CASE STUDY NOTES
Present Interests: Ethical Choices, HR Models For Social Hiring, Ethical Supply Chain, Private Sector Development, Sustainability of Supply
Living Wage Campaign - how to make SAP a living wage employer? Not just your employees but everyone in the human supply chain. And how to integrate sustainability into every link in the supply chain.
Intersting to think about the supply chain because consumers can have leverage on the whole chain.
Question to participants: How does can the supply chain interact with foreign policy?
Planned obsolescence - have to avoid it by making high quality products.
How do you influence partner companies to addopt a living wage? An organization has to include it in its contract to have partner companies pay their employees a living wage regardless of the added costs. It is profitable to invest in increased life quality satisfaction of employees becuase it decreases turnover and increases productivity.
Wrench in the wheel: Q: where is the business case behind the value-ladden, ethical, sustainable supply chain? A: the marketing benefits of having an ethical and responsible supply chain are profitable.
Products for the developing world: cellphone browsers to replace computers, financial software for micro finance institutions
EITI - Extractive Industries Transparency Issue - idea that foreign companies need to publish how much money is flowing into the countries and local governments have to publish how much money they are receiving so that civil society can evaluate money flow. Software created by SAP for this policy issue.
MEC
Mountain Equipment Coop - 3 million members in the cooperative. A global supply chain with 140 suppliers from 16 different countries.
Ethical Sourcing - auditing the dignity of factory employees of the suppliers - an independent group of auditors who report violations - if violations are found - MEC does not engage with the company until they progress towards reducing the violations is made.
MEC does not have much of an economic influence and can not attach financial incentives to bring about change. Can influence change by establishing partnerships with other purchasers and doing collective action against the suppliers, or motivating suppliers to change by educating them on the benefits of increased work standards.
As a coop, MEC is accountable to the members-customers for sustainable practices.
How can Canadian consumers influence policy in the developing world? Responsible companies can raise production standards on developing world suppliers.
Role of the Federal Government in ethical supply chain is the provide incentives for embedding sustainability across all different business practices.
Sustainability has to be embedded into the business plan instead of being addopted as a side project. Bonuses should be given according to CO2 reductions.
The solutions are out there and pressure has to be put on the consumers so that they demand an improvement in business cases of suppliers.
How to influence foreign policy: to mobilize the networks organizations are involved in -
Consumers are peasants with inherent bad taste and can not be trusted to make good choices. Government needs to intervene in their choices.