Consultancy
Impact Assessment
Understanding the Real Impact of Your Supply Chain
What is an Impact Assessment?
As part of your due diligence process, it’s crucial to identify both risks and actual impacts in your supply chain. Negative impacts can arise from the country of origin, such as child labor, gender inequality, or deforestation. But how do you determine whether these risks materialize and what the real impacts are on people, communities, and the environment? An impact assessment helps you shift focus from theoretical risks to actionable insights.
Why Are Impact Assessments Important?
Recent studies, such as the Superlijst Sociaal 2023, have highlighted the critical need for impact assessments in the retail industry. This report, conducted by the non-profit organization Questionmark in collaboration with Oxfam Novib and Solidaridad, evaluated the largest supermarkets in the Netherlands on their commitment to human rights in their supply chains.
Understanding what is truly happening in your supply chain allows you to take meaningful action. Impact assessments go beyond theoretical risks and help you understand the actual impacts whether negative or positive. These assessments are essential not only for retailers but also for other stakeholders, such as sector initiatives and producers. They align with regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and help you respond to the growing focus from NGOs and the media on supply chain challenges.
A risk analysis identifies potential risks, while an impact assessment shows what is happening in your supply chain. In high-risk supply chains, understanding the actual impacts is key to taking effective action
How Can You Make an Impact?
Based on the findings of the impact assessment, actionable recommendations are provided to help you make improvements and create lasting positive impact within your supply chain. We focus on what is possible. Whether you’re a retailer, brand, trader, factory, or producer, we develop SMART action plans that are translated into a monitoring plan. This ensures you can measure progress, communicate results, and adjust activities when needed.
The Challenge
Impacts in your supply chain can stem from several sources:
Country of origin: Issues like child labor, gender inequality, or deforestation.
Product or production techniques: For example, water-intensive processes that affect local communities.
Product classification: High-risk products due to persistent reports of non-compliance at production locations.
Our solution
Our experienced consultants conduct tailored impact assessments for your supply chain. Together, we define the scope (country, product, suppliers, production locations) and advise on key focus areas. Our assessments align with international guidelines, laws, and frameworks.
The assessment process includes:
Research and consultation: Desk research and stakeholder interviews.
Fact-finding missions: On-the-ground interviews with producers, workers, unions, local governments, and NGOs. We collaborate with local consultants, including female experts, to ensure all stakeholders are reached effectively.
The results are compiled in a comprehensive report that includes:
- Analysis of both negative and positive impacts (including scale, scope, irreversibility, and gender relations).
- Insights into your contribution and leverage.
- A concrete action plan to drive improvements and foster lasting positive impact.
