Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade Forum
This two-day business forum will assess how companies can develop and implement robust human rights due diligence and responsible sourcing policies. We’ll look in-depth into the practical implications of evolving legislation and what this means for business operations and the future of (ethical) trade. 
 
Through off-the-record debate, we plan to challenge the current status quo, debate the limitations in current approaches and assess the opportunities for genuine transformation. Whilst maintaining a focus on real-world solutions, we’ll ask what’s working, what’s not and what’s next for business and human rights.   

2025 Speakers

Maria Lombardo

Standard Chartered

Global Head of ESG

Rachel Cowburn-Walden

Unilever

Global Human Rights Director

Tom Smith

Walmart

Director, Global Government Affairs and Business Diplomacy

Duncan Warner

ASDA

Senior Responsible Sourcing & Human Rights Manager

Lise Smit

Norton Rose Fulbright

Business and Human Rights Adviser

Dr Irene Pietropaoli

British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL)

Senior Fellow in Business and Human Rights

Victoria Folbigg

The Sustainable Procurement Pledge

Human Rights Chapter co-chair, Sustainable Procurement Pledge and ex CPO, Zuellig Pharma

Louise Herring

AIM-PROGRESS

Executive Director

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Agenda highlights

  • Challenging the status quo: What change is legislation actually delivering? 
  • The global legal landscape: How current and evolving legislation will impact business operations and supply  
  • Redefining due diligence: How do you prove that you’ve actually done “meaningful stakeholder engagement” ? 
  • Effective remediation: Real-world examples that demonstrate the practical steps to ensure the right outcomes for rights holders
  • Social risk in procurement: How sourcing teams can adapt to legal risk and ensure business continuity across complex, global supply chains?
  • Strategic supplier engagement: How buying practices can evolve to build deeper supply chain partnerships and capacity building
  • Social risk vs financial risk: How investors are assessing sourcing practices and company disclosure
  • Climate action and human rights: What do we really mean by a ‘just transition’ and how can business effectively integrate human rights into climate action plans?
View full agenda

Why attend?

Discover best practices from industry leaders and get in-depth guidance on how to effectively implement policies

Meet & network with an influential audience of key stakeholders, including NGOs, business, government and supply chain actors

Benchmark company performance amongst a room of your peers and discover where you should be focusing efforts

At the Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade Forum we will:

Challenge the status quo
This is a critical juncture for business and human rights. There is a very real opportunity to utilise legislative pressure to transform business practices and approaches. Throughout the conference, we will not shy away from the difficult questions. We will debate how we can ensure this really is a turning point and assess what that means in practice for business. 

Use practical, focused problem solving
Through many breakout and case study sessions we will utilise the full extent of the expertise in the room. We deliver real problem solving that tackles the critical business challenges and provides clear and practical outputs  
The other room
This is an additional safe space for discussion on some of the unspoken truths in ethical trade and human rights. In these off-the-record sessions, there are no speakers. Instead, we ask attendees to share mistakes and freely speak their minds as we have a pragmatic, honest and potentially disruptive conversation about the future. 

More networking, more connections
With increased schmoosing time, more side events and better networking options, we’re ensuring there’s the opportunity to make the connections that matter and build the partnerships that can really make a difference.
It was amazing! I felt like I was consistently meeting new people throughout the 2 days and the different sessions and styles of them fostered this!
Rachel Fuhrmann, Peterson / Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade Forum 2024
'I have attended quite a few conferences this year and very much enjoyed the focus that IF brings, and the franker conversation facilitated by the Chatham House rule, so much appreciated'
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Highly informative, lively debate, thoroughly relevant to those involved in the sustainability agenda. 
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"This was one of the best organized conferences I’ve participated on, thank you for your attention to detail, it really made a difference."
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"The conference was very valuable use of my time; increasing my network, reminding me of some key areas of focus to consider and learning from others."
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"Engaging and PowerPoint-free panel discussions has proven to be a brilliant way to bring multiple perspectives to the current hot topics and what’s on the horizon."
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What’s different about this forum?

Innovation Forum is:
  • Candid: Entirely off-the-record discussion that enables open and honest disclosure from speakers and genuine participation from the audience.
  • Practical: A clear focus on the practical and actionable guidance that can drive change throughout industries and supply chains.
  • Focused: We provide enough time, resources and expertise to the issues that really matter. We don’t skate the surface, but get to the crux of the issues to provide in-depth, constructive discussion.
Innovation Forum is NOT:
  • A PR platform: Enthusiastic speakers are NOT given free rein to fill a session presenting their companies, allowing no time to actually get to the crux of the issues.
  • A talking shop: This is NOT an opportunity for a group people in a room to simply agree with everything said, regardless of outcomes.
  • All promise, no delivery: We will NOT promise what we can’t deliver. The issues covered are complex. They won’t be solved at a two-day conference. But we will help deliver progress through in-depth, constructive and practical advice around specific issues.

Who attends

Shell Foundation
Target
McDonald’s
Mondelēz International
Mars
Danone
Tony's Chocolonely
ASOS
Nestlé
Philip Morris International
Walgreens Boots Alliance
amfori
Control Union
Oxfam
John Lewis Partnership
Reckitt
Inter IKEA Group
Marks & Spencer
The Hershey Company
Diageo
IDH
G's Fresh
L'Oréal
Bonsucro
BSI
Earthworm Foundation
ALDI
Anti-Slavery International
Principles for Responsible Investment
Sky
Unseen
Barry Callebaut
Microsoft
Primark
Siemens
Balfour Beatty
Tchibo
ALDI SOUTH Group
Volvo Group

The venue


Prospero House

241 Borough High Street

London
SE11GA
United Kingdom

More details

Supported by

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Get in touch

For any questions on the conference, please contact:

Natasha Bodnar
Project Director
[email protected]

Sign up

Registration for the Responsible Sourcing and Ethical Trade forum is currently open. To sign up, you can do so online here, or get in touch directly for details of group discounts. 

Sponsorship

For more information and to inquire, please contact:

Gabriela Cuison
Business Development Manager

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