6 October 2023. One of the largest retailers in the world, Target, released its 2023 Sustainability and Governance Report, featuring its partnership with WBI on Forced Labour Prevention Initiative in Taiwan. Grounded in a long-term strategy for business, social and environmental sustainability, we are thrilled to play a part in achieving Target Forward’s vision to strengthen community and environment along the supply chain.
The report illustrates a great multi stakeholder alliance between business, civil society, government and investors, in pursuit of three core Sustainability and Governance priorities: Environmental, Social and Ethical business practices.
Target Forward states sustainability as an inter-connected system, where actions to counter climate change, restore natural systems and drive opportunity and equity reinforce one another. These efforts all serve and strengthen both community and environment along the supply chain.
To combat forced labour risks as part of a wider Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Human Rights Strategy, Target commissioned WBI to implement a forced labour prevention initiative for small- and medium-sized businesses in Taiwan.
The first phase of the initiative focused on the creation of a bilingual Policy Guide based on the ILO’s 11 Indicators of Forced Labour. The second phase of the initiative consisted of a series of three trainings in Taiwan that were open to companies across various industries.
The project is aimed at promoting international labour standards compliant with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO), by facilitating understanding and access to resources.
In terms of project impact, 97% of respondents in a post-event survey said they gained a fuller understanding of what is meant by forced labour. Furthermore, the project led to Collaboration with 8 international brands, 2 industry alliances and 4 universities.
“We believe that to address international labour standards, efforts need to be directed at education, by explaining risks in an easy-to-understand manner. This is the only way that we can create and promote an enabling environment where everyone has a role to play in eliminating forced labour.” – WBI
“We know our ambitions cannot be achieved alone. It’s why Target Forward is rooted in trusted partnerships, continuous learning and a pledge to keep evaluating and evolving together, in service of growing the business.” – Target 2023 Sustainability and Governance Report, page 4.
We are honoured to be named on the same page as established leaders working on business and human rights, such as Impactt, The Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, Verité, ELEVATE, Responsible Labour Initiative, Stronger Together and The Centre’s Child Rights in Business (CRIB) Working Group.
We thank the support of our funder and collaborators for their sustained attention on Taiwan and on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, Pillar 2 of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).
Read Target’s 2023 Sustainability and Governance Report, here. More on WBI’s Forced Labour Prevention Project and its impacts, here.
