Could the Human Rights Violations in Bangladesh Have Been Avoided?

YES!

To avoid tragedies like the Bangladesh fires, supplier practices need to be TRANSPARENT. Supply Chain Due Diligence is needed to ensure transparenncy to the Global Brands that source from these suppliers.   From a purely business perspective, the goal is to manage the risk of human rights violations due to the risks to shareholder value posed by human rights practices in their operations and supply chain.

HOWEVER, a greater risk is emerging.  Never before has the court of public opinion against human rights violations been heard so loud and clear.  Supply chain transparency and the ability to trace, identify and eliminate unwanted practices in a global brand’s supply chain is no longer an option but a necessity for global brands intent on protecting their reputations.

The Dodd-Frank Section 1502 reporting requirements to publicly disclose the origin of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold (3TG) used in products is aimed to address conflicted practices including, among other things, the human rights violations associated with mining of these minerals.

Conflict Minerals Compliance is an expensive and complex undertaking that should be approached with cost-efficiencies in mind. Join us for a discussion on Mitigating Conflict Minerals Risk for Manufacturers and Suppliers on May 15th at 1 PM ET/ 10 AM PT.