On May 16th and 17th, Verité launched the Responsible Sourcing Tool with a series of meetings in the Washington, DC area attended by federal contractors, companies, government procurement officials, and representatives of civil society. The Responsible Sourcing Tool is a new website created to help visualize and understand the risks of human trafficking in supply chains as well as the mechanisms to implement effective management systems to detect, prevent, and combat trafficking. Ambassador Susan Coppedge, director of the Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which funded this effort, opened the first launch event with an inspiring call to action to companies and others to take full advantage of all the free resources and insights the website provides.
The website contains a model compliance plan with downloadable templates and other tools based on Verité’s deep experience helping leading companies combat trafficking in their global supply chains. The website is meant to introduce users to the issues and risks associated with human trafficking in supply chains and encourage users to explore the issues in more depth. The resources and tools are not meant to be exhaustive or determinative, but should allow stakeholders, and federal contractors in particular, to better focus their efforts in reducing or eliminating risks of human trafficking in supply chains.
Over the past year and a half, Verité gathered input from key stakeholders in the private sector, civil society, government, and federal contractor communities through meetings facilitated by the Aspen Institute to augment Verité’s research and supply chain compliance expertise and provide content for the website. The result is the Responsible Sourcing Tool, a free, online resource that provides the information, analysis, and practical guidance necessary to effectively address human trafficking, particularly in relation to the requirements of Executive Order 13627 “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking In Persons In Federal Contracts.” The U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, in conjunction with other State Department and U.S. Government agency experts, supported and collaborated with Verité and its project partners in this effort.
Verité hosts the website for the Responsible Sourcing Tool and requests suggestions, feedback, and questions via email.
Since the publication of the FAR rule implementing Executive order 13627 in early 2015, Verité has been working directly with federal contractors to help them build the type of robust detection and prevention programs needed to address these insidious abuses in their supply chains.
For more information on effectively incorporating the tools and resources into existing or new programs, please contact Declan Croucher.