Procurement teams have a key role to play in creating sustainable supply chains, but can often be disconnected from the sustainability function of the company. At the United Nations Global Compact, we recognize the need for procurement teams to be empowered to adopt sustainable practices that will impact their suppliers’ capacity to advance decent work. Companies are looking for ways to prioritize and commit to advancing decent work in their supply chains — not only to prevent reputational risks but also to significantly improve the lives of workers and lift millions out of poverty.

The Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement will enable companies, procurement professionals and suppliers to develop a common understanding on how to advance decent work through purchasing decisions and scaling up efforts to improve lives around the globe.

With a focus on trust and transparency, the Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement is publicly available to all and contains real-life examples of buyers and suppliers jointly addressing decent work concerns in global supply chains.

Access the toolkit

The Decent Work Toolkit for Sustainable Procurement consists of three modules with key learnings, training exercises, practical case studies, business implications and frequently asked questions.

The toolkit can be used as part of the starter pack for new procurement staff, providing helpful resources such as:

Why use it?

• Generate positive relationships between suppliers and buyers based on openness, trust and transparency
• Inspire suppliers and business partners to improve global working conditions
• Support dialogue that engages, encourages and empowers suppliers to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Engage with key stakeholders, including workers and/or their representatives and governments
• Embed decent work in corporate processes and understand the relevance of decent work to purchasing teams
• Discover enhanced features of how to use the toolkit for their company's needs and get customized information relevant to their company

You can access the toolkit here.

The toolkit is available in English, French, Spanish and German.

Our contributors

This toolkit was developed by the Decent Work in Global Supply Chains Action Platform which consists of participating companies of the UN Global Compact and UN partners, ILO and UNICEF. The platform builds an alliance of companies committed to respecting human rights and labour rights by leveraging their supply chains and taking collective action to address decent work deficits.

Frequently Asked Questions