the program’s impacts. Read more →

Investing in Women for a Better World

Our 2010 report on HERproject confirms that our factory-based women's health initiative has provided positive benefits for women and business. The report summarizes the impacts of HERproject programs to date, which have touched approximately 50,000 women in China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Read more →

Key Performance Indicators for Responsible Sourcing

Responsible sourcing practices have reached an inflection point. Leading companies are evolving their responsible sourcing programs from an approach based on policing compliance to one that goes beyond monitoring to drive continuous improvement through strong supplier management systems and brand-supplier partnerships. Brands are seeking to develop clear goals and metrics aligned around desired supply chain outcomes. Read more →

Can Women Solve the World’s Woes? A Q&A with 'Half the Sky' authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn—authors of a new book about how to turn oppression into opportunity for women—talk with us about what they say is the key to economic progress: investing in women and girls. Read more →

Sustainable Business Models: Time for Innovation

Business leaders face not only the economic fallout of the financial crisis, they face the substantial challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy that is constrained by dwindling natural resources. These pressures also represent opportunities to innovate new business models—including ones that help consumers make sustainable choices. Read about four categories of innovation that, with more development and experimentation, will ensure business success in a reset world. Read more →

Moving the Needle: Protecting the Rights of Garment Factory Workers

Advancing workers' rights at a factory level requires more than implementing a supplier code of conduct. In this report--commissioned by the Levi Strauss Foundation--BSR presents stories, lessons learned, and best practices from innovative NGOs working inside garment factories to promote workers' rights and responsibilities. Read more →

Value Chain Approaches to a Low-Carbon Economy: Business and Policy Partnerships

This paper is prepared in support of a workshop at the World Business Summit on Climate Change Summit on leveraging value chains to reduce climate impacts and build a low-carbon economy. Read more →

Internal Alignment: An Essential Step to Establishing Sustainable Supply Chains

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Software Accelerates Sustainable Development

Find out how software companies—such as Microsoft, Autodesk and SAP—are making waves with innovative products and services that advance the way people, businesses and communities interact to achieve sustainable development in our new report. Read more →

Shared Mindset and Supplier Ownership

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Building Capabilities to Implement CSR Management Systems at ICT Suppliers in China

Learn how companies who work directly with factory managers to equip suppliers with CSR skills, knowledge, and systems are more effective in addressing persistent issues such as labor standards violations, environmental degradation, and poor health and safety protections. Read more →

Water Management in China's Apparel and Textile Factories

This report summarizes the activities and findings of the first phase of the Water Quality Initiative in China. A joint effort by Business for Social Responsibility and the Center for Water Research at Peking University, the Initiative has two expected outcomes: 1) improvements in water quality management and water use in apparel factories (textile manufacturers, dye houses and laundries/washing facilities); and 2) decreased water risk in the China-based supply chains for global apparel companies and retailers. Read more →

China's Rising Influence in Africa: Is There Room for CSR?

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Beyond Neutrality: Moving Your Company Toward Climate Leadership

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Perspectives on Information Management in Sustainable Supply Chains

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CSR in China's Information and Communications Technology Sector

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Beyond Monitoring: A New Vision for Sustainable Supply Chain

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CSR in China's Information and Communication Technology Sector

Over the past decade, multinational companies, suppliers, workers, governments and civil society have focused increasing attention on corporate social responsibility (CSR) within global supply chains. CSR efforts have improved social and environmental conditions around the world. There is growing recognition of a connection between CSR and a company’s ability to attract and retain international customers. Read more →

Women's General and Reproductive Health in Global Supply Chains

Women between the ages of 18–25 comprise the vast majority of workers making products for export from the developing world to the developed world. They often work in environments where access to information about reproductive health, as well as critical services, is lacking. Read more →

KKR: Boosting ESG Performance Through a Supply Chain Strategy

We designed a resource guide and trainings to help KKR reward sustainable supply chain practices and improve the ESG performance of its portfolio companies—and set an important precedent for private equity more broadly. Learn more →

Leading Business Action on Conflict Minerals

In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where armed conflict has claimed more than 5.4 million lives over the past 15 years, militant groups controlling most of the region’s mines use the trade in tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold as important sources of funding. At the same time, this trade—which feeds into complex supply chains for products ranging from cell phones and cutting tools to jet engines and jewelry—is an important source of income for a million people in the region. Learn more →

HERproject: Investing in Women Workers for Health and Business Returns

The global economy has brought millions of women between the ages of 16 and 25 into employment in export factories all across the developing world. Because many of these women are migrants working long hours, they are often isolated from traditional support networks that can help them with challenges such as working conditions, proper compensation, and access to education, health care, and other social services. At the same time, there is a great opportunity to leverage their presence in global supply chains to improve the welfare of these women, many of whom are entering the formal economy for the first time. Learn more →

Walmart: Improving Supplier Energy Efficiency

In 2008, Walmart committed to improving the energy efficiency of its top 200 suppliers’ factories in China by 20 percent by 2012. With the aim not only to benefit the environment but also to help suppliers become more competitive, Walmart sought to replicate the success it has had in Europe and the United States in increasing supply chain efficiency. In China, however, the company found that its suppliers often prioritize overall growth over increased energy efficiency. As a result, operations managers commonly lack the necessary incentives and know-how to achieve efficiency improvements. An additional challenge in China is the lack of a developed professional energy-efficiency industry to provide equipment and data-measurement tools that make this process easier in other regions. To help overcome these barriers, Walmart enlisted BSR’s help. Learn more →

Women’s Health Enables Return in Global Supply Chains

Women between the ages of 18 to 25 often comprise the vast majority of developing world workers making products for export to the developed world. Much of this work is performed in environments where access to information about reproductive health, as well as critical health services, is lacking. Moreover, factory managers often question the value of investing financial resources in health programs due to high turnover and the perception that young, unmarried women workers are not sexually active and thus are not at risk for reproductive health problems. Despite the challenges presented by this reality, we set out to leverage our unique position to improve the general and reproductive health of women workers along global supply chains. Learn more →

The Automotive Industry Action Group

The automotive global supply chain touches nearly every other industry, including steel, plastics, textiles, electronics, and more. As scrutiny of human rights practices in other industries heated up, the automotive sector knew it could soon become a target if it did not proactively address the social impacts of its operations. In an effort to improve the working conditions of the automotive supply chain, five major auto companies sought BSR's help to create a set of working conditions guidelines and other tools. BSR was assisted by a sizeable grant from the U.S. State Department to fund this initiative. Learn more →

Building Collaboration: The ILO/IFC’s Better Work Program

A joint project of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Better Work program is designed to improve working conditions in global supply chains while boosting both countries' economic competitiveness and business for national industries. The ILO and IFC selected BSR to help increase the involvement of international buyers in order to create systemic improvements of the working conditions in their supply chains. Learn more →

Archer Daniels Midland: A Sustainable Supply Chain for Agribusiness

As one of the largest agricultural processors in the world—producing food, feed, and bio-energy products—Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) addresses one of the world’s most pressing challenges: meeting the growing global demand for agricultural products, while balancing the need to use such resources for food, fuel, or animal feed, and minimizing environmental degradation. Seeking guidance as it navigated these interconnected issues, ADM engaged BSR, beginning in 2007, to help the company align its supply chain management with best practices in social and environmental stewardship. Learn more →

Preparing for the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act ★

When the California Transparency in Supply Chain Act goes into effect on January 1, 2012, more than 3,000 retailers and manufacturers that do business in the state will be required to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern-day slavery and human trafficking in their supply chains. These efforts include disclosing cases where companies' suppliers are involved directly or indirectly in forced labor, bonded labor, migrant worker abuses, and human trafficking. Learn more →

Protection and Prevention: 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report ★

The U.S. State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report" is the most comprehensive report on government efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. In addition to raising awareness of the current global state of human trafficking, the report serves as the primary diplomatic tool through which the U.S. government fights against forced labor, sexual exploitation, and modern-day slavery. Learn more →

Maximizing Benefits from a Sustainable Supply Chain ★

Companies across all sectors are working with their suppliers to improve the sustainability performance of their supply chains. By investing in energy efficiency improvements or new employee engagement strategies, companies can achieve real business benefits, including productivity and efficiency gains. Learn more →

Stories From the Field: The Business Case for Better Working Conditions ★

To ensure responsible labor practices—in both farms and factories—business leaders should start by meeting basic government, buyer, and corporate standards. However, companies should also look for how investments in better working conditions can improve their bottom lines. Learn more →

Conflict Minerals and Corporate Responsibility ★

Pending U.S. regulations will require companies to report on "conflict minerals" in their supply chains, with the goal of severing the link between trade in tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold and the illegal funding of militants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the same time, NGOs are encouraging corporate action on this issue, companies are asking their suppliers for mineral-sourcing information, and industries are defining due diligence efforts. Learn more →

Moving Beyond the Factory Gates ★

Global companies are increasingly looking to their supply chains to meet their sustainability goals, including reduced carbon emissions and lower overall lifecycle impacts. The logistics and transportation sector sits at the center of global supply chains, providing services to retailers and manufacturers, and can be a key partner for extending your company's sustainability beyond the factory gates. Learn more →

Unlocking Energy Efficiency in China ★

In this webinar, we explored emerging standards and tools for partnering with suppliers on energy efficiency. Learn more →

Responsible Transitions: Managing Factory and Site Closures in the Economic Crisis ★

In this webinar, learn strategies and solutions to manage factory or site transitions in a responsible way and to assist communities that are most impacted. Learn more →

Information and Communications Technology

The information and communications technology (ICT) industry is in a unique position to advance the sustainability agenda. With an annual spend of around US$2 trillion and a growth rate faster than other industries, the ICT sector is becoming a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and e-waste. It has also contributed to lesser-known negative social impacts such as poor working conditions in some factories, slavery, child labor, and other human rights abuses. View email publication →

Women and Sustainability

In response to a question about Saudi Arabia's economic competitiveness in 2007, Bill Gates famously announced to the gender-segregated audience: "If you're not fully utilizing half the talent in the country, you're not going to get too close to the top." View email publication →

Sustainable Consumption: The Next Frontier for Business

Welcome to the inaugural edition of the BSR Review, our bi-monthly update on issues central to sustainable business. Each edition of the BSR Review features a collection of BSR's best work—including reports, articles, blogs, webinars, and op-eds—on a particular topic. View email publication →

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Publications by Tag: Supply Chain

Blog

Partners in Sustainable Procurement: Hilton Worldwide and BSR

Guest perspective by William Kornegay, Senior Vice President, Hilton Supply Management, Hilton Worldwide

HERproject: Educating Factory Workers and Company Executives Alike

Marcus Chung, Director, Vendor Compliance and Corporate Social Responsibility, Talbots

In the Spotlight: Wastewater in China’s Textile Industry

Andy Chen, Associate, Advisory Services

Understanding the Plight of the Young Worker in China

Cherry Lin, Project Assistant

Learning the Right Lessons From the Apple Story

Aron Cramer, President and CEO

HERproject Partner Profile From Bangladesh: Awaj Foundation

Amaya Gorostiaga, Manager, Advisory Services

HERproject: A Perspective From Primark

By Libby Annat, Senior Ethical Trade Manager, Primark

Conflict Minerals and Global Trends in Responsible Sourcing

Sasha Radovich, Manager, Advisory Services

Conflict Minerals and Local Development Concerns

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

Conflict Minerals: The Impacts of the Regulations

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

During Tough Economic Times, Is It Time to Focus on the Fundamentals?

An Expert’s View on Labor Trends in China

Jason Ho, Manager, Advisory Services & CTI

The Pharmaceutical Industry’s Sustainable Supply Chain

Mark Little, Director, Health Care, Advisory Services

Ten Years Later: Human Rights in a Post-9/11 World

Regulating Supply Chain Sustainability

Peder Michael Pruzan-Jorgensen, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Where BSR Will Be in September

How Companies Can Help Prevent Trafficking

Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services

VIDEO: How the Tech Sector Should Address Human Rights

Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services

Audits Are Falling Short for Women

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Why Solar Should Care About Sustainability

Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy

How to Create Financial Inclusion for Workers in the Supply Chain

Chhavi Ghuliani, Manager, Advisory Services

Global HERproject Partners Gather in Indonesia for Annual Convening and Country Launch

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

Finding Hidden Opportunities in the Supply Chain

Calling Port in Oakland in a Hybrid

Eva Dienel, Communications Manager

Where BSR Will Be in June

Embedding the Millennium Development Goals into Business Strategy: the World’s Women Can Help

Racheal Yeager, Manager, HERproject

The Truth About the Migrant Worker Recruitment Process

Guy Morgan, Director, Advisory Services

A Letter from San Francisco

Dunstan Allison Hope, Managing Director, Advisory Services

Rebuilding Sustainability Reporting Guidance From the Ground Up—Starting in Chile

Cody Sisco, Manager, Advisory Services

What Conflict Minerals Regulation Means on the Ground

Amaya Gorostiaga, Manager, Advisory Services

Bringing Energy Efficiency to Inland China

HERproject Takes to the Field in Kenya

Jennifer Schappert, Associate, Advisory Services

Taking Worker Rights to Scale—So What If There Isn’t a Business Case?

Conflict Minerals Reporting Regulations: Who is Covered?

Marshall Chase, Manager, Advisory Services

ISO 26000 Approved for Publication. Now What?

Angie Farrag, Manager, Advisory Services