1A: Collaboration with competitors - How to make it work

Two heads are often better than one and many companies are now finding out that even competitors can prove to be allies. Cost cutting, waste reducing and an increase in market responsiveness are just three of the benefits of competitor collaboration. But there can be disadvantages as well.

• Discover the risks of competitor collaboration
• Find out about its opportunities
• Can collaboration with your competitors make commercial sense?

• Deutsche Telekom, Dr. Heinz-Gerd Peters, Corporate Procurement, Global Commodity and Supplier Coordination.
• Sedex, Tara Norton, General Manager
• Cadbury, Nathalie Ritchie, Head of Ethical Sourcing

1B: Social Auditing: It´s not the answer to your supply chain problems, but can it help?

According to the Institute for Supply Management´s 2008 survey, half of companies will deselect suppliers for not meeting sustainability criteria. This bullet-dodging technique may help, but it´s not a sustainable solution.

This session will look at using auditing as a productive tool for improvement as well as looking at the challenges audits presents.

• The risks and benefits of external and in-house auditors
• Expert tips on steps to take if your facility fails an audit
• Practical ways to ensure your audits are fair

• Oxfam Novib, Gine Zwart, Trade and Private Sector Group
• HP, Karl Daumueller, Supply Chain Programmes, EMEA
• Timberland, Anabel Drese, CSR Director, Europe

1C: How to Engage your consumers in your ethical supply chain management

Some 60% of consumers say they admire companies viewed as taking action on CSR and sustainability. You must now more than ever be accountable to meet the expectations of consumers.

• Evaluate what consumers rate and prioritise as important
• Ways to engage with your consumers
• Learn how effective supply chain communications can help increase the sustainability of your product

• Syngenta, Richard Brown, Head of Product Stewardship & Sustainable Agriculture
• TransfairUSA, Caren Holzman, Director of Category Management

2A: What effect do decisions made at the top of your supply chain have on the ground level?

With complex, international supply chains it´s difficult to understand exactly what is happening at ground level. But if you aren´t fully aware, you open yourself up to attack.

• Discover what effect an unexpected increase in demand for a product can have at the base of your supply chain
• Protecting yourself from NGOs: understanding the consequences of your actions

• WWF, Richard Perkins, Senior Policy Adviser - Agricultural Supply Chains
• Body Shop, Graham Clewer, Head of Ethical Trade
• Body Shop, Mary Teakle, Ethical Trade Coordinator

2B: environmental auditing: Why and how to do it, and what are the dangers?

With an increasing pressure for companies to be ‘green,’ environmental auditing has become an important part of supply chain management.

However with suppliers already suffering ‘audit fatigue’ it could be argued that adding another set would increase the levels of stress piled up onto a supplier and at the same time decrease their productivity.

• Does having a clearer idea of your environmental performance benefit you as a company?
• Is it possible to effectively combine social and environmental audits?
• Is it just another box-ticking process that stands in the way of real action?

2C: How to make collaboration with NGOs & trade unions work for you

Partnerships with NGOs and trade unions are often held up as effective ways to add rigor and authenticity to your ethical supply chain efforts. This is backed up by the fact that 2007 saw almost 1,000 new corporate/NGO partnerships formed.

• Recognise the risks of bad relationships with trade unions
• Gain insight into the advantages of successful collaboration
• Can a NGO´s mission realistically be reconciled with the companies bottom line?

• TransfairUSA, Caren Holzman, Director of Category Management

1A: The move to biodiversity

While carbon may be at the top of every company´s priority list, it´s important not to neglect other key environmental issues. For example, the protection of biodiversity is becoming increasingly important. It´s only a matter of time before the spotlight shines firmly on your biodiversity management.

• Develop practical steps to improve your biodiversity management
• What are the resource and cost implications?
• Learn about BAT´s innovative biodiversity partnership and the positive effect it´s had on the company´s supply chain

• British American Tobacco, Simon Roper, Group Head of Global Environmental Health & Safety

1B: Using metrics and benchmarking to improve your supply chain performance.

Being able to track performance over a set period of time means you can identify weak areas in your supply chain and make improvements.

• Understand the meaning of measurements
• Find out how supply chain metrics and measurement work in big companies
• Do´s and don´ts: how to avoid common measurement and usage mistakes

1C: Anti-Corruption within your supply chain

A 2007 Integrity Interactive survey shows that out of 108 Global 2000 companies, 78% do not include suppliers in their compliance and ethics programs. And nearly 58% were not sure if their company regularly assessed ethics risks in the supply chain. So how do you make sure your supply chain gets clean and stays clean? This session will cover:

• What actually works? Best methods for regular monitoring and assessment
• What should you do when you uncover corruption in your supply chain?
• A new opportunity for suppliers: Why it's better for them to work with an honest company

• F&C Management, Sagarika Chatterjee, Associate Director, Governance & Sustainable Investment

2A: Practical ways to measure your carbon footprint

With the EU demanding a 20% cut in C02 emissions by 2020 all companies should be measuring carbon emissions.

But what do you measure? How do you measure? And where are the limits?

In this session you will discuss:

• Is carbon measurement really that important?
• Practical ways to measure your carbon footprint.
• How to use your newly found knowledge to improve your performance

• Pepsico, Andrew Smith, Head of Corporate Responsibility
• Carbon Disclosure Project, Nigel Topping, Head of Supply Chain
• Carbon Trust, Herve Humbert, European Business Development Manager

2B: Can supply chain management start before the birth of a product?

About 80% of a product´s environmental impacts are set during design, according to the German environmental agency. With that in mind, this session looks at the concept of ‘cradle-to-cradle design.’ For example, sustainability strategies implemented at design use fewer materials, reducing toxic chemicals and making products more energy efficient.

• Innovative ways of designing your products with the environment in mind.
• Life after death? The cradle-grave-cradle approach.
• Simple steps to achieve cost reduction, optimum efficiency and full productivity

2C: Micro Finance

Despite their best efforts many suppliers don't have the man power or resources to succeed with their CSR strategy.

A little bit of money goes a long way when distributed to the right people. The challenge is how to set up an efficient system to accomplish that, and that's what microfinance organisations have been developing.

• Why would a bank or financial institution want to spend their money on your supply chain?
• Is it more effective to give out microfinance kinds of loans, or to just donate cash directly to the supplier
• Discover how microfinance can help improve your ethical supply chains productivity

• International Finance Corporation - The World Bank Group, Miguel Martins, Investment Officer