Beyond the Audit

“Virtually every brand stained with evidence of human suffering in their supply chains has offered ‘independent social audit reports’ to reassure stakeholders. There must be more to regain confidence and triage trust. Transparency today means also including worker voices that corroborate any reports from consultants paid for by suppliers in factories where workers may be exploited.

New regulations and emerging legislation for mandatory due diligence disclosure on forced labour, modern slavery and environmental impacts are taking force in Australia, EU and around the world. These laws are changing the expectations on businesses.

The Million Makers initiative enlists workers to assure audits. Based on the Bluenumber self-sovereign digital ID and co-designed by Be Slavery Free and Unseen UK, it covers all 11 ILO indicators. The approach establishes a long-term pattern of ‘wellness’ at production facilities based on tens of thousands of data points from workers. It can match a top down audit with a bottom up worker audit. Million Makers paints a high-resolution picture of your supply chain risks.”