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This report describes in the final evaluation of the ‘Combatting Child Labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Cobalt Industry’ (COTECCO) project. Fieldwork for this evaluation was conducted in April 2022. Sistemas Familia y Sociedad - Consultores Asociados EIRL Ltd. conducted this independent evaluation in collaboration with the project team and stakeholders, and prepared the evaluation report.

The objective of the project is to strengthen efforts by the Congolese government and other relevant stakeholders (at central and provincial level) in addressing child labor (CL) in the cobalt supply chain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)…

Guidance document designed to complement the 17 tools comprising the Socially Sustainable Sourcing Toolkit (S3T).

Tool 10: The most common way for an organization to understand and address labor issues in its supply chains is to undertake supply chain due diligence, a process by which companies can ensure that they comply with legal and code of conduct requirements. This risk management process is designed to identify, prevent, and mitigate adverse labor issues and other risks in all tiers of the supply chain.

Tool 11: Increased expectations from clients and consumers, coupled with expanding regulations on ethical sourcing in supply chains can create challenges for coffee companies, but also presents opportunities for companies willing to differentiate their business models and ethical sourcing practices. This guide proposes a simple framework for a voluntary independent verification system for coffee companies willing to leverage transparency and accountability as an integral part of their ethical sourcing practices and systems. If well-implemented, the framework will nurture innovation that can create a competitive advantage for the company and its supply chain partners.

Tool 12: Companies that export, import, roast, and sell coffee to consumers face increasing imperatives to report publicly on their activities and progress addressing human rights issues within their supply chains. Socially responsible investors focused on Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria routinely evaluate companies’ performance on issues such as child labor and forced labor, with data on human rights and labor performance used to populate the “social” rankings within the overall ESG assessment. In addition, major voluntary frameworks such as the UN Global Compact (UNGC) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) require regular reporting on progress toward specific sustainability and human rights standards. Mandatory due diligence reporting regimes on key issues such as modern day slavery and child labor are also increasingly being instituted by state, national, and international governmental bodies as a condition of operating, importing, and selling goods within specific political boundaries. Developments such as these make it essential for companies to be able to communicate clearly and regularly about their compliance systems and progress.

Tool 1: The purpose of this guide is helping in clarify the landscape of people and/or organizations connected to business activities and to provide coffee companies with actionable recommendations and best practices on the design and implementation of stakeholder engagement strategies1 that will allow for the creation of constructive relationships that maximize the creation of shared value in coffee supply. The tool is directed to private sector companies and other organizations working in the coffee sector with interest on building collective agendas to address sustainability issues affecting the coffee sector.

Tool 3: The purpose of this guide is to help coffee sector stakeholders better understand the underlying factors that increase the risk of labor and human rights violations in coffee supply chains. This can provide valuable insights to coffee companies, allowing them to identify and address labor risks among farmworkers. Strong sourcing networks are a pathway to building long-term profitable businesses. The leading coffee businesses of the future must therefore incorporate socially sustainable sourcing practices to promote the eradication of forced labor and child labor in the coffee sector.

Tool 4: A code of conduct is an important formal statement of a company’s values, commitments and expectations of its direct business partners, including what is required of these business partners or suppliers in managing human rights risks in their supply chains. We are offering the sample provisions below to coffee roasters, traders, and producers to support them in developing or strengthening their own policies or formal Codes of Conduct.

Tool 7: Effective communication and training on Code of Conduct standards represent a key building block for successful adoption of social responsibility practices by all supply chain actors, from the coffee bean producer to the coffee retailer. The need for straightforward information on what is required of supply chain partners and their workers is often underestimated. This is even more the case with building the knowhow and technical skills to implement both Code of Conduct and legal requirements, including mitigating risks to workers and remediating issues that arise.