News

On 22 September, 2022, the signatories and other stakeholders to the IRBC agreement for the Floricultural Sector reflected on three years of collaboration. The activities, recommendations and perspectives on a sustainable development of the sector are summarized in a final report.

For over a year, representatives of the former Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile have worked hard with the Ethical Trading Initiative, Fair Wear Foundation and the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles to define responsible purchasing practices. This has led to a Common Purchasing Practices Framework. Purchasing practices are an important factor for positive impact at production sites.

The TruStone Initiative published a guidance to support companies in the natural stone sector to address child labour. Companies that want to learn about how to have a positive impact on children’s rights in their supply chains, will find valuable tips in this guidance. The manual is available to everyone.

How do you work together on due diligence in the metals sector? And what challenges and opportunities does this bring? During a working visit to the A&M Group (A&M Recycling and In2Waste Solutions), the parties to the Metals Agreement discussed this with each other.

In the light of the climate emergency and increased geopolitical tensions, the energy transition becomes increasingly important. At the same time, the renewable energy value chain is associated with risks and impacts for people and the environment. The SER and the Danish Institute for Human Rights will organise a webinar about this topic on 7 September.

In April 2021 the TruStone Initiative, NGO Arisa and companies that participate in the TruStone Initiative together with suppliers and NGOs from Rajasthan (India), started an open constructive dialogue. The goal of this ongoing dialogue is to share challenges, good practices and lessons learned and to jointly formulate practical solutions and next steps to develop a responsible and sustainable sandstone sector in Rajasthan state in India. Various results have been achieved.

Recently, the webinar ‘Successful Responsible Business Conduct: key elements for business leaders’ took place. Various speakers shared their success factors for setting up an effective due diligence system. A recording of the webinar is now available as well as the presentations and the Q & A list.

Companies which conduct business responsibly take into account the interests and well-being of all stakeholders. The SER project 'meaningful dialogue', made possible in part by the Goldschmeding Foundation, helps companies to engage in dialogue with stakeholders.

The TruStone Initiative has released a guidance to support companies in the natural stone sector addressing risks in the field of safety and health issues at the workplace in their supply chains. The manual is available to everyone.

The 15th OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains will take place on 2-6 May 2022. CNV International and other members of the International RBC Agreement for the Metals Sector will be organising an official partner session during the Forum. The side event offers the opportunity the learn more about a multi-stakeholder approach to identify and mitigate the hidden risks of the global energy transition in key mining supply chains.