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High-risk European suppliers to Ford are just as likely to violate the company's code of practice on working conditions as those in Asia, the motor manufacturer has revealed.
Figures from Ford's latest sustainability report show that auditors found an average of 11.2 violations at each Ford supplier visited in Romania, Russia and Turkey during 2006 - a comparable level to the average for suppliers in China and India, which was 11.9.
The figures were worst in the Americas, where Ford suppliers in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua had an average of 14.8 violations per assessment.
Ford's statistics reveal a similar picture to that identified by the Swedish multinational clothing retailer H&M, which found in 2006, after an upgrade of its ethical supply chain auditing programme, that non-compliance with its code of conduct was often at the same level or greater in supplier factories in Europe than in Asia (EP8, issue 3, p5).
Ford spends $90billion (£45bn) with more than 200 supplier companies manufacturing at 7500 sites. Since 2003 it has conducted 400 assessments in nine countries. These include Romania, Russia and Turkey, where it has found there is the highest risk of code violations among European countries.
Ford said that in general it had found more problems within its supply chain in 2006 than during 2005, but put this down to better targeting of suppliers and improved monitoring, rather than a drop in standards.
Figures from Ford's latest sustainability report show that auditors found an average of 11.2 violations at each Ford supplier visited in Romania, Russia and Turkey during 2006 - a comparable level to the average for suppliers in China and India, which was 11.9.
The figures were worst in the Americas, where Ford suppliers in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua had an average of 14.8 violations per assessment.
Ford's statistics reveal a similar picture to that identified by the Swedish multinational clothing retailer H&M, which found in 2006, after an upgrade of its ethical supply chain auditing programme, that non-compliance with its code of conduct was often at the same level or greater in supplier factories in Europe than in Asia (EP8, issue 3, p5).
Ford spends $90billion (£45bn) with more than 200 supplier companies manufacturing at 7500 sites. Since 2003 it has conducted 400 assessments in nine countries. These include Romania, Russia and Turkey, where it has found there is the highest risk of code violations among European countries.
Ford said that in general it had found more problems within its supply chain in 2006 than during 2005, but put this down to better targeting of suppliers and improved monitoring, rather than a drop in standards.
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