To promote the localization of social and environmental responsibility management in the Chinese textile and clothing industry, and to help Chinese textile and clothing enterprises integrate into the international textile and clothing industry value chain with a more responsible attitude and stance, on December 20, 2022, the Social Responsibility Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC and the Swedish Embassy in China The China Cotton Textile Industry Association jointly held an online training session on the "Guidelines for Social and Environmental Responsibility Management of Chinese Textile and Clothing Enterprises" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"). This training session features a comprehensive and in-depth interpretation of the content of the "Guide" by senior industry experts, combined with a large number of business case studies and reviews in the industry, to engage in interactive activities and present the concept of responsible management, methods, and strategies of the "Guide" to enterprises in a comprehensive and three-dimensional manner. More than 80 representatives from cotton textile enterprises, upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain participated in this training.
 
Welcoming Address 
Ms. Zheng Jian, International Project Director of the Social Responsibility Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, hosted the training. Ms. Linn Engvall, Director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Center of the Swedish Embassy in China (Second Secretary for Sustainable Business), and Ms. Yan Yan, Director of the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC and Deputy Director of the China Textile Information Center, delivered speeches respectively, expressing a beautiful vision for promoting sustainable and responsible behavior of enterprises in the global value chain and supply chain.
 
Ms. Linn Engvall, taking into account the current EU policies and market environment, pointed out that in the coming years, the attention and requirements of various sectors of society towards the sustainability of global supply chains will become increasingly high. She fully recognizes the Guidelines developed by the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC . She stated that cooperation across the upstream and downstream of the supply chain is crucial, as it can establish a common understanding of responsible management and address supply chain risks such as environmental damage or poor working conditions, sharing information and shaping the supply chain that we all hope to see, a supply chain that benefits everyone and achieves inclusive economy, climate adaptation, and women's empowerment globally.

 

Ms. Yan Yan briefly outlined the background and significance of the Guidelines project, and emphasized that facing the complex and severe external environment, increasingly fragile global supply chain, and other huge challenges of commercial and social risks, Chinese textile and clothing enterprises need to pay timely attention to domestic and foreign policy and current events, firmly adhere to the development positioning of "technology, fashion, and green," and start from their own products, services, and business relationships, Fully identify the risks and opportunities of social responsibility, and incorporate the response to risks and opportunities into the management system and business processes through due diligence management, thereby achieving comprehensive improvement in management capabilities and social responsibility performance.

 

Training session
At the beginning of the training session, Ms. Zheng Jian, the International Project Director of the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, gave a brief introduction to the background of the development of the Guidelines, the conclusions of previous industry research, the methodology of responsible management, and the framework of the guidelines.

 

Subsequently, Dr. Liang Xiaohui, Chief Researcher of the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, gave a detailed introduction to the origin, development, and legislative trends in recent years in Europe, America, and other countries on the topic of "Corporate Social and Environmental Due Diligence Management: Why. Through a large number of vivid cases and simple explanations, enterprises have realized the necessity and urgency of carrying out responsible management to make reasonable global decisions and risk management.

 

In the "Guide to Responsible Management of Employee Issues" section, Ms. Zhang Juan, a specially invited trainer from the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, introduced the evolution and characteristics of rules related to responsible management and labor rights, focusing on the "people-oriented" topic. By implementation the "six-step method", she detailed the specific analysis of the requirements for labor due diligence in the Guidelines.

 

The detailed explanation of the Guidelines - "Corporate Governance and Business Ethics" section was explained by Ms. Wang Jing, a researcher at the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, who emphasized that anti-corruption is an important content of corporate governance, from paying attention to the necessity of corporate governance to the characteristics that good corporate governance should possess, this article comprehensively elaborates on the relationship between anti-corruption and corporate governance, as well as the application methods and strategies for preventing commercial bribery and corruption.

 

Ms. Han Yongjing, a specially invited trainer from the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, provided a detailed interpretation and guidance on the "Due Diligence Management of Environmental Issues" section of the Guidelines, focusing on multiple sub-topics such as pollution, climate change, energy conservation and emission reduction, and biodiversity. She explained the methods of topic management one by one and pointed out the key and difficult points in the application management process for enterprises based on business experience.

 

Summary speech
Finally, Chairman Dong Kuiyong of the China Cotton Textile Industry Association summarized the training session. He believes that carrying out responsible management can help Chinese textile and clothing enterprises better identify potential negative impacts on the environment and society during commercial operations, improve the management level of their own business and the entire supply chain related risks, and have strong practical guidance significance for enterprises. I hope that participating enterprises can fully understand and master the basic methods of the "Guidelines" through this training, scientifically and orderly integrate the methods of responsible management and construction of responsible supply chain work into business operations, continuously optimize management models, adhere to the business philosophy of people-oriented, honest operation, and green development, and provide strong support for the high-quality and sustainable development of China's textile and clothing industry.