Partnerships

Meaningful collaboration is essential to driving positive, lasting change in the supply chain. This is why we continue to partner with leading NGOs and take an active role in industry coalitions. We work to improve the effectiveness of our own Ethical Sourcing program and, ultimately, improve the lives of workers in our supply chain.

Examples of our partnerships include:

The Global Social Compliance Program

We were one of six leading companies who worked together to create the Global Social Compliance Program (GSCP) in an effort to place social values at the heart of commercial decisions. Currently, 34 companies are participating in GSCP. Looking forward, GSCP will focus on finding collaborative approaches for capacity building.

The goals of GSCP are:

  • Drive conformity in ethical sourcing by building transparency and the ability to compare existing systems.
  • Build consensus on best practices.
  • Develop a clear and consistent message for suppliers globally.
  • Reduce audit fatigue and duplication.
  • Strengthen collaborative efforts for building capacity and training.

In January 2011, Walmart underwent a GSCP self-equivalence process, where we reviewed our standards and tools against GSCP to identify gaps in our program. This exercise has allowed us to strengthen our program by further aligning our requirements with GSCP’s requirements.

For more information on the GSCP, visit gscpnet.com.

“The engagement of leading international buyers – such as Walmart – is essential to drive compliance with ILO core international standards and national labour law. Through their participation in the program, Walmart is helping Better Work reach a substantial number of factories, to promote better working conditions for thousands of garment workers worldwide.”
Dan Rees, director, Better Work

International Labour Organization (ILO)/ International Finance Corporation (IFC) Better Work Program

We have partnered with the ILO and the IFC to support the Better Work Programs utilized in Cambodia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Lesotho, Nicaragua and Vietnam as well as the planned expansion into Bangladesh.

The Better Work Program’s objective is to improve working conditions by monitoring factories, conducting training modules and engaging with key stakeholders, including workers, factories, communities and governments. Together, we continue to advocate for stronger labour policies and strengthen the capacity to monitor factory conditions in these countries. At Walmart, we are asking our suppliers who produce merchandise in these countries to fully support the Better Work Programs by requiring their factories to participate in this program.

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)

We are a member of BSR, a global network of more than 250 companies focused on developing sustainable business strategies and solutions through consultation, research and cross-sector collaboration. By working with BSR, we are able to utilize their expertise to identify trends and supply chain issues, and potential solutions.

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)

We are an active member of the ETI, an alliance that works with companies, trade unions and volunteer organizations to improve the lives of workers across the globe who produce food and consumer goods. Through ETI, member organizations collectively tackle labour issues that would not easily be addressed individually. For example, our ASDA operations participated in the ETI purchasing practices work group, which developed a buyer training program focused on the links between daily decisions and production activities at the factory level.

Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC)

We are a member of the SAC, an industry-wide group of leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, manufacturers, NGOs, academic experts and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products around the world. The goal of the coalition is to lead the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability built upon a common approach for measuring and evaluating apparel and footwear product sustainability performance.