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Motor manufacturing giant Ford is to provide training on social and environmental matters to all its suppliers worldwide.
The US-based multinational said the training would supplement a growing number of assessments of supplier factories against its ethical code of conduct. It will draw on lessons learned by the company from a pilot programme carried out over the past two years, as well as advice from external advisers and non-governmental organizations.
There is no strict timetable, but Ford plans to extend the initiative to every country in which it has a supplier. More than 2000 companies supply the manufacturer with a total of 130,000 vehicle parts. A further 9000 firms supply non-vehicle goods and services such as machinery and computers.
Much of the training will be on what Ford defines as 'human rights' issues such as working hours and overtime, harassment and discrimination, health and safety, wages and benefits, and freedom of association.
The company's main suppliers in Mexico and China, which are seen as higher-risk, will be the first to receive the training. With an annual global spend of $90billion (£52.4bn) and suppliers in more than 60 countries, 30 of them in emerging markets, Ford's supply chain is one of the largest and most complex in the world.
The company's suppliers were put on notice this spring that ethical supply chain management would become a strong theme for the company when chief executive Bill Ford stressed the importance of workplace standards to 100 main suppliers.
But the manufacturer believes progress on supply chain ethics is practical only if a significant number of automotive companies work in concert. As a result, Ford has begun talking to the Automotive Industry Action Group - a US-based not-for-profit business association - about bringing companies together to discuss common requirements on working conditions 'and to explore the opportunity for industry collaboration'.
Ford said it hoped this would 'result in an industry working group that would be able to combine resources and experience to generate common standards, tools and training for the automotive industry'.
Ford's pilot assessment and training began in late 2003. By June 2005, the inspection and verification firms SGS and Intertek Testing Services had completed 100 third-party assessments of suppliers in Mexico and China.
The assessors found a 'wide range of general health and safety issues, including inadequate emergency systems', and in some instances a failure to pay correct overtime wages or the local minimum wage and social insurance. There was one case of underage working and several of young workers doing hazardous jobs. Ford said all suppliers had been asked to take remedial measures and had responded positively.
Over the next year, Ford will be working with the US-based CSR organization Business for Social Responsibility on the development of a scoring system that will help the company to understand how suppliers compare with each other.
The US-based multinational said the training would supplement a growing number of assessments of supplier factories against its ethical code of conduct. It will draw on lessons learned by the company from a pilot programme carried out over the past two years, as well as advice from external advisers and non-governmental organizations.
There is no strict timetable, but Ford plans to extend the initiative to every country in which it has a supplier. More than 2000 companies supply the manufacturer with a total of 130,000 vehicle parts. A further 9000 firms supply non-vehicle goods and services such as machinery and computers.
Much of the training will be on what Ford defines as 'human rights' issues such as working hours and overtime, harassment and discrimination, health and safety, wages and benefits, and freedom of association.
The company's main suppliers in Mexico and China, which are seen as higher-risk, will be the first to receive the training. With an annual global spend of $90billion (£52.4bn) and suppliers in more than 60 countries, 30 of them in emerging markets, Ford's supply chain is one of the largest and most complex in the world.
The company's suppliers were put on notice this spring that ethical supply chain management would become a strong theme for the company when chief executive Bill Ford stressed the importance of workplace standards to 100 main suppliers.
But the manufacturer believes progress on supply chain ethics is practical only if a significant number of automotive companies work in concert. As a result, Ford has begun talking to the Automotive Industry Action Group - a US-based not-for-profit business association - about bringing companies together to discuss common requirements on working conditions 'and to explore the opportunity for industry collaboration'.
Ford said it hoped this would 'result in an industry working group that would be able to combine resources and experience to generate common standards, tools and training for the automotive industry'.
Ford's pilot assessment and training began in late 2003. By June 2005, the inspection and verification firms SGS and Intertek Testing Services had completed 100 third-party assessments of suppliers in Mexico and China.
The assessors found a 'wide range of general health and safety issues, including inadequate emergency systems', and in some instances a failure to pay correct overtime wages or the local minimum wage and social insurance. There was one case of underage working and several of young workers doing hazardous jobs. Ford said all suppliers had been asked to take remedial measures and had responded positively.
Over the next year, Ford will be working with the US-based CSR organization Business for Social Responsibility on the development of a scoring system that will help the company to understand how suppliers compare with each other.
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