Global Pacific, a pioneer of direct fresh produce supply into the UK, Irish and European markets, recognised the importance of aligning its supply chain sourcing practices with the highest standard of ethical and responsible business conduct. In an era where corporate responsibility has become an integral part of business strategy, Global Pacific sought to improve its commitment to human rights by enhancing its existing due diligence processes.
Challenges Faced:
By building transparent and collaborative relations with suppliers, Global Pacific’s existing human rights due diligence process already had a good foundation, but it was heavily reliant on 3rd party social audits and lacked an integrated strategy to effectively monitor and assess human rights issues in its supplier base. In global fresh produce supply chains, workers are particularly vulnerable to human rights violations and Global Pacific needed a partner who is familiar with the realities fresh produce workers face and how to improve working conditions sustainably without burdening suppliers situated in the Global South. The company also realised that the best way to utilise internal resources was to engage industry experts such as Partner Africa to implement more integrated HRDD processes. It was a key requirement that any enhancements to current and new processes to its systems had to be designed efficiently and operated with minimal labour and resources.
The Partner Africa Approach:
Recognising the need for an integrated and innovative solution, our team collaborated closely with Global Pacific to devise a working solution. While Partner Africa realises the value of social audits, this project required a ‘beyond audit approach’ that would avoid burdening suppliers with additional auditing costs or time needed to complete lengthy questionnaires.
1. Developing a Responsible Sourcing Policy
2. Unique Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ)
3. Internal Human Rights On-Site Assessment
4. Internal Process Flow
5. Internal Capacity Building
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