FTA Promotes Stronger Links Between International Trade and Sustainable Supply Chains

The Foreign Trade Association (FTA) today published its 2015-2016 Annual Report. This publication outlines the association’s successful activities and collaborative efforts focused on advocating an international trade framework that promotes sustainable business practices along global supply chains.

Throughout the year, the associationincreased its membership from 1,500 to more than 1,800 members in May 2016. This continued growth shows companies’ commitment towards more sustainable trade and demonstrates their trust in FTA as the key association to prepare their businesses for the challenges of the future.

As part of the association’s major achievements in 2015, FTA met one of its key advocacy objectives in October 2015 when the European Commission announced its long-term trade policy strategy. Following various lobbying efforts, FTA welcomed the strategy’s strong focus on sustainability, its increased transparency in decision making and its ambitious negotiation programme. Moreover, during 2015 FTA united its sustainability initiatives - the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) – under one unique service,‘FTA Sustainability’, in order to increase synergies towards a more holistic approach to sustainable supply chain management.

Other activity highlights include:

• The launch of the FTA Academy, a powerful training platform to support members’ and business partners’ understanding of trade challenges and the development of sustainable supply chains. FTA’s capacity building programme 2015 delivered over 240 training activities, empowering over 4,200 supply chain actors worldwide.
• The full implementation of the BSCI 2.0 system, which promotes the vision and values of socially responsible supply chains beyond audit compliance. This system generates long-term value by integrating social responsibility into participants’ business processes and cascading it to their partners along the supply chain.
• Stronger impact through the development of partnerships: BEPI joined forces with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme to scale chemical management in global supply chains; and BSCI will unite its efforts with the French social compliance initiative Initiative Clause Sociale (ICS) by 2017.

To access the full report, click here.

About the association: The Foreign Trade Association (FTA) is the leading business association for global commerce that promotes the values of international trade and sustainable supply chains. FTA represents 1,800+ retailers, importers and brands to promote and defend international trade and supports their business by providing information and practical solutions towards sustainability in the global supply chain. The association provides the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) to support participants to improve working conditions in factories and farms worldwide. It also provides the Business Environmental Performance Initiative (BEPI) to facilitate improved environmental performance in global supply chains. 

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Ana Maria Martin
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