Last week Impactt attended an interesting event called ‘Putting market access into practice: Reaching the bottom billion through corporate supply and distribution chains.’ The event, organised by ODI, DFID and Business Action for Africa explored how supply and distribution chains can be harnessed to expand opportunities for the poor while delivering key business benefits.

Speakers included Andy Wales (Head of Sustainable Development- SABMiller), David Croft (Sustainability Director- Cadbury),  and Euan Wilmshurst (Stakeholder Engagement Manager- The Coca Cola Company). Caroline Ashley (Overseas Development Institute) acted as a respondent.

One of the key themes discussed was that the sustainability agenda is no longer confined to CSR or PR departments within organisations but has moved into core strategy and day-to-day business practice. It’s no longer just about doing good. It’s about realising that small growers, workers and communities lie at the heart of supply chains and helping them build sustainable futures is vital for the sustainability and success of the supply chain itself. As Euan Wilmshurst put it ‘Our business is only as sustainable as the communities in which we operate.’ This commitment to sustainability is also reflected in Cadbury’s £44 million investment in cocoa farms across Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean through the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership.

Another key theme discussed was the importance of effective local partnerships in delivering successful projects on the ground. Impactt whole-heartedly echoes this view and this year we launched the ‘Local Resources Network’- an online community which links companies with local resources (NGOs, trade unions, auditors, social scientists, other specialists) in their sourcing countries.

But while it was encouraging to see the positive work companies like SABMiller, Cadbury, Coca Cola and others are engaged in, the event also raised some critical questions. Why don’t we have more and bigger examples of supply chain reform? Can the pace of progress be faster? Why don’t we have more cooperation among competitors on this issue? How scalable and replicable are current projects?

The speakers pointed out that there are challenges of cost, scale and knowledge and of course the fact that real, long term sustainable projects simply need time. As always, there are no easy answers. But it was very encouraging to see a room full of brands, NGOs, academics, campaigners, students and development experts genuinely convinced in the power of supply chains to promote development. We hope brands will continue pushing the agenda, further integrating ethics with core business and driving real, sustainable change in their supply chains.

Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation today (4^th March) announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the UK’s best selling chocolate bar, by autumn 2009. The move will result in the tripling of sales of Fairtrade cocoa from Ghana. The value of the British Fairtrade chocolate market will in turn grow from £45m to £225m. All Dairy Milk bars will be sold with a commitment to pay farmers a ‘Fairtrade premium’ of £105 per tonne above market prices. The move has been widely reported in The Guardian and on the BBC World Service and is being covered by a live webcast at 1:30pm on 4th March.

This exciting announcement comes on the heels of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, founded last year.  As part of this initiative, Cadbury is investing £45 million over ten years to secure the sustainable socio-economic future of cocoa farming in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. The move will secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers. This is an unprecedented investment in the sustainable development of the chocolate industry and demonstrates that pro-development investment in the long-term sustainability of the cocoa industry can be both good for society and good for business. Cadbury are contributing to a pro-development trend which will lead other brands and retailers to identify and increase the developmental benefits of their conventional supply chains.

What will consumers think? The Fairtrade market continues to grow significantly despite the economic downturn. According to The Co-operative’s Ethical Consumerism Report the market for Fairtrade goods and free-range eggs grew 14 per cent from £5.1 billion to £5.8 billion in 2008. Recent research agrees that, despite feeling the pinch, 92% of consumers still claim to be willing to pay extra for a product perceived to be ethical. Even in economic hard times consumers care about the conditions under which their products are made and wish to ensure that workers and farmers in supply chains are treated well. However, concerns still remain that consumers do not fully understand how the Fairtrade scheme works.  Cadbury addresses these concerns by highlighting five key benefits of Fairtrade.

Impactt applauds Cadbury for taking these steps during the economic downturn and challenges others in the industry to follow suit.

A new network to promote good working practices in developing countries will be launched today, 4^th December, at the Ethical Trade Initiative Food Group meeting.

The Local Resources Network is an online community for organisations working to improve employment conditions in factories, on farms and in work sites worldwide. The network is intended to link corporate and NGO members sourcing from developing countries with local partners (Local resources) who have expertise in managing projects and conducting workplace remediation.  Local resources may be NGOs, Trade Unions, auditors, social scientists or specialists with expertise in relevant topics such as child labour remediation.

The network is designed to provide a link between interested parties and to facilitate:

• Workplace remediation projects (productivity improvement, child labour remediation etc.)
• Discussions on specific workplace topics
• Sharing of information and experience
• Capacity building for local resources on country and industry topics.

The website will allow organisations to upload a profile, publicise their experience and skills in workplace remediation and establish contacts with potential project partners.

The sponsors of the Local Resources Network are:

The Local Resources Network was set up by Impactt limited and is currently being managed by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).  For further information on the network and to find out how to join, please follow the link to the website.