‘Effectively and Systematically Gamed’: Why Audits Need an Overhaul

As an inferno ravaged a five-story footwear factory in southern Thailand last week, leaving massive cracks in the blackened walls that had firefighters fearing the building’s collapse, human-rights experts are debating the limits of social audits, particularly in the context of voluntary due diligence in global supply chains.

Human Rights Watch Report on the Shortcomings of Social Audits

Human Rights Watch’s new report on the shortfalls of social audits was released this week: ‘Obsessed with Audit Tools, Missing the Goal’: Why Social Audits Can’t Fix Labor Rights Abuses in Global Supply Chains. It provides recommendations for policymakers and regulators to better hold companies, as well as auditors and certifiers, accountable for human rights […]

Open Letter to CBP on Trade Data Transparency

Transparentem joined a group of 38 civil society organizations and advocates in calling for Commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection Chris Magnus and the US Government to reject a proposal to hide import data from the public. We strongly oppose corporate efforts to eviscerate supply chain transparency. The trajectory should be for more transparency, […]

Ben Skinner Speaks at the 2022 Clinton Global Initiative’s Annual Meeting

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards have become a critical tool for investors, employees, and customers to hold companies accountable for sustainability and social responsibility. They indicate the strength of a company’s management and probability of long-term financial success, and companies have an incentive to bolster their performance on these metrics. However, there is often […]