On 31 October 2019, over 200 delegates from companies supplying to consumer goods brands attended the AIM-PROGRESS Responsible Sourcing Supplier Forum in Shanghai, China to discuss common challenges around responsible sourcing and learn about practical tools and processes they can develop to improve their business practices. The forum was co-sponsored by six AIM-PROGRESS members: The Clorox Company, Kimberly-Clark, Mars, l’Occitane Group, Orkla, and SC Johnson, and supported by ELEVATE.
The day kick-started with a leadership panel of the co-sponsors to emphasize the importance of responsible sourcing for brands, as well as an introduction to AIM-PROGRESS, reinforcing that the expectations are not just from the co-sponsoring brands, but from the FMCG sector overall. The co-hosting organizations presented their commitments and progress on responsible sourcing and shared the different tools used to meet these expectations, from supplier assessments to audits, how these can be used, the benefits of each, and how AIM-PROGRESS is facilitating mutual recognition. The morning ended on an update on the legislative context of responsible sourcing in China.
The afternoon featured a series of practical deep-dive workshops on three major topics: health and safety, wages, benefits and working hours, and addressing forced labour and child labour. The event closed with a reporting session on the discussions in the workshops, followed by a networking reception where suppliers and brands could continue to exchange on their practices and programs. The objective for AIM-PROGRESS in organizing these supplier forums is to showcase common customer expectations and inspire participating suppliers to further improve their responsible sourcing practices. All presentations of the day will be made available on the AIM-PROGRESS website.
For the full description of the event, click here.
