Library | ESG issues
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management oversees the entire production and distribution process, from sourcing raw materials to delivering the final product. With global supply chains, managing risks such as human rights violations, corruption, and environmental impact has become increasingly complex. Growing regulations demand greater transparency, requiring companies to monitor, assess, and improve the social and environmental footprint of their operations.
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Enterprises, supply chains and the transition to formality: Linkages and innovation
This ILO research brief examines how multinational enterprises and supply chains drive the transition from informal to formal economies. By leveraging market incentives, technology transfers, and innovative procurement, MNEs can improve working conditions, social protection, and productivity for lower-tier MSMEs, supporting global decent work objectives.
Chokepoint disruptions and their macroeconomic consequences
This report examines the macroeconomic consequences of global supply chain chokepoint disruptions. It finds that rising geopolitical tensions threaten critical nodes, causing significant output losses and price pressures. While substitution and inventories mitigate impacts, policy responses must consider a disruption's centrality and the private sector's capacity to adjust.
The New Supply-Side Era: The O-Ring Meets Geopolitics
The report examines how geopolitical tensions, supply chain vulnerabilities and technological developments increasingly drive economic volatility. It applies O-ring theory to explain how disruptions spread through production networks, affecting inflation, investment and financial markets. It highlights implications for monetary policy, corporate resilience and long-term risk assessment.
The illusion of resilience in a degrading supply chain
Senior UK food executives warn that environmental degradation and climate change pose significant financial risks to supply chains. Current industry focus on short-term growth masks structural vulnerabilities. Investors are urged to challenge board capabilities and demand long-term resilience strategies to secure future profitability and food security.
Sustainable Procurement Implementation Framework
The Sustainable Procurement Implementation Framework, developed by the UN Global Compact, provides private sector procurement teams with practical, step-by-step guidance to embed ESG priorities into the procurement cycle and supply chain management.
Green trade, regional value chains and new partnerships for cooperation: Accelerating green industrialisation through partnerships with a focus on Africa
This briefing paper examines how green trade and regional value chains can accelerate African industrialisation. It outlines opportunities within the AfCFTA and the African Green Industrialisation Initiative, emphasising the need for de-risking instruments, institutional capacity building, and new partnership frameworks to align international capital with Africa’s sustainable development goals.
Realities of artisanal and small-scale copper and cobalt mining in Lualaba province, DRC
IPIS and IBGDH mapped 51 artisanal copper and cobalt mines in Lualaba, DRC, employing an estimated 109,000 miners. The study finds few viable designated zones, cooperative elite capture, tension with industrial concessions, unsafe conditions, child labour and extortion by state agents, and recommends creating legal spaces for artisanal miners.
Sowing the seeds of change through private sector partnerships: Lessons from two seasons of pilots and system-building
This ILO report evaluates the BOUZOUR project's efforts to strengthen Lebanon’s cherry sector through private sector partnerships. By establishing a national phytosanitary framework and improving exporter-farmer linkages, the initiative increased farmer incomes by USD 688,564 in 2025, enhanced worker conditions, and expanded access to high-value international markets.
Delivering the digital economy: African migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates e-commerce and delivery sectors
This report examines the exploitation of African migrant workers within the United Arab Emirates' e-commerce and delivery sectors. It details systemic abuses including recruitment debt, deceptive contracts, and excessive working hours, highlighting how subcontracting models fragment accountability. The findings advocate for stronger international labour standards to protect vulnerable platform workers.
Leveraging technological solutions for human rights due diligence
This report distils lessons from 25 organisations on leveraging technology to strengthen human rights due diligence in value chains. It categorises various tools, provides case studies, and outlines practical steps for responsible AI adoption, emphasising that technology must complement, rather than replace, human judgement and meaningful stakeholder engagement.
Assessing digital traceability systems for critical mineral value chains: Aligning upstream and downstream agendas
This report assesses digital traceability systems for critical raw materials, evaluating their architecture, feasibility, and impact. It emphasises aligning downstream regulatory demands with upstream producer realities, recommending that traceability should support due diligence and inclusion—particularly for artisanal mining—rather than serving as a standalone compliance burden.
Innovations in sustainability systems to support corporate due diligence
A resource hub from ISEAL Alliance providing case studies on how sustainability systems support corporate due diligence. It explores innovations like gamified worker training and digital risk assessments to improve supply chain transparency and human rights monitoring.
Reconsidering supply chains and industrial policy from the economic security perspective
This report analyses supply chain resilience and industrial policy through the lens of economic security. It evaluates market failures in supply chain investment, examines cases of Chinese economic coercion, and assesses Japanese semiconductor subsidies for TSMC and Rapidus, emphasizing the roles of diversification, existing industrial clusters, and international research collaboration.
Role of Japanese firms in the East Asian electronics industry: A supply chain network perspective
This research analyses Japan's position in the East Asian electronics supply chain using network science. While Japan remains a vital upstream supplier of components and equipment, its dominance in mainstream semiconductors has declined. Conversely, Japanese firms maintain strong leadership within automotive clusters and unique electronics-automation-utilities ecosystems.
Raw power: China locks-in global dominance of critical minerals and metals with $120bn outbound investment surge
This report details China's structural "Going Global" strategy, tracking over US$120 billion in outbound investment since 2023 to secure critical mineral supply chains. It examines China's refining dominance and provides strategic recommendations for Australian policymakers to build domestic value-adding capacity in the zero-emissions economy.
DERA Preismonitor
Published by the German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA), the Preismonitor provides monthly price tracking for over 80 mineral raw materials and 15 recycling materials. It serves as a vital tool for monitoring commodity market trends and assessing supply chain risks.
