Re: Driving CSR Performance down the Supply Chain
Dear Somashekar,
I have experience of implementing and assessing EICC code in India, China and quite a few south east Asian countries. In each country we have certain issues which are understood by organizations as normal but do not meet the EICC code. If you are specifically interested in suppliers in India, first and foremost issues is "compliance" with environmental, labour (including child labour), health and Safety legislation. Other major issue is bribery and corruption (another issue, which you may come across rarely is the intellectual property rights). If your suppliers are large corporations, I do not know if they would like themselves to be subjected to EICC assessment unless you have a substantial business with them; even then I am doubtful if they would agree for an assessment. With the small scale industry you will have issues which are difficult, under the Indian conditions, to be solved. I suppose that you are not a signatory to EICC and that your customer is asking for the second tier supplier to meet EICC code. In that case it is better to define the scope (in your agreement with your customer) and restrict the EICC assessment to those suppliers on whom you have control and whom you can influence.
As for the preparedness, both your organization as well as the supplier organization have to be prepared for an assessment. This includes training, gap assessment, handholding, mock assessments and final assessment. It is also better to have a framework checklist for carrying out assessments; otherwise there is a possibility of subjectivity coming in.
I would be happy to assist you in case you have specific issues.
With kind regards,
Ramakrishnan