Monitoring progress

In the initial step of the due diligence process, you make clear agreements and assign responsibilities. This could be about honouring payment terms, managing interim order changes, addressing complaints and which questions to ask suppliers. Your company should also gather information on compliance with these agreements. It is important to regularly check that everyone is following the agreements. This is a responsibility for management or the executive board.

It is also important to evaluate whether business partners comply with the agreements and code of conduct. This can be achieved through various methods, as explained below.

Just like addressing sustainability risks, companies cannot monitor all efforts simultaneously. It is not feasible to visit all factories and have all suppliers complete questionnaires at the same time. Measures that address that address the most salient sustainability risks must be monitored as a priority.

Companies can monitor the effectiveness of measures in various ways. The main information sources are suppliers, public data sources and third parties.

Suppliers are vital sources of information about the effectiveness of the chosen measures. Ensure that sustainability risks become a routine topic in your discussions with suppliers.

Visit suppliers if you are able to. A site visit offers a great opportunity to observe working conditions, assess the environment and speak with employees.

Various standards and certifications involve audits of suppliers. Audits check that suppliers comply with minimum requirements in terms of environment, safety and working conditions. These could be minimum requirement audits (MRQ), Sedex/SMETA or BSCI audits. An increasing number of companies use audits to eliminate risks. However, it is important to ask for the audit reports and to read them. This helps you to understand how a location deals with specific safety risks.

Some non-governmental organisations publish annual reports on certain sustainability risks. This shows the direction in which specific countries are heading.

Local experts, non-governmental organisations, trade unions or researchers can provide insight into the local context and the sustainability risks, if any. By involving these stakeholders in a meaningful way in your business operations, you can exchange relevant information.