Supporting enterprises in Pune to promote Responsible Business Conduct in supply chains

PUNE, India (ILO News): The ILO, in partnership with the Employers’ Federation of India (EFI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), organized a Capacity Building Workshop on Responsible Business Practices for the Manufacturing sector in Pune on 20 March 2025. The workshop convened representatives from enterprises in the manufacturing sector to discuss the significance of fostering a sustainable supply chain through promoting Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD).

With participants from more than 15 companies, the workshop provided a platform to delve into integrating RBC and HRDD into business operations. Given the manufacturing sector’s crucial role in India’s economic growth and global trade integration, it is essential to align business operations with evolving regulatory frameworks, international human rights standards, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) expectations.

Ms Michiko Miyamoto, Director, ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team for South Asia and Country Office for India emphasized that corporate responsibility must extend beyond profitability, integrating fairness, sustainability, and decency into everyday business operations.

"Compliance with international standards is no longer a choice—it is an essential pillar for long-term success”, said Arvind Goel, President of EFI and Co-Chairman of CII's National Committee on Industrial Relations and Labour.

The panel discussions by industry experts pointed when companies prioritize the health, mental well-being, and ethical treatment of employees while embedding sustainability into their operations, RBC naturally becomes a part of their business model, hence a human-centric approach is essential.

Ragini Pasumarthi, DGM - Strategy and Business Excellence, Tata AutoComp Systems, shared key takeaways from her participation in the Cross-Country Dialogue on RBC in Tokyo in February 2025. She highlighted the importance of understanding why and how RBC really matters for businesses and communicates that clearly with stakeholders to further promote RBC in supply chains.

The workshop was held as part of the ILO’s project “Building Responsible Value Chains in Asia through the Promotion of Decent Work in Business Operations (Phase II)”, funded by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. It aims to promote inclusive, responsible and sustainable enterprises and decent work in supply chains through capacity-building programmes for enterprises and ILO’s constituents - government, employers and workers - in four Asian countries including India.