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Four European multinationals have agreed to act as corporate
responsibility mentors to smaller businesses in developing countries.
DaimlerChrysler, Otto Group and Puma, all based in Germany, and the Spanish company Telefónica will advise various small- and medium-sized enterprises on measuring and reporting their social and environmental impacts.
Most of the companies will be supplying the multinationals from developing countries.
Transparency in the Supply Chain, as the project is known, has been set up by the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, a German government-backed body offering consultancy services. The project will provide administrative support and specialists to train the companies, run workshops and publish a handbook with tips for small companies.
The GRI said there was considerable demand for mentoring from managers in smaller companies because they are ‘increasingly becoming engaged in sustainability issues’ but have little experience of how to deal with them. Such companies wanted to ‘take ownership of their sustainability management’ rather than having it foisted on them by buyers.
It said the multinationals should benefit too because they will be able to show they are trying to improve the sustainability of their supply chains while also getting ‘a richer insight’ into the way their suppliers operate ‘without having to use a control mechanism’.
The first workshops were held last month, and others will take place during the next 12 months. In 2008 the project is likely to be opened up to other companies.
Participating companies at present include Durovalves and Victor Gaskets, both in India, Jordan Footwear and Spring Romance Properties, in South Africa, and Topkapi Iplik, in Turkey. Other institutions advising on the project include the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (India), Forum Empresa (Chile), and Trialogue Assurance Services (South Africa).
DaimlerChrysler, Otto Group and Puma, all based in Germany, and the Spanish company Telefónica will advise various small- and medium-sized enterprises on measuring and reporting their social and environmental impacts.
Most of the companies will be supplying the multinationals from developing countries.
Transparency in the Supply Chain, as the project is known, has been set up by the Amsterdam-based Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, a German government-backed body offering consultancy services. The project will provide administrative support and specialists to train the companies, run workshops and publish a handbook with tips for small companies.
The GRI said there was considerable demand for mentoring from managers in smaller companies because they are ‘increasingly becoming engaged in sustainability issues’ but have little experience of how to deal with them. Such companies wanted to ‘take ownership of their sustainability management’ rather than having it foisted on them by buyers.
It said the multinationals should benefit too because they will be able to show they are trying to improve the sustainability of their supply chains while also getting ‘a richer insight’ into the way their suppliers operate ‘without having to use a control mechanism’.
The first workshops were held last month, and others will take place during the next 12 months. In 2008 the project is likely to be opened up to other companies.
Participating companies at present include Durovalves and Victor Gaskets, both in India, Jordan Footwear and Spring Romance Properties, in South Africa, and Topkapi Iplik, in Turkey. Other institutions advising on the project include the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development (India), Forum Empresa (Chile), and Trialogue Assurance Services (South Africa).
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