Ethical Sourcing Guidelines

Supply Chain Sustainability 🌎 According to Deloitte, advancing supply chain sustainability requires embedding four strategic dimensions—net zero, resilience, compliance, and circularity—across five critical stages: risk assessment, strategy definition, stakeholder engagement, implementation, and ongoing performance management. This framework enables companies to align operational practices with emerging regulatory expectations and long-term value creation. The assessment phase focuses on identifying regulatory trends, emissions baselines, supply chain visibility, and data integrity gaps. These diagnostics support the quantification of risk exposure and inform the development of a maturity baseline, enabling more precise target-setting and investment prioritization. Strategy formulation involves translating insights into actionable standards and governance. This includes setting sustainability KPIs for procurement categories, reviewing supplier codes of conduct, and establishing cross-functional steering mechanisms. These elements provide the structure required to operationalize sustainability at scale across global supply networks. Implementation extends to integrating sustainability into product design, procurement, and logistics. Deloitte highlights initiatives such as renewable energy sourcing, clean transport deployment, and resource-efficient packaging. Embedding ESG and EHS standards into operational processes reinforces compliance and reduces exposure to reputational and operational risks. The final stage—monitoring and management—ensures continuous alignment through due diligence protocols, contract integration, supplier audits, and real-time risk sensing. These mechanisms not only track performance but enable agile responses to disruptions, making sustainability a core driver of supply chain resilience and competitive advantage. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg

Building profitable and Ethical fast beauty? Fast Beauty speeds up product creation to meet market demand quickly, leveraging viral moments and influencer partnerships to capture consumer attention. By launching frequent, trendy products, brands keep customers excited and eager to try the newest must-haves. The beauty market is booming, projected to hit $646.2 billion in 2024. Mass beauty and personal care items alone are forecasted to grow at a 6% CAGR, reaching $899.7 billion by 2033. >>DRIVERS Behind: Fast Beauty thrives on efficient production to cut costs and boost margins, driven by consumer appetite for constant innovation. Social platforms fuel trends in real time, while tech advances in manufacturing, formulations, and sustainable packaging enable rapid, adaptable product launches. +Market expansion +Efficient production´. +Consumer appetite. +Social platforms. +Tech advances. >>ETHICAL Fast Beauty: Sustainable Fast Beauty is an emerging approach that combines the speed and trend responsiveness of fast beauty with ethical and eco-conscious practices. Instead of focusing solely on rapid launches and mass production. 1. Focus on Sustainability. Mass production can generate significant waste. Companies need to adopt eco-friendly packaging, use recycled materials, and design durable, multipurpose products to reduce overconsumption. 2. Transparency Over Hype. Social media drives trends, but many are fueled by paid campaigns rather than organic demand. Brands should be open about ingredients, sourcing, and influencer partnerships to empower consumers with clear, honest information. 3. Encourage Mindful Shopping. The endless pursuit of “what’s next” can overwhelm and overspend consumers. Promoting personalized routines built on versatile, high-quality products helps shift focus from quantity to thoughtful consumption. 4. Ethical Supply Chains. Accelerated production can sometimes rely on exploitative labor or irresponsible sourcing. Fair wages, safe working environments, and traceable ingredients are essential to building trust and creating true responsible fast beauty. My Perspective. Fast Beauty itself isn’t the problem, it’s how we execute it. It’s an exciting, transformative force in the industry that can be positive when done with integrity. Our challenge as professionals is to make it sustainable, ethical, and consumer-focused. Fast Beauty doesn’t need to mean careless beauty, it can be innovative and responsible. Featured Brands: Biossance Fenty Herbivore Botanicals Humanrace Ilia Beauty Kjaer Weis Lush Rhode The Ordinary Tower 28 Typology UpCircle Beauty Versed #beautybusiness #beautyprofessionals #beautydesign #beautypackaging #fastbeauty

𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝, 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. Taking shortcuts can lead to wasted money and a world of headaches downstream. (𝘙𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘙𝘍𝘗 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴?!) 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝: 💡 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩: Be specific about your needs in RFx docs. If you’re unclear, suppliers will be, too. Before going to RFP, always have quantifiable evaluation criteria finalized and approved by the Spend Owner. 💡 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚: The cheapest option often costs the most in the long run. Prioritize value over price. Suppliers who price things materially lower than benchmark norms usually cut corners somewhere to meet margins. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙡𝙮: Source independent references via your network. Past performance tells the real story. Ask the right questions and listen closely to the answers.  💡 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙: Can the supplier grow and evolve with your business? Are they innovative and flexible? Does their company culture and ways of working align with yours?  💡 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙨: Most suppliers come with some level of risk, the key is understanding and managing it. Conduct due diligence on short-listed suppliers. Outputs should inform the down-selection process, with material deficiency action items included in the contract. 💡 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙧𝙨: The best suppliers care about your long-term success and aligning with your goals.  Look at proposals holistically, thinking beyond the transaction and into value creation. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: Looking back, I’ve been at firms in seasons where costs were prioritized over total value, often leading to short-term gains but long-term challenges. There were times I should’ve taken a firmer stance about material supplier risks identified and bias in the selection process.  As procurement peeps, we provide recommendations based on long-term value, risk management, and partnership potential. This includes having the courage to speak up with informed and actionable guidance when things don't pass muster. The goal is to ensure sourcing outcomes build a foundation for success, not just a quick win. 📢 𝙋.𝙎. 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 “𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙨” 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛?

RE100 recently released their comprehensive 2024 Annual disclosure report, one of the most in-depth looks we have into corporate renewable energy procurement. (https://lnkd.in/evzFKqVt) 4 charts, 4 insights: 1️⃣ Over 300 companies and 500 TWh under the RE100 banner, that brings great visibility to show that companies want renewables. 2️⃣ Globally, companies claim to be 53% renewables. Europe = 83%, North America = 65% figures for Asia are lower. 3️⃣ Globally, PPAs make up only 27% of renewable procurement. Unbundled EACs remain the primary sourcing method, and these are often unmatched in time and space to actual electricity demand. PPAs have decreased as a share of RE100 procurement for the second year in a row, access issues in APAC markets may play a role here, highlighting the important of maintaining pressure to open up more challenging markets.  4️⃣ In North America, PPAs are the primary sourcing method while in Europe and Asia EACs and contracts with suppliers dominate. While some argue that  today’s clean energy accounting rules favour PPAs - the evidence shows they remain a relatively small share of overall procurement and are below 50% in all regions.  RE100 is and will remain an important campaign to move companies toward purchasing more renewables. Yet as renewables become a significant share of the electricity mix, it’s also important to look under the hood and drive towards more accurate and impactful claims - in particular ensuring that renewables being claimed can actually be consumed with deliverable market boundaries and hourly matching. Climate Group’s new 24/7 Carbon-free Coalition (https://lnkd.in/et9fp4nR) helps companies get on the journey to hourly matching and brings greater credibility to their clean energy claims. PPAs which focus on hourly matching and deliverability, offer more hedging benefits and will incorporate storage which remains niche in today's renewable procurement products. Suppliers will also be encouraged to shift their portfolios to ensure they can deliver green supply to customers when and where they need it, not just when it’s produced. This is an example of the natural evolution of norms and standards - as global grids are transformed by renewables, we now need a new set of rules to ensure their continued integration around the clock - today’s rules are not built for that challenge, tomorrow’s rules should be.

Sustainability in procurement is not a ‘good-to-have’, but a strategic imperative, Especially in the MENA region. It is not only about preserving the region’s delicate ecosystems, But also about ensuring continuity of business and encouraging successful entrepreneurship for decades to come. With that in mind, here are three ways to seamlessly integrate sustainable practices into your procurement processes without making any major disruptions: ➡️ Educate Demystify sustainability. Most people’s concept of sustainability barely scratches the surface. Without a deep understanding of sustainability and how to procure accordingly, teams are woefully underequipped for an eventual transition. Encourage collaboration and open dialogue to build a shared commitment to sustainable practices. ➡️ Integrate Supplement your teams’ capabilities with access to technologies such as AI, green energy and materials, blockchain, and smart metrics that allow you to gather and analyse information in real-time. They help increase your efficiency, lower your carbon footprint and empower more thorough risk management. ➡️ Clarify Knowing what sustainability is, and having the tools to implement it won’t mean anything unless you have ways to measure your growth and progress. Discuss with your team how you want to measure sustainability and clarify your goals, KPIs, and metrics with them. Together, let's pave the way for a greener future in the MENA procurement landscape! What are some sustainability initiatives you’ve undertaken in your procurement functions? #Procurement #SupplyChain #Sustainability #BestAdvice

Stop trying to sell Procurement to your stakeholders. Start solving problems for them instead. The problem with selling is it’s often seen as trying to "convince someone to work with you." But that's not how the best do it. Instead, make Procurement so good at solving problems that people feel like they've got to work with you. Here are 5 steps that will help you drive Procurement engagement through the roof: 1. Find the big, specific challenges your stakeholders are facing. 2. Focus your Procurement activities on helping to solve those challenges. 3. When engaging, highlight other stakeholders just like them who you worked with to solve similar problems. 4. Walk through how you think Procurement can help based on what you know and the frameworks you have ready to support. 5. At the end, simply ask, "Based on what we delivered, is there anything that stops you wanting to work with Procurement again in the future?” You’ll know you're doing it right when people start answering: "No. When can you start helping us with our next activity?" Remember — you're not selling. You're helping.

The EU Forced Labour Regulation is coming — and it’s a game changer. The Cornell University ILR School Global Labor Institute and Human Rights Watch have developed a Q&A paper to clarify what the EU FLR means for companies, workers, and supply chains. Together with Helene de Rengerve, I’ve worked on guidance and in-depth analysis to support stakeholders in understanding this new regulation. Under the regulation, companies will be required to identify and eliminate forced labor from their operations and supply chains. This regulation has the potential to shift incentives by introducing real financial and reputational consequences for inaction. It’s a critical move toward responsible supply chain reform. With the ongoing discussions on the Omnibus proposal and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, it’s more important than ever that the EU FLR is implemented swiftly and effectively. Read our Q&A here: https://lnkd.in/eXEmpFF2 For the pdf version: https://lnkd.in/eRW8GB-k If you have questions or want to engage further, feel free to reach out!

I've helped companies check suppliers robustly and where child labour was found, to remediate it for kids many times in my 20+ years supply chain human rights / responsible sourcing career. Somehow today though hearing about even more systemic cases made me a bit teary. It's another case of their home country (Burma) being under attack (people sell the regime weapons), so parents have little money, are migrants to Thailand, and free schooling (a super basic human right) is often not provided. This isn't a criticism of Thailand; I'm more annoyed with the root causes of all those (us?) making money (pensions?) selling "aerospace product" weapons and parts (the UK exports many "defence sector" "products") which empower some in Burma to cause others to need to leave their homes.... in 2024. For now though, better to see and understand than "see no evil, hear no evil" (which could lead to future risks), and I'm back to creating tailored guidance for my client on what can be done in this case inline with supply chains human rights due diligence legislation #LkSG #CSDDD expectations. Breathing beyond my sadness by knowing that these efforts can both help the client protect their brand; but most importantly, that the engagement we guide the client to increase (with local NGOs, etc) can help people (parents) on the ground get verified fairer incomes, and ultimately, some of these kids get the chance we all had for decent schooling before work. Keep up the "eyes open" everyone in Responsible Sourcing (dig deep as is expected by new supply chains due diligence legislation), and then where these issues are found, take the opportunity to use your buyer leverage to cause Change. In doing so we can help deliver the #livingincomes needed to end #modernslavery #childlabour and exploitation, ensure respect for #humanrights, and realise positive #socialimpact #SDGs including #SDG8 #decentwork #SDG1 No Poverty, to realise #SDG4 "Quality Education..for all". And if you want to ensure your pension etc isn't invested in weapons, for USA, click here: https://lnkd.in/eBwmHSzM and here's some in the UK: https://lnkd.in/e2QiuKSv and another with discussion: https://lnkd.in/eQzQM9Jp

The IIA has released the Third-Party Topical Requirement. It sets a clear baseline for how internal auditors must assess risks linked to vendors, suppliers, contractors, and even downstream partners. Why does this matter? Because working with third parties always comes with risks: strategic, operational, reputational, financial, legal, cyber, and even sustainability. When they fail, your organization suffers. The key reminder: Outsourcing the work does not mean outsourcing accountability. The primary organization always owns the risk. The requirement covers three big areas: ↳ Governance: Is there a formal approach, clear roles, policies, and timely reporting on third-party performance and risks? ↳ Risk management: Are risks identified, prioritized, and reviewed regularly with proper responses and escalation processes? ↳ Controls: Is there due diligence, strong contracts, onboarding, ongoing monitoring, incident management, and structured offboarding? Actionable Insights: ↳ Treat third-party risks as part of your risk universe. ↳ Don’t just rely on contracts. Test how effective monitoring and escalation processes really are. ↳ Keep an updated inventory of all third-party relationships. It sounds basic, but many organizations miss this. ↳ Make sure third-party offboarding includes revoking access and securing sensitive data. Reference: Third -Party Topical Requirement. 2025. The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc (link to download in the comments) #internalaudit #ITaudit #digitaltransformation

'the data reveals that artisanal mining for cobalt is a very hazardous vocation undertaken for basic survival, involving long hours, subsistence wages, and severe health impacts. The data further reveals that within the surveyed respondents, there is a high rate of forced labour and an almost 10% rate of child labour' Rights Lab, University of Nottingham recent report, Blood Batteries, The #humanrights and #environmental impacts of cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo demonstrates the continued issues with cobalt mining. '- 36.8% of respondents met the project’s conservative criteria for forced labour - 9.2% of respondents met the project’s conservative criteria for child labour - 27.7% of respondents began working in artisanal mining as a minor - Not a single respondent was a member of a trade union, as none exist - Not a single respondent had a written agreement for their work . For those #supplychain and #procurement professionals who are able to trace cobalt to source there are potential steps to be taken: 1. Ethical and Responsible Sourcing Ensure traceability from artisanal and industrial mining sites in the DRC to final product, especially for cobalt used in EVs and electronics. Demand transparency from suppliers, require disclosure of sourcing practices, human rights due diligence, and environmental impact assessments. Prioritise suppliers who can demonstrate compliance with international labour standards and reject those linked to exploitative practices. 2. Environmental Stewardship Incorporate geospatial and water toxicity data into supplier evaluations to avoid contributing to ecological degradation. Promote circular economy principles such as battery recycling, reuse, and alternative materials to reduce dependence on high-impact cobalt mining. 3. Compliance and Governance Align with UK Modern Slavery Act, ensure supply chain mapping and annual transparency statements reflect risks in high-impact regions like the DRC. Embed environmental, social, and governance standards into tendering and contract management processes. 4. Practical Procurement Measures Use multi-quote and business case procedures to ensure value for money and ethical sourcing, as outlined in UK finance and procurement policies. Establish KPIs related to ethical sourcing, labour conditions, and environmental impact. Anticipate changes from the Procurement Act 2025 and EU Critical Raw Materials Act that may affect sourcing obligations. For the majority of buying organisations or as consumers this is a very difficult area, but as the report recommends Government's could do a lot more to reduce exploitation: 'Strengthen supply chain transparency and due diligence requirements of consumer-facing tech and EV companies with more robust legislation; laws should include strict and severe penalties as opposed to simple reporting requirements, including a potential import ban;'