KnowTheChain benchmarks current corporate practices, develops insights, and provides practical resources that inform investor decisions and enable companies to comply with growing legal obligations while operating more transparently and responsibly.
The KnowTheChain benchmarks aim to help companies protect the wellbeing of workers by incentivizing companies and identifying gaps in each sector evaluated.
The KnowTheChain methodology is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and covers policy commitments, due diligence, and remedy. The methodology uses the ILO core labor standards (which cover the human rights that the ILO has declared to be fundamental rights at work: freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, and the elimination of forced labor, child labor, and discrimination) as a baseline standard. The methodology has been developed through consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and a review of other benchmarks, frameworks, and guidelines such as the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Responsible Business Conduct.
To track and improve implementation of its supply chain policies that address forced labor and human trafficking, the company monitors its suppliers. The process includes non-scheduled visits, a review of relevant documents, off-site interviews with workers, and visits to associated production facilities and related worker housing. The company also takes steps to ensure suppliers below the first tier are monitored. To improve implementation of its supply chain policies, conditions at supplier level can be monitored in different ways. This could include specialized audits to detect forced labor at higher-risk suppliers or worker-driven monitoring (i.e., monitoring undertaken by independent organizations that includes worker participation and is guided by workers’ rights and priorities).
The company has a supplier monitoring process that includes:
(1) non-scheduled visits;
(2) a review of relevant documents;
(3) off-site interviews with workers;
(4) visits to associated production facilities and related worker housing; and
(5) steps to ensure that suppliers below the first tier are monitored.