Sustainability challange: Supply chain

HOW to assure good conditions IN THE SUPPLy CHAIN?

The supply chain is one of the biggest challenges for us at NC when it comes to social responsibility. For us, it is important to ensure that everything is all right in the production process of our products, but this is not easy.

At the first stage of direct suppliers, it is fairly easy to ensure that the working conditions are good. If we go further back in the chain, it  immediately becomes more difficult. We become dependent on information from our suppliers regarding their suppliers which in turn becomes dependent on information from their suppliers and so on all the way down to the raw material. If you manage to get all the information right down to the raw material, the information does often not last very long. Manufacturers switch suppliers for different reasons and the chain that has been identified and checked is no longer relevant. This is a major challenge when it comes to ensuring social responsibility.

Irregardles we try to take our social responsibility by working actively with our supply chain. One of our best tools is our FSC® certification and our FSC-labeled products. Thanks to FSC’s traceability certification, we can feel confident that the supply chain has been checked right down to the raw material when it comes to wood. Unfortunately, the same well-developed system does not exist for e.g. metal, plastic or textiles.

After all, in order to try to keep track of these supply chains as well, we identify and do risk assessment on suppliers. This is at least attributed back to the production of components. Furthermore, we try to identify where the raw material comes from, which is easier said than done in many cases. This work is not easy and it will never be fully completed. Social responsibility is an ongoing process in which we as a company must never be satisfied.

Lisa Hansson
Sustainability Manager, NC