The Farm Labor Due Diligence Initiative (FLDDI) is a Verité-led collaboration with companies and civil society organizations to define good practices and create open-source resources to help companies, suppliers, and other stakeholders eliminate labor abuses from global agricultural supply chains.
Our Farm Labor Due Diligence Framework
The Farm Labor Due Diligence Framework is the culmination of the FLDDI’s collaborative efforts to analyze effective due diligence approaches in the agricultural context and synthesize learnings. It is a comprehensive human rights due diligence (HRDD) framework composed of 6 “elements” based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) implementation guidance, and key “components” associated with each element.
Implementation Guidance for Companies at Different Stages of HRDD Maturity
The Framework is action-oriented by design and constructs a three-level maturity glide path for each component so that companies can gauge the maturity of their HRDD system and identify what actions they can take to advance the comprehensiveness of their approach.
The Framework will be available as both an open-source web-based tool and as downloadable documents. In the first phase of release, users will be able to browse each element and component of the framework, navigate the actionable steps needed to advance an HRDD program, and explore open-source tools, examples, and case studies related to key actions.
Bookmark this page and stay tuned for more information about the Farm Labor Due Diligence Framework’s public launch!
If you are interested in supporting or participating in this initiative, please reach out to Miguel Zamora at mzamora@verite.org.
About the Initiative
Verité’s Farm Labor Due Diligence Initiative (FLDDI) aims to provide the necessary guidance for companies to implement effective labor and human rights due diligence (HRDD) systems in their extended agricultural supply chains. The FLDDI is a Verité-led collaboration with companies and civil society organizations to define good practices and create open-source resources to help companies, suppliers, and other stakeholders eliminate labor abuses from global agricultural supply chains.
Veritécommitted to create the Farm Labor Due Diligence Initiative as an Action Pledge for the ILO’s International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour.
VeritéThe initiative started with the support from close collaborators such as Philip Morris International (PMI), Mars, Incorporated, and other Verité partners with substantial agricultural supply chains and ambitious human rights programs. Verité has analyzed effective due diligence approaches with learnings and innovations co-developed by Verité and in collaboration with private sector partners.
About the Work to Date
In the first months, the Farm Labor Due Diligence Initiative has focused on:
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Creating a council of companies and civil society organizations helping us to define best practices in labor and human rights due diligence in agriculture;
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Developing a comprehensive HRDD framework, with 6 “elements” based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) implementation guidance, and key “components” associated with each element;
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Creating an overview of tools for each HRDD element, with definitions and maturity frameworks for each associated component;
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Creating a glossary of key HRDD terminology;
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Designing an interactive project website to present project materials through an easy-to-navigate interface.
About the Work Ahead
The FLDDI is a living project, and going forward we intend to develop additional resources to complement our core framework. In 2023, the initiative will focus on:
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Disseminating the guidance and resources created to a wide range of potential users, including companies, civil society organizations, multistakeholder initiatives, governmental organizations, and farmer organizations;
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Creating HRDD guidance for specific agricultural commodities and human rights topics, and for different kinds of supply chain actors such as suppliers, producers, and smallholders;
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Expanding our impact by engaging with current discussions about mandatory HRDD guidelines and policy frameworks, to ensure that robust and proven approaches become the norm in agricultural supply chains;
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Piloting newly created resources in different supply chains and regions.
About the Advisory Coalition
To guide this initiative, Verité has assembled an Advisory Council of private-sector and civil society partners and technical experts to provide input and guidance on the creation of a due diligence framework adapted to agriculture. The Advisory Council helps to ensure that the resources created and recommended are as robust, practical, and scalable as possible to effectively support companies’ efforts to improve workers’ lives, and eliminate child labor, forced labor, and other labor abuses on farms in their supply chains.
This Advisory Coalition is comprised of:
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Companies with a demonstrated commitment to addressing labor issues at the farm level in their extended supply chains;
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Companies that source significant volumes of key agricultural commodities, especially those predominantly produced by smallholder farmers;
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Technical experts from civil society organizations that work directly in agricultural supply chains to identify, address, and prevent labor issues;
