Program Area
Ethical Supply Chains
Today’s companies face growing expectations from consumers, investors, regulators and communities to ensure that the products they source are produced responsibly. From agriculture and seafood to critical minerals and manufacturing, businesses are increasingly seeking practical ways to identify risks, protect workers’ rights and build more transparent, resilient and ethical supply chains. Winrock International helps companies, governments and local partners strengthen labor practices, address human rights risks and implement responsible sourcing strategies that benefit both people and the planet.
What We Do
Winrock supports businesses and supply chain actors across high-risk sectors to identify, prevent and address human rights and labor risks while strengthening long-term sustainability and resilience. Our expertise includes:
- Human rights due diligence
Helping companies identify, assess and address actual and potential human rights impacts across operations and supply chains through practical, risk-based approaches aligned with international standards. - Grievance mechanisms and worker voice
Designing and strengthening worker feedback systems, grievance mechanisms, and other channels that enable workers and communities to safely raise concerns and access remedy. - Responsible sourcing and supply chain risk mitigation
Supporting businesses and suppliers to identify labor risks, strengthen management systems, improve transparency and traceability, and advance ethical sourcing practices. - Supplier engagement and capacity building
Working directly with suppliers, producer groups and industry stakeholders to strengthen labor standards, improve policies, and build practical capacity for implementation. - Ethical recruitment and labor mobility
Reducing vulnerabilities associated with recruitment and maritime crewing agencies while supporting fair and transparent hiring practices and worker protections. - Research, learning and data-driven solutions
Generating evidence, tools and insights that help organizations understand risks, measure progress, and strengthen supply chain performance.
Our Approach
Winrock believes the most effective solutions are built with the people most affected by supply chain risks. Our work is grounded in:
- Worker-centered and community-informed approaches
- Trusted reporting channels that ensure unbiased remediation
- Collaboration with businesses, governments and civil society
- Practical implementation that moves beyond compliance and is responsive to the operating context
- Alignment with international human rights frameworks and responsible business standards
- Integrated solutions that recognize the connections between livelihoods, environmental sustainability and human well-being
Why Winrock?
Winrock brings together decades of experience collaborating with communities, businesses and governments on human rights protection, promotion of sustainable livelihoods, private sector engagement and environmental sustainability. We pair global best practice with grassroots in more than 40 countries globally, interventions to ensure activities are worker-centered, demand driven, trauma-informed, and aligned with international standards necessary for the trade of goods. We offer:
- Global experience with local implementation capacity
- Expertise in complex, high-risk supply chains
- Human rights due diligence and labor risk mitigation tools
- Worker-centered grievance and feedback mechanisms
- Strong partnerships across business, government and civil society
- Integrated solutions that support both social and environmental outcomes
From farms and fisheries to factories and emerging industries, Winrock helps build ethical supply chains that protect people, strengthen communities, and support sustainable business success.
For information, contact:
Stephanie Lillegard
Portfolio Director, Human Rights
stephanie.lillegard@winrock.org
FEATURED PROJECTS
Advancing Human Rights within Nestlé’s Palm Oil Supply Chain
Winrock manages the Nestlé Human Rights Fund, helping suppliers strengthen human rights protections throughout one of the world’s most complex agricultural supply chains. Working directly with refineries, mills, plantations and local partners, Winrock supports initiatives that strengthen human rights due diligence, improve labor practices, expand grievance mechanisms and build supplier capacity to identify and address human rights risks. Since 2022, the fund has supported more than a dozen targeted projects designed to advance responsible sourcing and improve conditions for workers and communities throughout the palm oil supply chain.
Responsible Seafood Supply Chain Initiatives with Mars Petcare
Winrock partnered with Mars Petcare in Asia to pilot innovative technologies designed to reduce labor vulnerabilities and strengthen worker protections in the seafood supply chain. The initiative tested tools that enabled workers at sea to communicate more safely and effectively, while also helping migrant workers access information about legal recruitment and regularization processes. By combining technology, worker engagement and practical problem-solving, the project demonstrated new approaches to reducing labor exploitation risks in complex seafood supply chains.
SECURE (Strengthening Labor Enforcement and Compliance to Unlock Resilient and Ethical Nickel Supply Chains)
Indonesia’s nickel sector is rapidly expanding as demand grows for minerals essential to batteries and the global energy transition. Winrock’s SECURE project, funded by the U.S. DOL, works to ensure that growth is accompanied by stronger labor standards, improved compliance and greater protection for workers and communities. Through collaboration among government, industry and civil society, the project supports practical solutions that help reduce labor risks while promoting more responsible and sustainable supply chain development.