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Symrise AG, a global supplier of fragrances, flavours, food, nutrition, and cosmetic ingredients, is committed to operating and sourcing responsibly. With around 10,000 raw materials sourced from over 100 countries, sustainable procurement is a core part of the Symrise strategy. The company recognises the importance of responsible and sustainable operations for today’s business and future success. However, the company also acknowledges a growing interest among corporate investors in promoting social and environmental sustainability. This presented a challenge to integrate sustainability targets with corporate financing, creating shared goals to form one integrated strategy.

Molson Coors, the fifth-largest beverage company worldwide, operates in 100 countries and is known for popular beer brands like Coors Light, Miller Lite, and Carling. To compete in a global market, Molson Coors needed to maintain strict standards for themselves and their suppliers. They aimed to act ethically, responsibly, and in compliance with the law. However, they faced challenges in understanding their supply chain, setting measurable goals, and improving their processes. They also wanted to gain greater visibility into their suppliers’ operations and instigate conversations around sustainability risks and mitigation plans. Furthermore, they needed to enhance their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting to investors and improve supplier engagement and performance.

Kellogg Company, a multinational food manufacturing organization with 33,000 employees, faced a significant challenge in managing its extensive supply chain. The company produces 1,600 foods in 20 countries and markets them in 180 countries, making transparency and sustainability crucial. Alistair Hirst, SVP Global Supply Chains at Kellogg Company, emphasized the need for a stable base to build a sustainable supply chain. The company's supply chain extends to multiple tiers, making it a complex task to understand and manage the entire process. The challenge was not only to reduce greenhouse emissions or energy footprint but to ensure sustainability throughout the end-to-end supply chain. The company also had to meet the expectations of its customers, particularly millennials, who demand transparency about the origin of their food and prefer companies that align with their moral compass.

Cancer Research UK, a leading global charity dedicated to cancer research, has a vast retail division with 13 superstores and 580 shops. The organization was seeking to enhance the transparency of the ethical performance of its retail supply chain as part of its sustainability strategy. The challenge was to understand the supply chain better and continuously improve the ethical performance of their suppliers. The organization needed a solution that could provide a comprehensive view of the ethical performance of their global supplier base, thereby enabling them to drive continuous improvement in this area.

Co-op, a company with a strong commitment to ethical trade, faced the challenge of managing a large, complex, and growing supply chain. They aimed to increase transparency and maintain high labour standards across their supply chain, while also reducing audit fatigue among suppliers. The company recognized the need for collaboration with other retailers and industry stakeholders to address common responsible sourcing challenges. They sought a solution that would allow them to standardize audits and share them with multiple businesses. Additionally, Co-op wanted to build strong supplier relations based on trust and transparency, with the goal of achieving long-term and sustainable improvements to working conditions in their supply chain.

Ethical Merch Co, an Australian manufacturer and reseller of promo goods and branded apparel, faced a significant challenge as it began to grow and acquire large non-profit customers. While price was a crucial factor for their customers, Ethical Merch Co understood that brand reputation was even more critical. The company was faced with the challenge of providing their clients with ethically sourced products, a task that required a deep understanding of their supply chain and the ability to ensure ethical practices at every level. The company's Managing Director, Nathan Kingston, recognized the need to partner with a company that shared their strong business ethics and could help them meet this challenge.

Kellogg Company, a global leader in the food industry, was facing significant challenges in managing its supply chain sustainability in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. The company's SVP of Global Supply Chains, Alistair Hirst, identified four key challenges that were impacting the stability, risk, and sustainability of their global supply chains. These included political instability, climate change, food security, and urbanization. Political instability, such as wars and socio-economic imbalances, was affecting the company's sourcing and sustainability at a high level. Climate change was altering the world's growing regions, posing a threat to the company's food production. Food security was a major concern, especially in developing markets where the company hoped to expand its business. Lastly, urbanization was expected to increase the world's population to nine billion by 2050, with 70% living in urban areas, thereby increasing the demand for food while the resources remained limited.

Little Freddie, a premium organic baby food brand, was seeking to partner with reputable suppliers that not only met legal requirements but also shared their values on enhancing worker welfare and safeguarding good working conditions. The company used Sedex's risk assessment tool, Radar, to review countries' inherent risk ratings and identify specific risks when sourcing from these countries. The tool helped Little Freddie identify its Madagascan pineapple supplier, HavaMad, as a high-risk due to its location and the economic difficulties affecting businesses across Madagascar. The challenge was to reduce this risk and ensure a sustainable and ethical supply chain.

Oliver Bonas, a UK-based independent lifestyle retailer, was facing challenges in monitoring and improving the working conditions within their global supply chain. The company, which sources high-quality products from various countries with diverse cultures and economies, was committed to maintaining long-standing, trusting relationships with its suppliers. However, the administrative burden on their suppliers was high, and there was a lack of visibility into the ethical audits and factory and workforce details of their suppliers. The company's values of 'Work Hard, Play Hard and Be Kind' extended to their supply chain, and they were committed to doing business that was beneficial for everyone involved. Therefore, they needed a solution that would allow them to gain deeper visibility into their supply chain and engage with suppliers to monitor and improve working practices.

Reckitt, a global company with over 43,500 employees of 120 different nationalities, operating in 60 countries, is committed to diversity and inclusion. They believe it is their collective responsibility to build inclusion into everything they do, representing their people and the global community they serve. However, given the scale of their global supply chain and its structural gender inequalities, they faced a challenge. They wanted to identify and address the barriers to gender equality within their supply chain. The goal was to use the insights gained to drive change and promote gender equality within their supply chain.

Rémy Cointreau, a French family-run Group specializing in the production of cognacs, liqueurs, and champagne, was seeking to ensure responsible sourcing practices throughout their entire value chain. The company wanted to ensure that their suppliers, regardless of their location or industry, adhered to their responsible sourcing principles and guidelines. They aimed to set an example for their value chain that embodied their sustainability values, including policies that protect workers’ rights and respect the environment. Rémy Cointreau also wanted to promote transparency across their value chain and improve the lives of workers within their supply chain.

Suntory, a global beverage company, was facing challenges in managing its supply chain responsibly and sustainably. The company had a mission to create harmony with people and nature, which required sourcing more responsibly. However, the company was struggling with managing both reputational and actualized risks at supplier sites. Suntory was independently managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) to mitigate supply chain-related risks. However, the company's global operations had different approaches to managing suppliers, with modern slavery legislation varying between the different countries Suntory operates within. Suntory recognized that to make a greater impact and deliver positive change for workers within their global supply chain, they needed to work within a broader framework.

Waitrose & Partners, a major British supermarket chain with over 300 locations, was seeking to ensure ethical practices throughout their supply chain. The company believes in maintaining high standards of environmental responsibility and community wellbeing, which they consider integral to good business. However, they faced challenges in ensuring that all sites in their supply chain were carrying out ethical due diligence in line with industry standards. They needed a way to understand more about their suppliers and their ways of working, and to identify any issues that needed to be addressed. They also wanted to ensure that workers in their supply chain had safe and hygienic working conditions, were treated fairly, and were paid correctly.