Never before has supply chain responsibility attracted as much attention on high political levels as it did at the G7 Summit in Elmau Germany which closed today. The leading western industrialised countries did not only formulate policy but also committed to action in their concluding statement:
– Unsafe and poor working conditions lead to significant social and economic losses and are linked to environmental damage. Given our prominent share in the globalization process, G7 countries have an important role to play in promoting labour rights, decent working conditions and environmental protection in global supply chains. We will strive for better application of internationally recognized labour, social and environmental standards, principles and commitments (in particular UN, OECD, ILO and applicable environmental agreements) in global supply chains.
The Government of Germany deserves much credit as this would never have come about without their strong and longstanding commitment to drive and support human rights and decent working conditions in the global supply chains.
Safe workplaces are obviously among the main issues that were singled out in the declaration. As one of the concrete action points, the summit spoke out in support of a German initiative to establish a “Vision Zero Fund” together with the International Labour Organisation ILO, to support measures for improving labour, social, environmental and safety standards.
The G7 heads of state and government also committed themselves to strengthening the use OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies in applying supply chain sustainability. This follows up on the commitments made by OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria who together with ILO Director General Guy Ryder and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim spoke at a preparatory Conference arranged by the German G7 Presidency in Berlin in March. It will include improved complaints procedures and a strengthening of the OECD National Contact Points to deal more efficiently with these complaints.
Much of this supply chain work builds on the UN Principles on Business and Human Rights. The G7 countries welcomed the efforts to set up substantive National Action Plans. The private sector will play an important role, implementing human rights due diligence. Corporate responsibility initiatives are an important part of the cooperation between government and business, fostering sustainable supply chains and encourage best practices.
The G7 countries will also continue their support to multi-stakeholder initiatives:
– …we will strengthen multi-stakeholder initiatives in our countries and in partner countries, including in the textile and ready-made garment sector, building upon good practices learned from the Rana Plaza aftermath. We will continue supporting relevant global initiatives. Furthermore, we will better coordinate our bilateral development cooperation and support partner countries in taking advantage of responsible global supply chains to foster their sustainable economic development.