Supply chains are the most important levers for companies to create positive impacts in the world, with about 80% of global trade passing through them every year.

For this reason, the United Nations Global Compact has set up an International Platform for Action (Action Platform “Decent Work in Global Supply-Chains”) bringing together institutional partners, local UNGC networks (including Global Compact Network Italy) and companies from all over the world with the aim of planning concrete actions and developing tools that have an impact on the welfare of corporate workers along the supply chain. The Action Platform works to:

• promote a shared awareness of decent work in the supply chain in all sectors and at all levels, from leadership to the last links of supply;
• involve suppliers in Decent Work through training initiatives, capacity building and incentive measures;
• identify remaining challenges, by exploring new solutions to support decent work.

Within the framework of the AP, the United Nations Global Compact has developed the “Engagement Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement”. The Toolkit was presented for the first time in Italy last March 28 by Mari-Lou Dupont – reference person on the theme “Decent Work in Supply Chains” for Global Compact – during the last stage of the Collective Action “Unleash the Chain!” promoted by Global Compact Network Italy. The main objective of the kit is to offer approaches, tools and practical indications to those who work on corporate sustainability in order to stimulate purchasing offices and then suppliers to implement actions aimed at improving the workers’ conditions along the supply chain.

More in detail, the Toolkit is designed to:

• support internal dialogue between the company’s sustainability and procurement teams;
• be used by the supply chain and corporate sustainability professionals to get in touch with their suppliers;

The Engagement Toolkit focuses on building relationships, openness and transparency needed to work with suppliers in order to improve work practices and support decent work along the supply chain starting from corporate purchasing policies.

The Toolkit will be tested in the upcoming weeks by companies participating in the Action Platform and will be shared with a wider audience afterwards.