Four of the world’s most powerful retailers are to link up to make sure suppliers’ working conditions are fair.
UK number-one retailer Tesco will join US giant Wal-Mart, French group Carrefour and German chain Metro to back a global initiative aimed at the development of a unified approach to promote good working conditions throughout the supply chain.
The move will include industries from bananas to computers.
The initiative, which will be led by CIES, a body that brings together food retailers and suppliers, with input from Swiss retailer Migros, is to include a set of standards and working principles in a Global Social Compliance Programme.
Any further details have not yet been released.
Alan McClay, chief exeutive of CIES, said: “The ultimate objective is to improve working conditions in the supply chain.”
David Schilling, head of global corporate accountability at the Interfaith Centre on Corporate Responsibility, told the Financial Times: “The fork in the road is, do you continue to monitor, monitor, monitor, or do you take a larger look at sustainability over the long term?”
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