Skip to content

Sedex and the ILO on driving sustainable supply chains in Asia

Sedex’s team in Asia have been working with the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Responsible Supply Chains in Asia programme to drive responsible business practices and supply chain sustainability.

What is the ILO RSCA programme?

The ILO’s Responsible Supply Chains in Asia (RSCA) programme aims to drive responsible business practices through Asian supply chains, to support wider social, economic, and environmental goals.

46% of Sedex’s members are based in Asia, including thousands of suppliers for global brands. Sedex’s Asia team are actively involved across the region, and with the RSCA programme. The RSCA programme focuses on selected sectors across six countries:

The programme helps companies in Asia to learn about the ILO’s principles on responsible business, based on international labour standards, to help them use more sustainable practices and drive decent work in their supply chains.

Sedex’s tools incorporate these principles. Our training and engagement sessions, held as part of the RSCA programme, provide knowledge, understanding and practical guidance on these principles to support regional activity.

Sedex’s collaboration with the ILO RSCA programme

https://youtube.com/watch?v=G6VB3z6JEyM%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.sedex.com

Video: Walter Lin, Sedex Managing Director in Asia, shares Sedex RSCA activity and achievements 

https://youtube.com/watch?v=qGSiu6o2CGM%3Ffeature%3Doembed%26enablejsapi%3D1%26origin%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.sedex.com

Video: Fredy Guayacan, Programme Manager, Responsible Supply Chains in Asia Programme, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, shares an overview of the RSCA programme and its key achievement and impact.

Sedex training empowers participants to embed international standards

Through three years of collaboration with the RSCA programme, Sedex has provided training seminars and in-depth insight to businesses, combining RSCA content with our own knowledge on responsible business in practice. Our sessions give Sedex members and other participants, including academics and representatives from the ILO, the opportunity to engage, share, and learn with each other.

The training provides participants with a clearer, more thorough understanding of international responsible business standards from the ILO, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, and the United Nations.

These sessions help to fill a critical knowledge gap, especially where it exists within small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs). This knowledge empowers businesses to promote and apply the standards throughout their businesses and supply chains. At a practical level, session participants are better equipped to help their companies communicate these standards to their suppliers, customers, and other stakeholders, including when engaging with labour inspectors and auditors.

Feedback from Sedex members on the ILO RSCA programme

“The training was instructive in showing how international labour standards provide guidance for enterprises to improve management and HR coordination. For me, the most important lessons centred around wages and working hours, gender equality and prevention of harassment in the workplace.”

Juan Wang , Senior HR Specialist with BYD Electronics (International)

“The training workshop was very informative and provided us with good guidance for complying with ILO standards. Also, we had the opportunity to share and learn from other participants’ experiences in managing their labour standards in different companies and countries.”

Weng Hong Leong, Group Chief HR Officer, Karex Berhad

Resources

ILO RSCA programme

  1. ILO RSCA programme flyer
  2. ILO RSCA programme introduction video
  3. ILO RSCA programme summary supply chain infographic
  4. ILO RSCA programme summary slide (ILO RSCA and Sedex Webinar) – Main findings, challenges, and the way forward. How to contribute to achieving competitiveness and productivity for sustainable enterprises.
  5. ILO RSCA programme website
  6. ILO RSCA programme and Sedex joint webinar (programme phase one summary)

International Instruments or Frameworks which the ILO-RSCA programme promotes

  1. ILO RSCA programme: Responsible Business. Key message from International Instruments
  2. ILO: Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy
  3. OHCHR: United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
  4. OECD: OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
  5. OECD: OECD due diligence guidance for responsible business conduct

Practical tools

  1. A self-assessment tool for enterprises based on the Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy (MNE Declaration)
  2. Labour Standards in Global Supply Chains – an ILO training module for SMEs and other enterprises

Contact:

ILO RSCA programme contact at Sedex:
Sedex Asia team (sedexasianews@sedex.com)

ILO helpdesk for businesses:
https://www.ilo.org/asia/projects/rsca/lang–en/index.htm