Workshop

Overview

Purchasing practices play a critical role in shaping working conditions across global supply chains. Responsible purchasing practices can strengthen supplier relationships, improve working conditions, and support the protection of human rights. In contrast, poor purchasing practices can place significant pressure on suppliers, contribute to exploitative conditions, and increase the risk of human rights abuses throughout supply chains.

Balancing human rights due diligence (HRDD) with commercial priorities is a complex but essential task. A thoughtful and consistent approach to purchasing can help organisations navigate these challenges, reduce risk, and promote more responsible outcomes across their supply chains. Building awareness within procurement and buying teams of how day-to-day decisions affect suppliers is key to embedding responsible purchasing practices across an organisation.

As global attention on human rights risks in supply chains continues to grow — alongside the move towards mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) — organisations are under increasing pressure to take a proactive and comprehensive approach.

This practical and engaging workshop introduces human rights, HRDD, and the impacts of poor purchasing practices on workers across supply chains. It explores the business case for responsible purchasing practices and provides practical guidance on implementation, including accurate forecasting, open-book costing, partnership building, and responsible exit strategies. The workshop is designed to build the engagement and capability of procurement, purchasing, and supply chain teams in supporting organisational approaches to human rights.

“I would strongly recommend Stronger Together’s training on Responsible Purchasing Practices in Global Supply Chains for any brand. The sessions delivered by Hannah Lerigo- Stephens were very interactive and well-balanced. My colleagues from commercial teams were very engaged throughout the training and took a lot out of it. What I particularly liked were very relatable examples and case studies which made the participants think about their own ways of working and how to improve these.”  Kasia Myatt | Human Rights Sustainability Manager | New Look

After attending the workshop you will:

• Understand the importance of managing human rights risks in your business and the meaning of effective human rights due diligence (HRDD)
• Understand the impact of poor purchasing practices on workers in the supply chain and the importance of embedding responsible purchasing practices (RPP)
• Appreciate the business case for RPP and the purchasing/sourcing team’s responsibilities to act ethically
• Have practical guidance, examples and tools to operationalise RPP and protect human rights in your business and supply chains
• Have an opportunity to put this into practice through case studies and discussion

This workshop is ideal for:

• Those responsible for the strategy and policies for managing human rights whilst in global supply chains including Procurement, Purchasing, Supply Chain and Buying Senior Managers or Directors, CSR, Ethical and/or Sustainability Managers
• Those responsible for operational implementation of procurement/sourcing practices and direct supplier engagement including those in Supply Chain, Procurement and Purchasing Buyers, Merchandisers and Technicians, Sustainable/Ethical Procurement roles
• Applicable across all sectors including food and agriculture, garment, general merchandise, retail, manufacturing, goods not for resale and all elements of construction.

How sessions run:

• • • Online sessions: 3 hours live interactive session

Cost:

• • • Online sessions: £195 (+VAT) per delegate for all places

All ticket bookings are non-refundable for cancellations less than seven days before the workshop. This workshop can also be delivered in house to a group of colleagues from one organisation. Please email events@stronger2gether.org for more information.