Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the culmination of the Tiananmen Square protests (and massacre). Though reforms have come into place and much has changed in China since then – some aspects of what most of us in the west consider fundamental rights are still not respected by the Chinese government namely:
- Human rights issues
- Freedom of speech
- Censorship
Though economic development (and the current situation) might offer reasons to do otherwise I still believe that it might be time to reassess global sourcing strategies from an ethical and moral standpoint.
If not just to honor the memory of the man who in vain tried to stop tanks from leaving the Tiananmen Square the day after the massacre; to this date his identity has not been revealed nor has any information about what happened to him after he was pulled away by police officers.
June 3, 2009 at 6:23 pm
This is a legitimate questions, but I think this ship has sailed: and the answer is “yes”. As many readers of this blog will know, leading public sector and private sector institutions are investing heavily in making their supply chains more sustainable. It’s only a matter of time before this becomes the rule and not the exception.
June 3, 2009 at 9:31 pm
I wish I could share your positive sentiment, but although I honestly believe that ethics should play a significant part in any sourcing initiative the ship is still in the harbor. Many are investing in better practices, many have started out and many have achieved great results, but there are a larger number still that sit and wait for government regulations to level the playing field.
As it stands now, those who actively pursue advanced csr-practices are doing so on their own merit (and I applaud and regard them with the greatest respect) and in some cases losing some of their competitive edge due to cost increases in the process. In the long run, they will prevail, but only a select few leaders dare to see longer into the future than the next six to twelve months.
But let’s hope I am wrong and that sustainability will be the new normal for more than just the supply chain leaders.
June 4, 2009 at 6:19 pm
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