IT Tools and Governance for Traceability
Results of Subproject
Sector-wide alignment on reporting rules essential to enable IT based traceability of chemicals
Due to legal and social developments, brands and suppliers need to know about (chemical) substances in leather products. Traceability is key to ensure compliance with legislation, seize opportunities and remain competitive in the future.
This requires an industry-wide agreed regulatory framework with uniform reporting standards for supply chain communication: This will create trust between the actors, ensure data quality and enable effective data management. The project has developed cornerstones for the governance framework, based inter alia on an industry-wide survey.
The subproject also conducted case studies with a traceability tool (Material Data System), which demonstrated proof of concept that traceability of chemicals in leather is technically feasible and successful, if a mutually agreed governance framework is established.
Unfortunately, during the project the industry did not seize the opportunity to develop a framework for reporting on innovative traceability solutions for the leather sector. We hope that the leather sector will promote these approaches. The h_da stays in place to be available as a contact partner for this purpose.
Challenges
Companies must ensure that they are only placing leather articles on the market that are safe. Besides, subject to the EU “Green Deal” policies, the frameworks that govern the production and import of leather articles will put more emphasis on ecodesign and the goal of a circular economy. Likewise, companies need to prepare for legal obligations stipulating their responsibilities regarding the social and environmental impacts of operations along their supply chains.
Against this background, the chemicals used in the various production steps play a crucial role, both as a risk and as an enabler for more sustainable products and processes. Policy makers are therefore specifically addressing the issue of chemicals in the above-mentioned initiatives. Not least, this also reflects the needs formulated by a clear majority of EU citizens who are, according to a Eurobarometer poll, worried about the impact of chemicals present in everyday products on their health (85%) and on the environment (90%).
Yet, the multi-stakeholder project “More sustainable chemistry in the leather supply chains” facilitated by h_da found that downstream actors along the leather supply chains currently lack understanding of which chemicals are used in the production processes and products, and about their particular impacts. This deprives them of their capability to control safety and sustainability aspects linked to their products.
Objectives & project description
In short: The subproject “IT Tools and Governance for Traceability” focuses on traceability of chemical substances along the supply chains to enable companies to control what substances are in their products and related processes. The data basis will be provided by all suppliers in the supply chains. IT tools and a governance framework will be needed for this approach.
In a scenario process and strategy workshops with actors from the field, the project found that traceability of chemicals along the supply chains is key for the leather sector to move in the direction of more sustainable leather chemistry and thus more sustainable products. Accordingly, out of a selection of project ideas, actors prioritised a subproject on “IT Tools and Governance for Traceability”. The goal of the subproject launched in 2020 is to assess the feasibility of reporting approaches aimed at a full declaration of all chemicals used in each production step along the supply chains. Different scenarios with respect to product and supply chain complexity and to IT capacities of actors are taken into account. Based on the findings and additional stakeholder input, the subproject aims to define common rules for the reporting of chemicals, potentially to be shared by the entire sector to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. These rules are aiming to create trust in the system by ensuring quality of data as well as the protection of justified confidentiality claims. “IT Tools and Governance for Traceability” could yield a long list of benefits:
- Gain better understanding of the process conditions in their specific supplier companies
- Allow companies to formulate a more targeted demand for more sustainable chemistry in their supply chains.
- Enhance (proactive) strategic and operational decisions.
- Enhance corporate risk management.
- Meet requirements by customers
- Meet requirements by policy makers aimed at safety and sustainability, and aimed at better tracking of chemicals (see the New Circular Economy Action Plan)
- Allow companies to react effectively to cases of liability – and to better avoid these
- Seize market opportunities for more sustainable products
- Secure so-called "green claims"
- Enable the sector’s transition to more sustainable chemistry
Structure
A tandem consisting of one representative from the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and one from practise coordinates the project. Anyone interested can participate in the project. The cooperation takes place via meetings / web conferences / workshops.
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Panel Coordination |
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Representing Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences |
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Representing the practise |
tbd |
Project Progress
Preliminary work
Based on extensive preliminary work (including a scenario process, strategy workshops, using the method Theory of Change), the subproject "IT Tools and Governance for Traceability" was designed together with representatives of the leather supply chains and presented at the kick-off conference in June 2020.
Workshop #1
Contents of the first workshop included a clarification of the subproject´s scope vis-á-vis a mapping of existing initiatives and how they relate to traceability of chemicals.
Workshop #2
In the second workshop, the group agreed upon the specific objectives of the subproject. A presentation by the UNECE project on traceability in the garment and footwear chains helped to ensure consistency with other initiatives.
Interim Activities
German shoe brand Ricosta launched a pilot test with an IT traceability tool provided by h_da under the project LIFE AskREACH. In addition, the project team designed and disseminated a survey addressed to all leather stakeholders and aiming to identify a common ground when it comes to the reporting of chemicals in leather.
Workshop #3
The third workshop discussed early learnings from the Ricosta case study and the survey. A summary can be downloaded here.
Workshop #4
A final workshop put the subproject into perspective of ongoing political developments and discussed achievements in the two year’s project phase, including traceability challenges identified in the pilot cases and how these could be mitigated by a sector wide governance framework.