Tag Archives: Sustainability

Elevating Ethical Practices in the TCF Industry

Ethical Clothing Australia Week 2024 showcased a dynamic discussion in Sydney on transparency, risk mitigation, and tackling exploitation within the textile, clothing, and footwear (TCF) industry. Co-hosted with the University of Sydney’s Modern Slavery Unit and Business School’s MBA Dimensions Program, the panel brought together industry experts and advocates to address challenges and chart a path toward ethical practices.

National Manager Rachel Reilly emphasised the importance of empowering consumers to make ethical purchasing choices while eradicating exploitation in Australia’s TCF industry. The panel highlighted five key takeaways for transforming the sector:

  1. The Role of Unions in Worker Protection
    Unions provide a vital voice for workers, particularly those in precarious positions. As Jenny Kruschel of the CFMEU noted, workers need safe spaces to raise concerns without fear of retaliation. Research indicates a strong correlation between unionized workforces and reduced instances of modern slavery, underscoring unions’ essential role in supply chain transparency.
  2. Beyond Modern Slavery Statements
    The shift toward human rights due diligence marks a crucial evolution in corporate responsibility. Associate Professor Martijn Boersma stressed that businesses must move beyond reporting risks to actively addressing them through robust policies and proactive measures.
  3. Consumers Driving Change
    Consumer awareness has surged, with many Australians recognizing their potential connection to modern slavery through everyday purchases. Carolyn Kitto OAM of Be Slavery Free emphasized that governments must support consumers by rejecting imports linked to forced labor, encouraging ethical, local alternatives.
  4. Government Procurement as a Catalyst
    Ethical procurement by governments—backed by their significant economic footprint—can provide much-needed certainty for local manufacturers. Andrew Quinn of ABMT Apparel advocated for breaking down procurement projects to make them accessible to smaller, ethically accredited businesses.
  5. The Power of Transparent Supply Chains
    The New South Wales Ethical Clothing Extended Responsibility Scheme, a pioneering regulatory framework, demonstrated the value of granular transparency. As The Hon. Dr. Sarah Kaine highlighted, re-operationalizing such initiatives could ensure fair treatment of workers across supply chains.

The panel reaffirmed that collective action—spanning consumers, unions, businesses, and government—is essential to building a fairer, more ethical TCF industry. Complete coverage of the event can be found here.

Envisioning Wellbeing Economies through the Australian Fashion Industry Context

Sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific came together to share their knowledge on sustainability challenges and opportunities in the Oceania region as part of a major international sustainability event.

Coordinated by Future Earth Australia, Australian Academia and government partners hosted the sustainability-focused event in Brisbane from 29 June – 1 July 2022.

Sessions were held over three days and covered any aspects of sustainability: climate change, Indigenous knowledges, coastal resilience, urban sustainability, synthetic biology and more. It will focus on sustainability issues and challenges unique to Oceania.

The Oceania Satellite Event built on the outcomes of the inaugural SRI2021 Congress last year in Brisbane, that featured more than 2000 attendees from over 100 countries.

Wellbeing Economies through Fashion

  • 0:04 Welcome from Moderator : Assoc. Prof. Samantha Sharpe
  • 2:12 Wellbeing Economy – Sufficiency – UTS/ISF – Dr.Monique Retamal
  • 10:04 Reuse / Repair – Monash – Aleasha McCallion
  • 18:05 Policy & Stewardship – QUT – Assoc.Prof. Alice Payne
  • 26:30 Inclusive fashion Practices and Intersectionality – USC – Deborah Fisher 
  • 34:36 Circularity – Monash – Julie Boulton.
  • 47:04 Modern Slavery – UNDA – Assoc.Prof. Martijn Boersma
  • 55:33 Regenerative Business models – UTS ISF – Karina Kallio 
  • 1:04:40 Discussion

The Myth of the Social License to Operate

Over the last two decades many of the world’s largest companies have been involved in scandals, misconduct and dubious ethics. Rather than relying on interventions by public authorities, the dominant governing rationality is informed by the belief that the market is able to balance social, environmental, and financial interests. However, the vast majority of companies that have been involved in ethical transgressions have survived – and have even thrived. Potential damage to the reputation of companies, or threats to their ‘social license to operate’, seems to have had a limited effect. There is therefore reason to believe that market forces are not adequate by themselves to correct corporate misbehaviour.

This chapter from the upcoming ‘Research Handbook on the Sociology of Organizations’ explores the reliance on market forces to correct corporate actions that are not aligned with the common good. It examines to what extent legitimacy theory adequately explains the dynamics around organizational legitimacy, and it proposes an expansion of legitimacy theory to increase its explanatory power: the use of social dominance theory and legitimizing myths expands (organizational) legitimacy as a theoretical construct. In explaining why antagonistic stakeholders continue to rely on market-based approaches, this research suggests that they have either bought into the hierarchy-enhancing myths, or they have not yet developed compelling hierarchy-attenuating myths to challenge the status quo. The chapter concludes with the suggestion that the ‘social license to operate’ and ‘corporate purpose’ are legitimizing myths that uphold the idea that the market can balance social, environmental, and financial interests.

How can a Bank Win a Sustainability Award While Funding a Coalmine?

Westpac was named the most sustainable company in the world in 2014, and the most sustainable bank in the world for the 10th time in 2017, an honour previously bestowed on ANZ six times in seven years.

Commonwealth Bank and NAB have likewise been recognised as the most sustainable business in Australia and a global industry leader in sustainability respectively.

Glossy sustainability reports with images of hands cradlings sprouting plants illustrate this carefully cultivated image of responsible corporate citizenship.

Continue reading How can a Bank Win a Sustainability Award While Funding a Coalmine?

A Critical Analysis of Sustainable Finance

unep sustainable finance

This paper seeks to assess how the international banking community is building sustainability into corporate strategies; how effectively these strategies are being implemented; how sustainability is being embedded into key business processes and decisions; and how sustainability principles are reflected in reporting. It presents an assessment of the sustainability performance of banks using a range of frequently used indicators, while also scrutinizing the indicators by examining the extent to which they effectively measure the performance and commitments of banks. While many banks achieve high scores on these indicators, there is evidence that there are significant flaws which are not adequately addressed.

Continue reading A Critical Analysis of Sustainable Finance

Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Supply Chains

Modern supply chains are long, complex and global, making it harder for businesses to know who they’re really dealing with, and for consumers to feel confident they’re buying ethically. The negative consequences of that complexity can be as devastating as the deadly Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh in 2013, which galvanised public opinion about the conditions under which our clothing is produced. Revelations about Australia’s food industry in a recent ABC Four Corners report show there are issues to be addressed at home too. So, the conversation has turned to the need to build responsible supply networks and the challenges in doing that. That’s the focus of the Sustainable Supply Network Initiative at UTS Business School and  this #think public lecture.

supply chain lecture UTS

Continue reading Ethical Dilemmas in Modern Supply Chains

Mind the Governance Gap: Banks Gilding the Sustainability Lily

The GFC has shown that unsustainable banking activities can bring the economic system to the brink of collapse. A new report by Catalyst Australia examines to what degree banks can also cause or alternatively mitigate social and environmental harm, and what are the resulting responsibilities towards the community and the environment?

Continue reading Mind the Governance Gap: Banks Gilding the Sustainability Lily

The Sustainability Record of Australia’s Big Banks

sustainable banking australia catalyst report

Australian companies will soon be publishing financial results, as well as information about sustainability efforts. Corporate social responsibility of the big four banks – Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac is a continuing topic of debate following recent scandals and reports of unsustainable activities. Yet according to ANZ chairman, David Gonski, Australians ought to “stop bashing the banks” for being large and profitable. This comment should put civil society on guard.

Continue reading The Sustainability Record of Australia’s Big Banks

The Latest Research Report by Catalyst Australia

Child_Labour

At first sight child labour may not appear to be a material issue for Australian companies and investors. However the fragmentation of global production and trade has dramatically increased the length and complexity of supply chains, which can lead to lack of oversight and worker exploitation. The global movement to eradicate child labour has gained significant pace over recent years. Increasingly, global unions and NGOs collaborate with companies and investors to find ways to deal with the risks of child labour in global supply chains. This report looks at those efforts.