Sustainability
Eurofins | BLC Sustainability Risk Management Services
Increasing the level of traceability and visibility in supply chains is important for all businesses. Many retailers and manufacturers in the leather industry have a supply chain spanning the globe. For the leather industry, a major area of concern is having full visibility of incoming materials in your supply chain. Eurofins | BLC sustainability services help you to verify that any upstream inputs are not presenting risks downstream to the retailer or brand.
Supply Chain Mapping
Supply chain mapping is the process of identifying every material, process, and shipment required to make and sell a product or service. Many businesses in the leather industry have global supply chains, therefore managing the risk in these protracted supply chains can be complex. At Eurofins | BLC, we provide a unique supply chain mapping tool which allows you to track your raw materials from one manufacturing process to another, all over the world.
DNA Traceability
As there is currently no complete and reliable system for managing traceability within the entire value chain, from the farm to the retailed product, Eurofins | BLC has decided to work in partnership with Applied DNA Sciences (ADNAS) on a unique DNA traceability project. This unique project aims to develop a system that will provide full traceability throughout the leather supply chain, which will even be possible to finished leather or product. Eurofins | BLC are currently seeking partners in this project, so if you are interested, please contact us.
Modern Slavery & Exploitation Risk
The Global Slavery Index estimates that around 35 million globally are the victims of Modern Slavery, the equivalent of the population of Canada. 80% of the victims of modern slavery are female, whilst one in two are children. Eurofins | BLC provides services to support high risk sectors include retail, textile and leather processing, fashion, and manufacturing. Eurofins | BLC can help your business create and review current disclosure statements, create policies and other associated documentation, and reviewing and creating key performance indicators.
The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 established a legal requirement for businesses within the UK to be accountable about their efforts to prevent Modern Slavery in their business and supply chain. Businesses with a turnover of £36 million, or more, must produce an annual Modern Slavery and Anti-Human Trafficking disclosure statement, outlining their policy and procedures for addressing the risk of Modern Slavery.
Animal Welfare
Animal Welfare issues often affect industries which are dependent on the use of raw materials from the animal, such as leather production and the meat industry. Noted as a ‘hot topic’ in sustainability, consumer-lead changes to Animal Welfare laws have lead to an increasing pressure on companies to ensure that high quality standards are adhered to. Eurofins | BLC advises all businesses to follow legislation within the countries that they are sourcing from, in order to comply with animal welfare.
Chemical Footprint
Chemical Footprinting is the process of evaluating the substitution of chemicals of concern to for less hazardous chemicals, with respect to human health and/or the environment. A chemical footprint is a measure of the actions an organisation takes to advance the development and use of safer chemicals in products and across supply chains.
Regulations such as REACH and CLP help to regulate the presence of harmful substances in products being retailed in the European Union. These regulations put in place a common system to ensure a high level of protection for human health and the environment in the EU. Eurofins | BLC provides advice and guidance on how businesses need to comply with these regulations, among others.
Eurofins | BLC Supply Chain Risk Management Tips
- Seeking assurance in sensitive areas such as raw material souring, traceability and animal welfare issues, social compliance, and the management of chemicals, is becoming increasingly important for brands and retailer and their stakeholders.
Contact Eurofins | BLC? for support and guidance to identify sensistive areas in your supply chain.
- Responsibility and compliance is dependent on visibility within the supply chain beyond Tier 1 manufacturing. Transparency upstream to material suppliers, chemical, and raw material suppliers is essential to assess risk and manage stakeholders including NGOs.
Eurofins | BLC can help you understand what levels of compliance are effective throughout your supply chain.
- Mapping of the supply chain is a useful process that determines exposure points and weaknesses. Assessments include supplier visibility, specifications and policies, verification of commitments, stakeholder communication, testing, measurements and audits, legislation, and geographical sensitivities.
Use Eurofins | BLC’s unique supply chain mapping tool.
- Check the health of your supply chain and understand how your business might be exposed and what the risks and consequences might be. It is important to understand that supply chain risks can be both chemical and through sourcing.
Eurofins | BLC? can help you understand the risks in your supply chain.
Contact Eurofins | BLC Today
Eurofins | BLC are able to help with any concerns or questions you may have about supply chain risk management. Contact us today to see how Eurofins | BLC sustainability services can identify and reduce risks in your leather supply chain via [email protected] or telephone +44(0)1604 679999.
21 March 2017