Embode, in partnership with AIM-Progress, carried out a supplier consultation exercise across India, Indonesia, and Thailand to gain deeper insight into suppliers’ experiences with human rights due diligence (HRDD) and sustainability compliance.
The project uncovered key challenges to supplier engagement including a low participation rate, which in itself served as an important learning.
Findings highlight that current sustainability approaches, which are often compliance-driven, tend to fall short of delivering meaningful impact. While audits have helped improve systems, suppliers shared that these rarely translate into broader sustainability outcomes.
The report concludes with several recommendations for companies, including the need to shift toward more purpose-driven, relationship-based strategies. It calls on procurement and sustainability teams to strengthen supplier partnerships through ongoing communication, shared responsibility, and targeted capability-building.
Below you can find the findings and recommendations as well as the Executive Summary.
Full report is available to AIM-Progress members only