For large companies, the occurrence of human rights abuses in the supply chain is inevitable. If you look hard enough, you will uncover something. And if you don’t look hard enough, someone will uncover it for you. Knowing how to respond quickly and effectively is essential to protect the individuals involved, and the reputation of the business. In this session, we’ll work through a fictional case study of a human rights scandal. We’ll detail the practical steps a business should take in the short and medium term. We’ll discuss:
- Remediation: What does this look like for the workers?
- Crisis response: Who should be involved internally? What do you say in the first 24 hours? How do you communicate with the press, NGOs, customers, employees
- Supplier engagement: What’s the best way to deal with a bad apple in the supply chain? Is there an appropriate time to cut ties? When?