WE Project (2007 - 2010)
This highly innovative project between the retailer Tchibo and the development cooperation agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), based on the SUSA-Dialogue-Programme, has improved working conditions in a total of 40 supplier firms based in Bangladesh, China and Thailand. Managers and workers jointly participate in cross-company workshops and regular on-site training courses, through which they are enabled to engage in an improvement process focusing on the development of good in-house dialogue. The project features an innovative approach to improving working conditions: it emphasises dialogue between managers and workers at production facilities as well as between retailers, importers and suppliers. The project's objective: to achieve significant progress regarding working conditions at the supplier level. In addition it strives to establish training institutions in the project countries that are capable of offering an effective training programme on social standards. On behalf of Tchibo and GTZ, SUSA developed the qualification concept and accompanying training material for this project, conducted the Training-of-Trainers programme and continues to provide ongoing support to the local trainers in order that the project activities can be carried out efficiently and professionally. The project is co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
PREPARE (2008 - 2010)
The PREPARE (Promotion of Responsible Representation for Workers and Employers) project in Bangladesh has been developed to improve the efficacy of worker representation in factories by:
- providing a platform for labor-management dialogue;
- establishing a system of communication, consultation, and negotiation;
- providing capacity training to worker representatives and factory management on their roles and responsibilities; and
- promoting a sustainable training model that will ensure that all workers and supervisors in the factory receive regular training on local labour laws.
The project employs qualified local trainers (coached in the SUSA Dialogue Approach), working directly with individuals at all levels of the factory organisation – owners, managers, supervisors, workers, and worker representatives. As a “top-down bottom-up” approach is used to ensure ownership at all levels of the company, the project’s success will be measured by the ability of participating factories to identify and resolve problems which have an effect on compliance.
Sustainability in Supplier Relations at Volkswagen (2008)
The pilot project “Sustainability in Supplier Relations at Volkswagen” was carried out in China during 2008. The aim was to develop a model which could be applied worldwide in order to train suppliers. A total of eleven suppliers participated in three consecutive workshops as part of this project. Aside from the optimisation of economic and social processes, the focal content of the training programme was to apply and employ communication strategies in a targeted way, as well as to integrate all the staff members working at the various levels within the organisation into the improvement process in a sustainable way. During the workshop series, all the participating suppliers prepared and developed their own action plans in order to implement the demands of the Volkswagen Sustainability requirements. The final action the suppliers undertook was to develop the sustainability strategies for the next three years.
Sustainability in Supplier Relations at Volkswagen
– Monitoring and Supplier Development (2006)
As a result of this project economic and social requirements were integrated into the supply chain of Volkswagen AG. This included defining activities to monitor the value chain and determining the criteria according to which suppliers could improve their performance.
Enabling Dialogue Between Management and Employees (2006)
The aim of the pilot project (Round Table Social Standards in Bulgaria) was to promote the sustainable introduction and establishment of social standards in the workplace through improved dialogue between managers and workers. The project was carried out with the supplier firms of German companies and its design was based on the successful pilot project which had already been run in Romania just one year previously.
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GIZ GmbH
Enabling Dialogue Between Management and Employees (2005 - 2006)
This project (Round Table Social Standards in Romania) had three key aims. Firstly, to promote the competitiveness of supplier companies with respect to their imminent entry into the European Union; secondly to have a positive effect on work processes and quality by upskilling and motivating workers; and finally, to improve working conditions and possibilities for workers' participation in internal decision-making processes.
Integration of Environment and Social Standards (2005)
This project aimed to integrate environmental issues and social standards into procurement processes at Linde. In particular, the focus was on organisational and supply chain analysis in the department of material handling and the development of the corresponding tools to achieve this.
