This one-day forum also provided a series workshops designed to provide practical solutions around migrant labor management, grievance mechanisms and sustainable land use.

• The first workshop on migrant labor management was facilitated by Lara White from the International Organization for Migration and focused on the human and labor rights vulnerabilities of migrant workers providing best practices examples to manage migrant workforce at all stages of the migration process (recruitment, deployment, employment and return).

• The second workshop on sustainable land use was led by Dejan Lewis, Hannah Timmins and Quek Karl Yen from TFT. The workshop covered engagement of supply chain actors which led to providing examples of actions to develop a multi-stakeholder approach for mitigating social and environmental risks of forest clearance.

• The third workshop on grievance mechanisms was led by Patrick McKeller from ELEVATE and Khai Yau Chua from the Responsible Business Alliance (formerly known as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition). This workshop discussed the two types of grievance mechanisms (internal/external), and focused on an interactive session helping participants understand how to promote, manage, and measure their own internal mechanisms. Responsible Business Alliance also presented the current results of their Workplace of Choice Program in Malaysia, and the importance this program places on the internal relationships and communications between workers and management.

AIM-PROGRESS organizes these events globally to provide a forum for suppliers to learn, network and share best practices, while engaging with customers. The event’s intent is for supplier representatives to gain a better understanding of labor rights issues in Malaysia and Southeast Asia and concrete actions that can be taken to drive change and build more sustainable supply chains within their own and extended value chains. Since the beginning of these events, AIM-PROGRESS has organized over 30 such sessions globally, reaching over 3,000 companies.

AIM-PROGRESS is an association of 42 Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies that seek to promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable supply chains. By working together, member companies focus on improving compliance performance while avoiding duplication of social compliance audits.