Ardea International

We've had a great start to the day here at our annual conference! Stay tuned for some key takeaways.

#Conference #CPD #BusinessforGood #SupplyChainDueDiligence

Our annual conference is kicking off this morning! We couldn't have done it without all our amazing volunteers, and support from DMH Stallard and the Bakhita Centre.

#Conference #Volunteers #BusinessforGood

The 16th session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, #UNCTAD16, will take place from 20 to 23 October 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, with the theme “Shaping the future: Driving economic transformation for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development”.

▶️ unctad.org/unctad16

A just transition is key; this story illustrates how that can be done in practice.

Looking forward to attending this webinar this afternoon, it promises to be a very interesting session.

#BusinessHumanRights #Tech

The key points ⬇️ (2/2)

#IACHR #AdvisoryOpinion #HumanRights

Looking forward to attending this webinar - the ICJ's upcoming advisory opinion follows on from the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights' advisory earlier this month (1/2)

A just transition means both social and environmental sustainability; as below, meaningful stakeholder engagement is a key part of that.

#JustTransition #StakeholderEngagement

Just a few days left before kick-off on our June webinar! With our speakers giving their cross-sector experience, we anticipate that this webinar will be valuable beyond the Omnibus umbrella - for any organisation implementing #HRDD practice and policy.

#Omnibus #BusinessHumanRights

Delighted to announce the full line-up for our upcoming webinar, Navigating Omnibus: Addressing Mandatory Human Rights Due Diligence & Buyer Requirements. bit.ly/4dUJxaO

#DueDiligence #Procurement #mHRDD #Omnibus #Webinar #PanelDiscussion #BusinessHumanRights

Colleen Theron and Rory Oake at the Fair Game conference. They are holding up a frame that reads "I'm backing a fairer future for football".

Looking forward to speaking and running a workshop today with Rory Oake at Fair Game UK's 2025 conference, discussing ethics, compliance and governance in football.

#Football #FairGame #FairFuture #Ethics #ComplianceMatters

The Round-Up - March Upcoming Webinar. 30th April 2025 12:00 PM London: Risk Management and Resilience in Supply Chains – Insights from Taberah Webinar.

We're a little bit into April now, but here's what you might have missed from March! Outside the #EU and #USA, legislative changes coming down the tracks have illustrated the importance of recognising that momentum on #humanrights due diligence has picked up. www.linkedin.com/pulse/round-...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Meeting best practice guidelines in corporate reporting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In today’s dynamic regulatory environment, effective corporate reporting is not just a compliance requirement—it’s a crucial tool for building transparency, trust, and resilience. This webinar, "Meeti...

We’re delighted to invite you to our upcoming webinar, Meeting Best Practice Guidelines in Reporting! In today’s dynamic regulatory environment, effective #corporatereporting is not just a compliance requirement—it’s a crucial tool for building transparency, trust, and #resilience. bit.ly/4hJDdmO

Corporate Legal Accountability Quarterly Update – Issue 52, March 2025: The U'wa Nation, private sector, and climate crisis: collective rights in the Inter-American system - Business & Human Rights Re...

Our latest Corporate Legal Accountability update includes Earthrights Intl's analysis of a landmark IACHR ruling in favour of the U'wa Nation after years of environmental harm linked to oil, gas and mining projects in Colombia.

Read & subscribe: www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/u...

The 58th session of the UN #HumanRights Council begins its six-week session with the presence of the #UNGA President & UN Secretary-General in #GENeva.

With the #environment high on the agenda at #HRC58, follow to know how it features in the opening. ▶️ tiny.cc/HRC58Environ...

Title card: Inquiry: Forced Labour in UK Supply Chains. Ardea's Response.

Are any sectors serving the UK market at particular risk of forced labour in their international supply chains? In terms of international exposure, the forced labour corporate benchmark ‘KnowtheChain’ publishes on the three areas most commonly at risk: technology, apparel/garment industries and food and beverage. Within the UK, further sectors, including agriculture, retail, waste management, car washing, and the adult care industry are particularly at risk.

If it becomes known that a company is using or at high risk of exposure to forced labour, what impact does this have on consumer attitudes or profits? Today, consumers are more informed and place greater importance on ethical buying practices. According to a 2024 Deloitte survey into consumer attitudes to sustainability, some of the practices consumers value the most in the UK are committing to ethical working practices and respect for human rights.

Are there any weaknesses or flaws in the EU approach? Some businesses argue that the regulations create administrative burdens. To address this, the UK could provide clearer guidance and support, particularly for SMEs, ensuring compliance is both effective and manageable while maintaining strong protections against forced labour in supply chains

Last week, we submitted our response to the UK government inquiry on forced labour. Here's a few of the key points ⬇️

#UKgov #forcedlabour #inquiry

Impactful report from @business-humanrights.org - as they note, companies headquartered in the UK were named 82 times in cases of alleged abuse against migrant workers in 2024. That number is 164 for US-based businesses.

There is a clear need to take action to ensure good #HRDD in supply chains.

Our latest pod episode is now up! Thank you to Manjinder Nagra for all your insights! We talked:

❏ What businesses can do to open doors for #diversity,
❏ How #rugby has shaped Manjinder's journey,
❏ Using your platform to stand up for positive change

www.ardeainternational.com/thinking/man...

One Year In: Assessing the Impact of Canada's Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act - Ardea International 2024 marked a significant shift in Canada’s efforts in addressing forced and child labour in global supply chains. The […]

2024 marked a significant shift in Canada’s efforts in addressing forced and child labour in #globalsupplychains.
Since the Act came into force, businesses have made progress, yet challenges and opportunities remain ➡️ www.ardeainternational.com/thinking/one...

#forcedlabour #humanrights

6. Technology also has a significant part to play in collecting and managing data, but reliance on one-way communication methods like questionnaires should be avoided. /🧵

5. Buyers should be realistic about communication methods; for a buyer with 10,000 suppliers, it isn't necessarily possible to sit down and talk with all of them individually. Using different modalities, like multi-stakeholder initiatives or forums can be effective.

4. An engagement approach encourages openness and transparency, fosters practical solutions tailored to suppliers' realities, and strengthens supplier ownership of both these solutions and of ethical compliance practices.

3. An engagement approach to leverage, rather than a strict compliance approach, is a more effective tactic. This means: Ongoing dialogue, mutually agreed targets, and supplier support, fostering long-term partnerships.

2. At the same time, the term 'leverage' is increasingly seen as perpetuating the power difference between buyer and supplier. Under a strict compliance approach buyers are expected to enforce compliance, with suppliers often assumed to be the one at fault.

1. Leverage can offer a method of implementing shared responsibility practices. It does not affect the business’s responsbility to prevent or mitigate the impact in question – it simply informs the appropriate action that the business can take to this end.

Slide describing the difference between a compliance approach versus an engagement approach to leverage. A strictly compliance approach is top down, and relies on tools like compliance checklists and punitive measures in case of non-compliance. An engagement approach works on the basis of mutual obligations, ongoing dialogue, and collaboration between businesses and suppliers to identify and address root causes.

Thank you to all our attendees last week, and to our wonderful speakers - Jen Green, Colleen Theron, and Dimitra Serafeimidi!

💡 For those who weren't able to make it, here's some key takeaways - 🧵

#creativeleverage #supplierengagement #humanrights #businesshumanrights

📣 Our event, Effective Due Diligence in the Apparel Sector: Understanding Shared Responsibility, is starting - stay tuned for some key points.

#OECDGarment #Apparel #DueDiligence

Ardea Monthly Round-Up - January 2025 New & Upcoming 5th February - Online Event: Effective Due Diligence in the Apparel Sector - Understanding Shared Responsibility 27th March - Workshop: Measuring Effectiveness and Developing KPIs for H...

The start of this year has been eventful, to say the least - though discussions have been dominated by headlines on the #EUOmnibus and the second Trump term, here's what you might have missed - plus some useful resources.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/ardea-...

3. It should also involve considering barriers to understanding. That includes illiteracy; while 80% of people find reading contracts somewhat challenging - or simply don't like to do it - over 10% of the global population are unable to read their contracts at all. /🧵

2. Contracts are currently jargon-heavy, and difficult to understand for many parties. Best practice means using clear, actionable language that facilitates communication.