October 18, 2016
KnowTheChain published its second benchmark yesterday on the efforts of 20 global food and beverage companies to mitigate forced labor in their supply chains. The report reveals that while the sector shows growing awareness and commitment, companies are not taking sufficient action on this issue.
The report shows that while 17 of the 20 companies assessed have processes in place to trace some aspect of their supply chains, they are still falling short, particularly in the area of recruitment. The sector scored low across seven themes, with an average score of 30 out of a possible 100.
Humanity United launched KnowTheChain as a resource to help businesses and investors understand and address the risks of forced labor in their supply chains. In 2016, KnowTheChain is assessing top companies from three sectors on their policies and practices to eradicate forced labor from their global supply chains. The benchmarks are intended to both identify leading practices that companies in each sector are using to address supply chain risks as well as to highlight areas in which companies can improve. In June, KnowTheChain released its first benchmark findings report on the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector. KnowTheChain will benchmark the Apparel and Footwear sector later this year.