Best Practices: Sustainability Due Diligence In The Supply Chain

Executive Summary

Supply chains have become the arena in which corporate sustainability commitments are tested. Mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws are expanding across Europe, North America and parts of Asia, and investors, business customers and consumers are scrutinizing who supplies whom. Organizations that cannot show credible oversight of their suppliers risk blocked shipments, lost contracts, litigation and lasting reputational harm. However, meeting these expectations is increasingly difficult. Global supply chains are more layered, opaque and geographically dispersed than ever, and many firms lack visibility beyond their direct suppliers or reliable data to support their claims. Firms require supply chain sustainability due diligence not only to produce compliance reports, but also to identify and address environmental and human rights risks, protect market access and strengthen operational resilience. Against this backdrop, this report examines what drives supply chain sustainability due diligence, the barriers that inhibit effective programmes and the best practices that separate leaders from laggards.