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A beginner’s guide to help you get started

What’s Responsible Sourcing?

Responsible Sourcing is when a business looks at not only the cost, quality and consistent supply of their raw materials, but also considers other supply chain issues such as, conflict minerals, green-house gas emissions, human rights, corruption, and environmental impact amongst other challenges, when sourcing.

Increasingly, Responsible Sourcing initiatives are being initiated by consumers and passed down the supply chain. Consequently, many Responsible Sourcing guidelines tend to be directed principally at producers rather than intermediaries so the challenge MMTA members face is how to comprehensively and commercially ensure these responsibilities are passed on.

What are the MMTA doing?

• Consolidating and simplifying information on Responsible Sourcing to create a straightforward and easy-to-understand guide for MMTA Members, in particular SMEs.
• Raising awareness. Making members aware of their responsibilities. If you have any contracts with large corporate
  companies there are likely to be some commitments in the small print, even if you’re not expressly required to sign a code of conduct.
• Encouraging a review of existing policies. Showing how members can consolidate or incorporate any existing written policies on things like conflict minerals, sustainability etc., without very much trouble into a ‘Responsible Sourcing’ policy.

What do end-users have to say?

We expect our suppliers to support us in being trusted to deliver excellence and help them to do so through our Global Supplier Code of Conduct. We expect our suppliers to be ethical, responsible and to fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
Rolls-Royce

FICTION: Responsible Sourcing is just about conflict minerals
It’s true that most legislation around Responsible Sourcing deals with conflict minerals; however, truly Responsible Sourcing includes issues such as carbon footprint, environmental impact, health and safety and tackling corruption amongst other indicators.