A workshop exploring ETI’s report, Buying Food Responsibly: Learning from fresh and ambient supply chains in Spain and Italy.

The workshop focused on:

• Pressure points: What are the key elements of buying companies’ purchasing practices that create pressure along the supply chain and could have negative knock-on impact on workers?

• Recommendations: What could retailers and Tier 1 suppliers do to mitigate this?

The research and report 

ETI conducted research into the impact of purchasing practices on fresh and ambient suppliers and workers in Spain and Italy, including interviews with suppliers conducted by independent consultants, and then combining the anonymised feedback with outputs of workshops conducted with commercial teams of a few ETI members, to give recommendations for action. The report shares the findings, structured according to the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices in Food.

The session 

Our session explored the key insights from the Buying Food Responsibly: Learning from fresh and ambient supply chains in Spain and Italy report followed by a panel discussion with industry stakeholders. Lastly, we gave give the opportunity for participants to delve deeper into the insights during our interactive breakout sessions.

Open to both ETI members and non-members, this session offered an opportunity to exchange experiences, reflect on lessons learned, and identify practical ways forward for responsible purchasing practices in fresh and ambient supply chains.

This session was designed for the human rights and buying teams of purchasing companies and their suppliers.

Background

In January 2023, ETI launched a two-year project to improve access to grievance mechanisms for vulnerable workers in selected agricultural supply chains of ETI members. The Grievance Mechanisms in Agriculture (GMA) project aimed to decrease the incidence of modern slavery through a variety of routes. Responsible purchasing practices was identified as a key element, since the decisions of purchasing companies can exacerbate or improve poor working conditions in the supply chain. This research and report came out of this project.

File(s)

Buying food responsibly

Findings of research into the impact of purchasing practices on fresh and ambient suppliers and workers in Spain and Italy

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