annual report 2003/2004 — Putting ethics to work

Strengthening members’ commitment

Corporate members of ETI must commit to implementing the ETI Base Code throughout their supply chains. Every year they submit reports against a detailed set of criteria that help us assess the progress they are making and what new patterns are emerging. These page (pages 17 – 21) demystify the reporting process and highlight key trends in performance.

The benefits of reporting

Members’ reports are a vital means to gather intelligence on the progress of individual members and the membership as a whole, enabling us to identify key issues and trends over time. The reports reinforce commitment to transparency and accountability and enable us to assess continuing membership eligibility. Crucially, they allow for good practice to be described, shared and celebrated. Corporate members can benefit from our rigorous reporting process. They can assess their own progress over time, compare their progress to others and benefit from collaboration and exchange of ideas.

Top line trends

Eight of the 27 companies which reported improved their performance ranking this year, and only two deteriorated. This is significant year-on-year progress and suggests that companies may be improving their performance on ethical trade. The quality of reporting also improved: 66 per cent of reports were assessed as ‘good’ in terms of quantity and quality of information and analysis, up from 52 per cent last year.

Companies are reporting higher numbers of suppliers who fall within the scope of their codes of labour practice: the supply base of our 27 reporting corporate members now covered by codes amounts to nearly 17,000 suppliers. They also increased the number of assessments carried out. Put together, these trends indicate that our reach is widening.

Photo: Fernando Moleres / Panos Pictures