RVC member projects funded in 2024/2025
Wednesday, June 19th, 2024 in: News
The Rethinking Value Chains collective (funded by the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation for Human Progress – FPH) has been able to support four projects from RVC member organisations, following our open call for proposals in March 2024.
We are therefore pleased to share with you below a summary of the projects to be supported in 2024-2025, and we look forward to sharing the outcomes with RVC members soon !
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PROJECT 1
Organisation: Action Aid France
Project title: A gender-sensitive approach to corporate accountability
RVC contribution: 6000 EUR
Summary: Elaboration and dissemination of a new publication: How gender-responsive is the adopted Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)? Does the CSDDD recognise that women and marginalised groups face disproportionate impacts of business activities? Does it provide for a comprehensive framework to prevent and end these abuses?
Timeline & outputs:
- September 2024 – publication ready for dissemination
- Final trimester 2024 – online webinar to present and discuss outcomes
- First trimester 2025 – further consultation with RVC members
- October 2025 – ActionAid led strategy session on gender and due diligence during the RVC conference
PROJECT 2
Organisation: Anti-Slavery International
Project title: The platform economy – exposing forced labour and other forms of severe exploitation in the industry
RVC contribution: 6000 EUR
Summary: Our preliminary scoping of the platform economy has concluded that instances of exploitation in the industry may amount to forced labour. This project aims to further develop this scoping research and help confirm that workers in the platform economy are made vulnerable to forced labour and other forms of severe exploitation.
Timeline & outputs:
- First trimester 2025 – A research briefing will be produced outlining the evidence collected and findings, the solutions we identified to address the problem, the methodology adopted by the team, and acknowledging possible limitations encountered in our work. Anti-Slavery International will also engage and consult with RVC members directly (especially ITUC and ITF) for their input and to support & coordinate civil society advocacy efforts at the ILO Conference on the topic.
- June 2025 – ILO Conference – direct advocacy to influence change in existing international and national legislative frameworks in favour of platform economy workers.
- July 2025 – a collective-focused webinar, presenting the findings and outcomes of the scoping briefing and to discuss the learnings and outcomes from the ILO Conference in June 2025.
PROJECT 3
Organisation: Commerce Équitable France
Project title: French regulation of local fair trade – a summary
RVC contribution: 6000 EUR
Summary: A summary note will present the French experience with regard to its national regulations on fair trade, and its impact on the development of the sector. The note will also address our reading of the conditions for the emergence and development of local fair trade value chains, in good coordination with international value chains.
Timeline & outputs:
- October 2024 – A bilingual (French and English) briefing note on the French local fair trade experience with regard to its national Fair Trade regulations and their impact on the development of the sector, in particular on local fair trade branches. The note will also include focuses on other countries’ experience on local fair trade.
- 4th Quarter 2024: dissemination in webinars and events: Rethinking Value Chains partners and Fair Trade partners.
PROJECT 4
Organisation: Commerce Équitable France
Project title: A scoreboard study on the tea supply chain
RVC contribution: 6000 EUR
Summary: As part of its work on the tea value chain, Commerce Equitable France will be carrying out in 2024 an assessment of the sourcing practices of tea companies and brands operating on the French and European markets. This work will be inspired by the Chocolate Scorecard which was created for the cocoa sector.
This activity is in line with the three commitments made by Rethinking Value Chains collective : 1) Fair distribution of value in the production chains: the study will initiate a discussion with the private sector on the distribution of value and the establishment of more balanced economic relations for tea producers and workers, in order to support the transformation of the tea value chain towards greater sustainability, justice and Resilience; 2) Binding regulations for companies: the study will support the implementation of the duty of care in the tea value chain, by encouraging companies and brands to examine their tea purchasing and sourcing practices; 3) Building economic alternatives: the study will enable Commerce Equitable France and its partners to lobby the private sector and citizens to promote fair trade.
Timeline & outputs:
- June to December 2024 – carrying out the study, including circulation of the call for expression of interest in joining the study’s scientific committee to members of the collective.
- 1st semester of 2025 – Publication of results and public awareness campaign
- During 2025 : Organisation of a workshop on the tea sector during the Collective’s annual seminar in 2025: presentation of how the value chain works, presentation of the methodology and results of the study, feedback and strategic reflection on the
- effectiveness of the “company benchmark” tool in terms of lobbying the private
- sector and raising public awareness.
- Provision of campaign tools (communication kit, company benchmark, etc.)
- Sharing of documents in English and French: the final communication tool, the study
- methodology and the questionnaire sent to members’ companies for inspiration.