How Ethical is your Business supply Chain..?

What do you know about Ethical Auditing and how it can help your business?

How much do you know about where all your goods and services are sourced from? Do you know how your suppliers work and where they get their raw materials from? All the goods and services that enter your business need traceability. Understanding where everything comes from; whether it is raw materials or personnel; ensures that you are able to maintain a high standard and pass any ethical audit.

A policy of ethical compliance helps to create a workplace culture where all employees are treated with respect. Employees are given equal access to advancement opportunities and the workplace becomes a positive and nurturing environment. A strong ethical standard in the workplace helps to create strong working relationships between the staff and management. It reduces employee turnover, improves morale and has a positive effect on productivity. The Modern Slavery Act came into force in 2015; if your business is using Recruitment Agency staff, are you able to prove that the staff are being treated correctly?

By performing Supplier Audits, you are in control of what materials enter your business. For example: Ensuring that boxes you pack your food products in hasn’t been used previously in an engineering company. Knowing that these boxes have been made by a company that only uses sustainable materials and are not destroying forests etc.

A robust internal auditing system should cover all areas from raw materials; staffing; manufacture of goods and/or services; storage incoming/finished products, to name a few.

Potential ethical threats to your business if you don’t comply could be: -

·        Loss of customers / and revenue through loss of reputation - withdrawal of products from the markets / Fines & Recalls

·        Limit Markets – Companies unable to sell into certain Markets if they don’t comply

·        Legal Issues - Breaches of Contracts

·        Loss of reputation

Hunter Global has FDQ accredited auditors that can help you maintain your compliance within your business. We can help with internal audits; gap analysis; ethical; supplier; also prepare you for a compliance audit from a governing body. 

For more information on how audits can help your business please contact Russ on 01522802896.