SPEAKERS
Because of increasing regulatory requirements, companies need to ensure that the level of sustainability in their entire value chains improves. Currently, a lot of attention and company resources are devoted to supply chain due diligence efforts, just to get to the required levels of compliance and to avoid business disruption or negative reputational challenges.
However, individual companies do not always have the leverage to make an impactful change in the environmental, social, or governance conditions in and around their supply chains. This can lead to risk-avoiding behavior resulting not only in deterioration in sourcing countries but also in diminished availability of raw materials needed for the Green Transition. Especially in an increasing global competition for raw materials, this puts the industry in Europe in a challenging position.
Leading companies have understood that to improve their sourcing practices it is important to engage with and invest in their upstream partners and stakeholders, especially with regards to sourcing raw materials required for the transition.
Such an investment approach is also more and more demanded by the sourcing countries that aim to play a more important role in global supply chains and not only want to be confronted with raw materials exports and externally imposed standards and requirements. One unintended side-effect of the rising regulatory standards is that these countries shift to other customers.
But also for Europe’s industrialization and security, it is important to have a genuine investment- and partnership approach with sourcing countries: not only to ensure the mere access to materials but also to contribute to the creation of new markets, new employment and growth opportunities and the advancement of ESG-related standards.
Downstream companies cannot assume this challenge alone and need to join forces. CSR Europe runs a partnership of 15 automotive companies (Drive Sustainability) but also in other sectors similar initiatives have been created. However, a collaborative upstream effort remains a challenge.
The European Commission has developed the Global Gateway approach and the Critical Raw Materials Act with a similar purpose but both China and the US are implementing encompassing investment programmes. Europe delivers these in a more fragmented way. Investment and investors play a key role, not only in making the Green Transition possible but also in enhancing the economic and social tissue in sourcing countries that are crucial for Europe’s industry.
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Explore with companies and investors, the European Commission, and stakeholders what the current blockages are to increase this investment- and engagement approach
Discover what companies can do by themselves and what can be learned from some initiatives and alliances that already have practical work being delivered to pave the way from compliance to impact.
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