This theme measures the extent to which a company has established corrective action processes for non-compliant suppliers and ensures that remedy is provided to its supply chain workers who are victims of labor rights violations. It incorporates allegations of forced labor that have occurred in the last three years in a company’s supply chains from publicly available third-party sources and assesses how companies have responded to and addressed these allegations.
Apparel & Footwear
The majority of the companies (95%) disclosed a corrective action process for their suppliers when non-compliances are found, but in contrast, only 19% of companies disclosed a process for responding to allegations of abuse in their supply chains. Moreover, only 11% disclosed multiple cases with concrete remedy outcomes for workers.
Food & Beverage
While the majority of companies disclose a corrective action process to rectify non-compliances identified through audits, and several have improved their processes since 2018, companies fall short when it comes to having a process in place for responding to allegations of forced labor or violations of their policies and ensuring remediation for impacted workers, and only very few disclose remedy outcomes for workers. Companies should ensure that they institute a process for responding to such allegations so that workers have access to an effective remedy, a key pillar of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Information & Communications Technology
It is more commonplace for companies to disclose information on their corrective action process for rectifying the non-compliances identified at their suppliers during audits and assessments than it is for them to disclose a process for responding to allegations of forced labor or violations of their policies regarding remediating impacted workers. While it is positive that companies are working with suppliers to improve processes going forward, it demonstrates an approach that is very heavily focused on audits. Access to effective remedy is a key pillar of UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and companies should ensure that they have sound processes in place for providing remedy to workers.